The Washington Capitals will play the Montreal Canadiens north of the border tonight. It’ll be the Capitals’ first game since their bye week began eight days ago.
Alex Ovechkin will not suit up against the Canadiens and serve a one-game suspension due to skipping the 2020 All-Star Game. Ovechkin opted instead to play against division-rival, New York Islanders, two Saturdays ago and scored a hat trick in the game.
According to the Washington Post’s Samantha Pell, Richard Panik will replace Ovechkin on the first line while Travis Boyd will slide into third line duty. Reirden will keep his second and fourth lines together.
Capitals expected lines vs Montreal tonight:
Panik-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Hagelin-Eller-Boyd
Leipsic-Dowd-HathawayKempny-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Siegenthaler-GudasHoltby
*Ovechkin not playing today due to suspension for skipping ASG
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) January 27, 2020
Braden Holtby, who has only won one of his four starts in January and has given up three or more goals in his last seven starts, will be in goal tonight.
Holtby will start tomorrow in Montreal, per Reirden. #Caps
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) January 26, 2020
Ovechkin joined the Capitals for their practice back Sunday at Centre Bell after vacationing with Tom Wilson in Mexico.
Alex Ovechkin is on the ice at Centre Bell as the #Caps reconvene following a weeklong break. He won’t play tomorrow night as he serves a one-game suspension for skipping the All-Star Game. #Caps pic.twitter.com/FP1sujC2HT
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) January 26, 2020
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong
Share On