Tuesday, Ilya Kovlachuk took the ice for the first time at MedStar Capitals Iceplex after being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens for a third-round pick.
During the Capitals’ morning skate, head coach Todd Reirden placed Kovalchuk on the third line right wing, bumping Richard Panik out of the spot. Kovalchuk skated with Carl Hagelin and Lars Eller.
The Russian forward will make his Capitals debut tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. Alex Ovechkin will be honored pregame for becoming the eighth player in NHL history to score 700 goals.
Capitals lines at morning skate ahead of game vs Jets:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Vrana-Backstrom-Oshie
Hagelin-Eller-Kovalchuk
Panik-Dowd-HathawayDillon-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Kempny-Gudas*Kovalchuk third line right wing, Panik bumped to the fourth line, Leipsic out
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) February 25, 2020
Panik will skate on the fourth line and Brendan Leipsic will be the healthy scratch.
Kovalchuk will also be the third Russian on the Capitals’ second powerplay unit, joining Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov.
Ilya Kovalchuk is on the Caps’ second unit PP, practicing in the slot. Kuznetsov, Wilson, Eller and Orlov make up the rest of the group.
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) February 25, 2020
During practice, Kovalchuk could be seen laughing and joking with his close friend, Alex Ovechkin, and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Think these two are happy to be playing together? 🤗 pic.twitter.com/FzyUziS1CY
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 25, 2020
Before going into the locker room, Kovalchuk signed autographs for fans before speaking to the DC press for the first time.
Headline photo: Miranda Rosenfelt/RMNB
