Wednesday’s bout in Winnipeg left the Caps battered.
TJ Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Braden Holtby won’t play against the Colorado Avalanche due to upper-body injuries.
#Caps Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body), T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Braden Holtby (upper body) will not play tonight and are listed as day to day. #CapsAvs
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 16, 2018
Oshie’s upper-body injury appears to have come from Josh Morrissey’s throw down in the third period. Morrissey was fined the maximum amount for unsportsmanlike conduct under the CBA.
Kuznetsov took a headshot from Jets defenseman Brandon Tanev in the first period. He did not return to play as a precaution, and Tanev was assessed a penalty for an illegal hit to the head.
This means the Caps lines are pretty scrambled, with Lars Eller getting top line duty tonight, as well as Travis Boyd and Dmitrij Jaskin slotting back in.
#Caps lines: 8-20-43
13-19-65
18-72-10
23-26-25— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) November 16, 2018
The cause of Holtby’s injury is unknown at this point, but Holtby’s injury gave emergency backup goalie Gavin McHale a chance at his childhood dream.
Capitals goalie prospect Ilya Samsonov was summoned to Denver to potentially backup to Pheonix Copley Thursday, so it would be interesting to see if the Russian gets his first NHL start against a former Capitals backup.
But there is good news. Michal Kempny, who was sidelined with an illness against Winnipeg, is back in tonight’s lineup.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps at Avalanche
Headline photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America
