Michal Kempny appears likely to be a healthy scratch against the Philadelphia Flyers this Wednesday as head coach Todd Reirden continues to experiment with his defensive pairs. For much of the season, Kempny skated with John Carlson on the first pair.
Kempny’s exit means Jonas Siegenthaler will remain in the lineup while Radko Gudas will get a jersey again.
Capitals Tuesday practice lines:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Vrana-Backstrom-Oshie
Hagelin-Eller-Kovalchuk
Panik-Dowd-HathawayDillon-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Siegenthaler-Gudas*Kempny looks to be out
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) March 3, 2020
Reirden said after practice “we’ll see how things shake out” when asked if Kempny will indeed be scratched.
Reirden on Kempny looking out tomorrow vs Flyers, would be first time he is a healthy scratch this season:
"That's what we went with for today and how we had the pairs. We'll see how things shake out when we talk about it later today for tomorrow."
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) March 3, 2020
Against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, Kempny skated with Dmitry Orlov while Siegenthaler was paired with Nick Jensen. Kempny got the least amount of ice time (14:07) amongst Capitals defensemen and was beaten by Ryan Donato on the first goal of the game. Donato’s tally gave the Wild a 1-0 lead three minutes and one second into the first period.
Kempny also took an interference penalty late in the third period. Zach Parise scored on the powerplay to cut the Capitals lead to 4-3. Kempny did not get a shift for the rest of the game.
The Capitals forward lines remained unchanged as Brendan Leipsic appears to be the likely winger to sit again. Braden Holtby will start in goal Wednesday and Ilya Samsonov will start Thursday against the Rangers.
Braden Holtby will be in net Wednesday against the Flyers. Ilya Samsonov will get the start against the Rangers on Thursday.
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) March 3, 2020
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
