Todd Reirden made one minor tweak to the Capitals lines ahead of their game Thursday night against the Nashville Predators.
Evgeny Kuznetsov will return to his second-line center spot after playing his first game of the season on the third line.
Kuzy scored in the first period on a nifty backhand against the Dallas Stars.
#Caps morning skate lines and pairs at Bridgestone Arena:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Hagelin-Eller-Panik
Leipsic-Stephenson-HathawaySiegenthaler-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Gudas-LewingtonHoltby
Samsonov— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) October 10, 2019
“I thought the second line dipped a little bit [against Dallas] and I’m easing Kuznetsov (back) into it,” Reirden said of the center switch. “His skating was a factor obviously. As he gets himself into game condition, we’ll continue to monitor and put him in opportunities for success.”
Meanwhile, Michal Kempny will miss his fourth-straight game to continue rehabbing his injured left hamstring. Tyler Lewington will skate on the third pairing with Radko Gudas while Kempny is out.
“[We’ll] continue to take every day as it kind of plays itself out,” Reirden said, adding Kempny was on the team for the road trip. “He’s getting lots of action in practice now, full speed battle drills. As he reacts positively, he gets closer and closer to getting back to our lineup.”
Dmitry Orlov, who left Wednesday’s practice early with a lower-body injury, was back on the ice Thursday for the Capitals morning skate, taking his normal spot opposite Nick Jensen on the second pairing.
Orlov leaving practice was “just totally precautionary,” Reirden said.
Capitals’ fourth-line center Nic Dowd will miss his second straight game as Reirden opts to give Chandler Stephenson a jersey over him.
Puck drop is 8pm tonight.
Headline photo: NBC Sports Washington
