The Capitals’ blue line will have a different look Wednesday night when they host the Penguins, and the biggest change comes with Matt Roy out of the lineup.
Roy, who left Saturday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning with a lower-body injury, will not play in the home opener. Spencer Carbery said Roy has not skated since the injury, though he remains day-to-day.
That opens the door for Dylan McIlrath to dress in what will be his first NHL home opener, a notable moment on a long climb back into the league. Carbery made clear how much the team values what McIlrath brings when he’s available.
“We love Mac, period, but love him when he's in the lineup. We know what he brings.
The guys love him. He's an incredible teammate.
He works his ass off every single day, and that's why he continues at his age to defy a lot of naysayers and odds, and he continues to be on an NHL roster and play NHL games," Carbery said. "It's credit to him and how much work he puts in, and we love having him on our team and as a part of our organization.
And when he gets in the lineup, we know exactly what he brings... He's a valuable player to our team, and when he's in the lineup, we seem to have success.”
McIlrath is expected to skate on the third pairing with Cole Hutson, while Timothy Liljegren and Vincent Desharnais should absorb more minutes on the right side in Roy’s absence. Those pairings could still shift depending on how the game unfolds.
For Desharnais, the night carries extra weight. He’ll experience the Capitals-Penguins rivalry from the ice for the first time, and he knows the challenge that comes with replacing a steady piece like Roy.
"It's going to affect quite a bit. He plays such a big role for us... he's just a steady-eddy presence and he just brings consistency every shift, every period, every game," Desharnais explained.
"It's next man up, and everyone has to step up a little bit. Everyone has to take a little bit more, and I think everyone is ready for that... it's going to be a good test for us without Matty, but we have the personnel in here to cover for him."
The projected forward lines have Alex Ovechkin centering the top line with Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier, followed by Alex Tuch, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson on the second unit. Aliaksei Protas will line up with Ilya Protas and Jordan Kyrou, while Boone Jenner centers Justin Sourdif and Ryan Leonard.
On defense, Jakob Chychrun is paired with Timothy Liljegren, Martin Fehervary with Vinny Desharnais, and Cole Hutson with McIlrath.
Logan Thompson is projected to start in goal, with Charlie Lindgren backing him up.
On the power play, the first unit features Ovechkin, Chychrun, Wilson, Dubois and Strome. The second group includes Leonard, Hutson, I. Protas, Tuch and Kyrou.
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