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TJ Oshie and John Carlson out, Alex Ovechkin a game-time decision against Boston Bruins

By Ian Oland

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May 11, 2021 12:27 pm

The Washington Capitals will play their final regular-season game Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins and they’ll be without four regular players, at the least.

TJ Oshie and John Carlson will both miss the game due to lower-body injuries, while Alex Ovechkin will be a game-time decision. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov remain in COVID protocol.

Vitek Vanecek will start in net after missing the morning skate.

The Capitals also recalled Philippe Maillet to the main roster and sent Garrett Pilon, who made his NHL debut on Saturday, back to the taxi squad. Maillet centered Daniel Sprong and Tom Wilson on the team’s third line in practice Monday.

With the Capitals and Bruins already locked in to play each other in the first round of the playoffs, the two teams have little to play for tonight. Regardless, Peter Laviolette said he would not rest any players. The two teams’ first playoff game is in four days: Saturday

“If a player is cleared to play and 100 percent healthy, I’m not going to hold them out of a game,” Laviolette said on Monday. “Alex won’t be held out of a game. He’s trying to get back on the ice. I think that when it comes to the players, generally speaking, if they are healthy they can play. If they’re not 100 percent healthy and it’s not in the best interest of the player to play in that game, then we won’t play them.”

Laviolette also added that “You’re going to want to play well. You’re going to want to end the season on a good note.”

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