The Washington Capitals held their gameday morning skate Saturday morning at 10:30AM at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. They host the Florida Panthers tonight at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 7PM.
MORNING SKATE
Alex Ovechkin (upper body) didn’t skate this morning and will be a game-time decision tonight vs. Florida.
Anthony Mantha (lower body) is out. He’s officially day to day.
Charlie Lindgren was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate. He’ll be the expected starter tonight against Florida.
STAT OF THE DAY
Today’s stat of the day returns to the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. The Capitals chances of winning the draft lottery have now risen from 3% to 5% in recent games.
So, what is a relatable real-world example of a 5% chance at something? The Capitals have a better chance of selecting Connor Bedard than a person has being called to “come on down” at the Price Is Right (1 in 36 or 2.7%).
DOWN ON THE FARM
Hendrix Lapierre scored his 12th goal of the season Friday night against the Springfield Thunderbirds (with a little help from the T-Birds).
Hendrix Lapierre with his 12 of the season (with a little help from T-Birds). Bears lead 1-0. #HBH #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/gGC3Cs21m3
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) April 7, 2023
Garrett Pilon is starting to warmup just before the AHL postseason begins. He scored his 10th of the season last night, which started with the steal of a pass.
Nice play by Garrett Pilon. Picks the pass and roofs one for 2-1 Bears lead. #HBH #ALLCAPS #Peels pic.twitter.com/N4bJ7cPaq2
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) April 7, 2023
Jake Karabela seems to have found his scoring touch again, as he notched his third goal of the playoffs on Friday night. The Storm won game 5 by a score of 3-1, closing the gap to the Sarnia Sting in the series, 3-2.
JAKE KARABELA WITH THE DEKE!#StormCity | @Capitals pic.twitter.com/VMbpr9mXxG
— Guelph Storm (@Storm_City) April 8, 2023
Reminder, tonight is the NCAA final between Ryan Chesley and the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Chase Clark and the Quinnipiac Bobcats.
Ivan Miroshnichenko and Omskie Yastreby beat CKA-1946 by a score of 4-3 in overtime today, and as a result, take the second round series 3-1.
SHAVINGS
- Adam Fantilli Wins 2023 Hobey Baker Award [Pro Hockey Rumors]
- Flyers assistant coach: ‘It looks like some guys in here don’t even care’ [Yahoo Sports]
- From Lightning and Leafs to Arizona, NHL’s spending gap widens to record level [Daily Faceoff]