The Capitals are done with the warmup act and ready to start the real thing.
After their final practice Thursday in Arlington, Washington packed up for Raleigh and the first test of a demanding opening stretch: a season-opening back-to-back that begins Friday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and rolls straight into Saturday’s trip to Tampa for a matchup with the Lightning.
For a team that’s spent camp building chemistry around a new-look roster, the message from the room was simple. The hype is nice, but it doesn’t count for anything until the puck drops.
"Expectation only gets you so far, you gotta play the game," Tom Wilson said. "We believe in this group.
When you look at the team on paper, we know we can be dangerous. That being said, you got to go play the game.
It's a long year, we got to start building day by day."
Washington’s opening-night lineup is set to mirror what the club has been using in practice. Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ehten Frank and Dylan McIlrath will be the extras, while Alex Ovechkin is healthy and ready after being injured in the preseason.
The forward groups line up like this: Alex Ovechkin with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard; Alex Tuch with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson; Aliaksei Protas with Ilya Protas and Jordan Kyrou; and Boone Jenner centering Justin Sourdif and Anthony Beauvillier.
On the blue line, the pairings are Jakob Chychrun with Matt Roy and Martin Fehervary with Timothy Liljegren. Logan Thompson is listed first in goal, with Charlie Lindgren behind him.
The team also revealed its alternate captains for the season. Wilson will wear the "A" full-time, Strome will serve as an alternate at home, and Roy will wear it on the road.
Washington heads to Raleigh on Thursday and will have an optional morning skate before opening the season Friday at 7 p.m.
In Other News...
Capitals Get A Brutal First Test For Their New-Look Roster
The Capitals open their new NHL season with no easing-in period, stepping right into a meeting with Carolina and a roster that looks noticeably different from a year ago. Boone Jenner, Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Vincent Desharnais are among the additions head coach Spencer Carbery is folding in, while Cole Hutson, Timothy Liljegren and Ilya Protas are also set for their first opening-night look in Washington, giving the night a fresh feel even before the puck drops.
It is a demanding first test for a group trying to settle quickly, especially with the matchup coming in Carolinas home arena against a team that has already played once and is carrying the weight of a championship banner raising. Carbery and players like Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson have already acknowledged the challenge, and the bigger question for Washington is how fast all those new pieces can start looking like a coherent lineup against the defending Stanley Cup champions. [Read more 🡒]
Charlie Lindgren Faces An Early Capitals Test After Rough Year
Charlie Lindgren spent the offseason trying to put a difficult year behind him, using the downtime to reset and sharpen his game after a stretch he knew fell short of his standard. The Capitals goalie has sounded confident about where he stands heading into the new season, and coach Spencer Carberys backing only adds to the sense that Washington still believes there is a path back to steadier form for him.
The first chance to prove it arrives quickly. Lindgren is lined up to handle the second night of the Capitals season-opening back-to-back, a demanding early assignment against Tampa Bay that will say plenty about where he is right now and how prepared Washington feels with him in goal. For a veteran trying to turn the page, it is about as immediate a test as he could ask for. [Read more 🡒]