The Washington Capitals posted their updated training camp groups at MedStar, Sunday.
The Red group resembles the Capitals likely line-up to start the season. Most notably, Nic Dowd slides in between Chandler Stephenson and Devante Smith-Pelly on the fourth line.
Photo: @ikhurshudyan
The Capitals top three lines and their defensive pairings are the same as they were in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reported that Travis Boyd, who filled in at center during the postseason, is expected to make the team as a scratch.
Expect Boyd to make the opening-night roster, too. But it’s Dowd practicing with Caps’ presumed fourth line today.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) September 23, 2018
Dowd, 28, signed a one-year, $650K AAV contract after his previous deal expired in Vancouver. The Capitals hope Dowd can fill the Jay Beagle-sized gap at fourth-line center. Dowd won 50.9 percent of faceoffs in 40 games, with 70 percent of his starts coming in the defensive zone on a bad Canucks team.
The last question mark will be who the Caps keep as their seventh defenseman. Jonas Siegenthaler and Madison Bowey are the first defensive pair in the Blue group. While Bowey is more likely to make the team due to his waiver situation (he has to pass through them to go down to Hershey), Siegenthaler has made a strong case for his inclusion with his play during the preseason.
This preseason, Jonas Siegenthaler is leading the Capitals in five-on-five ice time (34:09). More info on Siegenthaler, clips and an updated practice schedule are available on https://t.co/HecIC0ECg1 pic.twitter.com/QIKHQ29Qth
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) September 23, 2018
The Capitals still need to make 18 more cuts to reach their opening-night roster of 23.
Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk
