The Washington Capitals are using Friday night’s preseason home finale against the Boston Bruins as their closest thing to a final tune-up before the real games begin.
Everyone expected to see most of the projected opening night group, and that’s exactly what Washington is planning to roll out. The lone exception is Alex Ovechkin, who will sit out the rest of the exhibition slate as a precaution while he continues recovering from a lower-body injury. In his place, Ethen Frank will skate on Ovechkin’s line with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard, and Leonard will move over to the left side.
Logan Thompson gets the start and is scheduled to play the entire game, with Clay Stevenson behind him. Charlie Lindgren, who is limited to one more preseason appearance because of the veteran rule, will take the full workload Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Washington’s lineup for Friday looks like this:
Ryan Leonard-Dylan Strome-Ethen Frank
Alex Tuch-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Ilya Protas-Jordan Kyrou
Boone Jenner-Justin Sourdif-Anthony Beauvillier
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Cole Hutson-Vinny Desharnais
Martin Fehervary-Timothy Liljegren
Logan Thompson
Clay Stevenson
The Capitals are also continuing to trim the camp roster as the regular season approaches. Bogdan Trineyev, Josh Dunne, Jacob MacDonald and Mitch Gibson were placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL’s Hershey Hershey.
That leaves Washington with 40 players still in camp, and a few battles remain unsettled. Jonny Brodzinski and Ivan Miroshnichenko are still in the mix for one of the extra forward spots.
On the back end, Justin Holl and Dylan McIlrath are fighting for roster spots. The team is also still sorting through its goaltending picture, including the possibility of beginning the season with three netminders.
Washington opens the regular season next Friday in Carolina against the defending champion Hurricnaes.
In Other News...
Capitals Win Offered Their Clearest Look Yet At One Crucial Change
The Capitals got a late preseason test against Boston and used it to sharpen one of the biggest questions facing the team: how quickly a revamped power play can come together under new coach Ray Bennett. In a 3-2 overtime win in their second-to-last exhibition game, Washington mixed and matched line combinations while looking for the right chemistry, and the unit stood out as the most encouraging part of the night.
There was also a chance to see how the group would function with Alexander Ovechkin unavailable because of a lower-body injury, which pushed Ethen Frank into a featured role on the top power-play unit. The looks were different, the urgency was obvious and the results were there, even if the final preseason tune-up still leaves one bigger question hanging over the group heading into opening night. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Suddenly Face A Dylan Larkin Question They Can't Ignore
The trade market around Dylan Larkin has widened enough to put a handful of contenders back on alert, and Washington is now part of the conversation. What began as a short list of preferred destinations has grown, with reports saying the Detroit captain would now consider several more teams, a development that immediately matters to clubs looking for a center upgrade and to rivals trying to gauge whether there is any realistic path to a deal.
For the Capitals, the fit is at least worth monitoring, even if the hurdles are obvious. Detroit interim GM Shawn Horcoff is still sorting through possibilities, but cap space, protected contracts and thin trade assets have already made this a difficult puzzle across the league. Until a cleaner framework emerges, Washington remains one of the names attached to the situation without much clarity on how the pieces would actually come together. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Get An Encouraging Owen Zellweger Injury Update
Alexander Ovechkin will sit out Washingtons final two preseason games as he works back from a lower-body injury, a cautious move for a veteran captain whose importance to the Capitals hardly needs explaining. The timing is manageable for the team, which still expects him to be ready when the games start to count, but it does trim away two more opportunities for the group to build chemistry with its most recognizable face on the ice.
For the Capitals, the bigger takeaway is less about the preseason scorelines and more about keeping Ovechkin on track after a brief setback. The injuries piling up around the league have already touched other familiar names, including Dylan Larkin and Jacob Bernard-Docker in Detroit and Justin Brazeau in Pittsburgh, while Buffalo got encouraging news on Owen Zellwegers concussion recovery. Washingtons focus now is simply on getting through the last tune-up games cleanly and making sure its captain is ready when the opener arrives. [Read more 🡒]