We will be seeing more familiar faces in the Washington Capitals’ second preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, as we get closer and closer to the start of the regular season.
Alex Ovechkin will make his preseason debut tomorrow skating on a line with Nicklas Backstrom and rookie Ivan Miroshnichenko. Caps coach Spencer Carbery put Backstrom and Ovechkin on the same line during training camp along with Anthony Mantha. Mantha will not play tomorrow after playing in the first preseason contest against the Buffalo Sabres.
Meanwhile, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson will be returning to the lineup. Wilson did not play in any preseason games last year because of his ACL surgery. Connor McMichael will be on the left side of Kuznetsov and Wilson, another line that has been utilized during camp.
2023 second-round pick Andrew Cristall will make his Caps debut as well, skating on the left side with Mike Sgarbossa and Pierrick Dube. Cristall will be on the Capitals’ second power play unit tomorrow along with Miroshnichenko.
Related: Capitals Work on Power Play
The backend is where things get interesting. It was announced today that Joel Edmundson will be out 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured hand. He sustained the injury during the non-game group scrimmage on Sunday. That opens up competition on the left side for Alex Alexeyev, Lucas Johansen and Hardy Haman Aktell. Alexeyev will instead be playing on the right side with Haman Aktell.
John Carlson and Rasmus Sandin will be making their debuts as well and will be on the first and second man-advantage units respectively.
Charlie Lindgren will get the start in goal and will be backed up by Hunter Shepard. Lindgren will be getting the full game.
The game kicks off at 7 p.m., at Capital One Arena.
By Jacob Cheris