The Washington Capitals had the day off on Saturday and held an optional skate Sunday morning before their tilt with the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 5PM.
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette met with the media when he arrived at the arena this afternoon around 2:45PM. As reported on Saturday, Laviolette confirmed that Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson will make make their season debuts tonight against the Blue Jackets.
Capitals coach Peter Laviolette confirms that Darcy Kuemper will start in net today vs. the Blue Jackets and Anthony Mantha and Nicolas Aube-Kubel will be the healthy scratches with Nicklas Backstom and Tom Wilson returning.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) January 8, 2023
Forward Anthony Mantha, who was demoted to the fourth line this week, and played a team-low 9:48 of ice time against Nashville on Friday night, will be a healthy scratch. Nicolas Aube-Kubel will also sit.
Laviolette on scratching Mantha and NAK: “These are obviously tough decisions…I have no problem if either one of those guys were in the lineup today, Kubel or Mantha, but they’re not.”
Darcy Kuemper will get the start in goal.
By Jon Sorensen
It’s going to be great seeing everyone back tonight. Now we shift to how they do.
We’re back, baby! Hopefully this benching lights a fire under Mantha.
Love it!! And as much as it has seemed for some time now that Mantha will be the one that gets traded, 4th line and scratching (which I agree with both decisions) will worsen most of any leverage they had in trade talks. Hopefully a contender with injury issues takes a chance on him and we get a 3rd, maybe a 2nd.
Go-evilly the benching gets his attention, but I have my doubts, as the issues we are seeing with him were issues he had in Detroit.