The Washington Capitals finalized their 31-player roster for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs Sunday morning and there were no surprises from the day before.
Three players were cut from the Capitals’ Phase 3 roster: goaltender Ilya Samsonov and depth forwards Shane Gersich and Garrett Pilon. Samsonov, who won 16 of his first 20 games in the NHL this year, will not be joining the Capitals into the bubble due to an injury he suffered during the lockdown.
Capitals roster
Ready for takeoff.
Our squad for the 2020 Playoffs.#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/gEebLeQg9s— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 26, 2020
The Capitals’ lines and defensive pairings will likely look like this to start the playoffs.
Based on this morning's scrimmage, the #Caps' lines are exactly what we thought they were going to be. (Today, Boyd is skating for Oshie, who is not practicing.) pic.twitter.com/NEiwwLiY17
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) July 18, 2020
There are several newcomers to the Capitals’ expanded roster. Most notably, 2019 first-round pick, Connor McMichael, and 2018 first-round pick, Alex Alexeyev, will serve their first official stints with the team as black aces – though McMichael could see time in a playoff game. McMichael, who dominated junior hockey and won a gold medal with Team Canada, could get a jersey when Lars Eller leaves the bubble for the birth of his second child in the coming weeks. Carl Hagelin will also leave the bubble for the birth of his second child in September.
Other forwards making their first stints on the Capitals roster include Daniel Sprong (3 goals during Training Camp scrimmages), Philippe Maillet (17g, 27a in Hershey), and Brian Pinho (20g, 17a in HER).
Headline photo courtesy of the @Capitals
