February 28, 2016 10:26 am

Jan 1, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) and center Jonathan Toews (19) shake hands with Washington Capitals players after the 2015 Winter Classic hockey game at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Hold onto your hats because it’s the most hectic time of season. The trade deadline is tomorrow, but much craziness has already transpired. In other exciting news, the Caps are jetting off to face the very good Blackhawks. Take a shot whenever someone says this game is “a potential Stanley Cup Finals preview.”

Fun fact: Caps PR says the good guys have beat the Blackhawks four times in a row and won seven of the last nine matchups. A less exciting statistic: the Caps have played 13 games this month, and all but three were decided by a single goal.

The party starts at 12:30, and it’s on NBC.

Team	Record	Possession	PDO	Power Play	Penalty Kill
Washington Capitals	45-11-4	51.6%	102.1	23.3% (1st)	84.2% (4th)
Chicago Blackhawks	38-20-5	51.4%	99.5	22.5% (2nd)	80.0% (17th)

Projected Lineup

No morning skate, no clue.

Ovechkin – Backstrom – Oshie
Burakovsky – Kuznetsov – Williams
Chimera – Johansson – Wilson
Laich – Richards – Latta

Alzner – Niskanen
Schmidt – Chorney
Orpik – Orlov

Holtby

UPDATE: Jay Beagle is IN!

Holtby in. Chorney in. Laich in (if he's not claimed). Beagle in. Carlson to LTIR.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 28, 2016

Interesting Thing #1

ICYMI, James Reimer is a free elf. Cue the collective sigh of relief from literally everyone.

#SJSharks acquire James Reimer & Jeremy Morin from @MapleLeafs for Alex Stalock, Ben Smith & conditional draft pick. https://t.co/5oIxjZVtsx

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 27, 2016

Storylines

Unleash the fury (feels) because Brooks Laich is on waivers, yet expected to play today. Yes, that somehow works.
John Carlson will be out of action for the next 3-4 weeks. Thank goodness for Chorney and Weber.
The Caps are still on the hunt. Could be a defenseman or a forward in their sights.
The ever-wise Nicklas Backstrom has some words for the Caps’ lousy starts.
Stan Bowman is making moves, including the acquisition of old pal Tomas Fleischmann, who will play the Caps for the second time this week for separate teams.
Happy birthday to NHL.com’s Katie Brown!