The Washington Capitals will be without five of its star players again tonight against the New York Islanders.
Tom Wilson, who has a lower-body injury, joined Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, and Ilya Samsonov out of the lineup.
The lines, accordingly, were wacky.
#Caps's lines/pairs vs. BUF:
13-Vrana, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
73-Sheary, 20-Eller, 14-Panik
62-Hagelin, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway
28-Carr, 23-Sgarbossa, 10-Sprong4-Dillon, 74-Carlson
33-Chara, 2-Schultz
34-Siegenthaler, 57-van RiemsdykVanecek vs. Varlamov. #CapsIsles
— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) January 26, 2021
Conor Sheary replaced Connor McMichael on the second line. Daniel Carr and Michael Sgarbossa will make their season debuts tonight on the fourth. Both players were moved to the Capitals active roster an hour before the game.
Lineys!!!#CapsIsles | @GEICO pic.twitter.com/bUkyrRvxjJ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 26, 2021
Wilson was originally injured Friday against the Sabres. He missed practice on Saturday and the Capitals’ game on Sunday. He returned to the ice on Monday for the team’s optional skate and took the ice during Washington’s morning skate before tonight’s game.
“I felt pretty good (during Monday’s skate),” Wilson said. “Obviously good enough to stay out there (for the optional practice), but there’s a big difference between flow drills and a skate through than an NHL hockey game with tons of battles and physical exertion. [It’s] just one of those things you can’t really push through. Pushing through might aggravate it.
“Obviously, I want to be out there,” Wilson continued. “I want to be battling with the guys, but there’s lots of hockey left this year and we just have to be smart.”
RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Isles
Screenshot courtesy of @Capitals
