Photo: Rob Carr
Karl Alzner missed Saturday’s morning skate with what the team is calling a “maintenance day.” Alzner missed two days of practice earlier this week but played in Thursday’s game despite being “banged up.” Skating in Alzner’s spot on the second pairing alongside Matt Niskanen was Mike Weber, though Weber stayed out late with the heathly scratches.
Dmitry Orlov looks to be healthy scratch as well following a misplay on Nick Bonino that led to a goal in the second period. Capitals coach Barry Trotz benched Orlov for the second half of the game, save for one short shift in the third period. Orlov has not missed a game all season.
“I can’t do mistake like that,” Orlov said yesterday after practice.
However, Orlov’s partner in Game One, Nate Schmidt, placed the blame on both players, who collided in the slot.
“It was a little bit of a miscommunication,” Schmidt said. “We both had the same idea. We were both stepping up and trying to make a play at the blueline.”
Schmidt was paired with Taylor Chorney on Saturday morning. Chorney said “the plan” was for him to play in Game Two.
We will hear from Trotz shortly and update this post with more information.
UPDATE: It looks like Alzner will play.
“Everybody’s available for tonight,” Trotz said.
The coach, however, refused to go further than that, though he did praise Orlov for “doing a lot of good things.”
“We don’t talk about roster,” Trotz said of his lineup for Game Two. “Watch warmup and you’ll see what we’re doing.”
Additional reporting by Katie Brown and Peter Hassett.
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