Nicklas Backstrom will miss his sixth straight game with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
Tuesday, during the morning skate, Backstrom was an extra forward indicating he would not get a jersey tonight.
Capitals expected lines vs San Jose:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Vrana-Eller-Oshie
Hagelin-Boyd-Panik
Leipsic-Dowd-HathawayKempny-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Siegenthaler-GudasHoltby
*Backstrom looks like the extra tonight
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) December 3, 2019
Head coach Todd Reirden later confirmed the news during his postgame press conference.
Backstrom is indeed out tonight, per Reirden. #Caps https://t.co/acviUz5uFy
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) December 3, 2019
The Capitals are 3-1-1 with Backstrom out of the lineup.
The day before, Backstrom said “We’re taking it slow here. I feel better at least.” He was the first player out on the ice and did extra conditioning work after practice, but ultimately was ruled out the next day.
Meanwhile, forward Carl Hagelin is slated to return and will skate on the third line with Travis Boyd and Richard Panik.
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