TJ Oshie will make an emotional return back to the lineup after missing Monday’s Rangers game to be with his father, Tim, before his death.
The Capitals will be wearing special ‘Coach’ stickers on their helmets to honor Tim’s passing.
T.J. Oshie, whose father passed this week, will be back tonight vs. the Rangers, per Peter Laviolette. #Caps
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) May 5, 2021
The Capitals will also be without their captain, Alex Ovechkin, due to a lower-body injury and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov. Kuznetsov is in NHL protocol after being suspended by the team for disciplinary reasons on Monday while Samsonov is on the taxi squad and his absence is publicly unexplained.
Laviolette, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, said the capped-out team may be able to call up a forward from the taxi squad so they can ice a full roster tonight.
Oshie is back for the Capitals tonight.
Ovechkin is out.
Kuznetsov and Samsonov are not available.
Peter Laviolette said e believes the will be calling up a forward from the taxi squad.
So they could have 18 skaters.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 5, 2021
The Capitals previously defeated the Rangers 6-3. The two teams had a line brawl in the second period where Tom Wilson earned 14 minutes in penalties for shots he took at Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin. After Wilson was fined by the NHL but not suspended, the Rangers released a very aggressive press release where they called Wilson’s actions “a horrifying act of violence.”
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
