It appears the Capitals will turn to 39-year-old Craig Anderson to start in goal for Monday’s Game Two against the Boston Bruins.
It will be Anderson’s first start in a playoff game since May 25, 2017, when he helped lead the Ottawa Senators to the Eastern Conference Final. Ottawa fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Seven.
Anderson was the first goalie off the ice, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, which typically represents who will start that night.
Craig Anderson the first goalie off the ice at the end of the Capitals morning skate.
Looks to be tonight's starter.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 17, 2021
Vitek Vanecek, who suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of Game One, did not participate in the morning skate.
Vitek Vanecek (lower body) is not on the ice for the Capitals morning skate (in case that needed to be said)
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 17, 2021
Ilya Samsonov, who was removed from the NHL’s COVID-19 Unavailability List on Saturday, participated in practice for the second straight day. Samsonov was one of four Capitals goalies on the ice, which included Pheonix Copley, the likely backup tonight, and Zach Fucale, who was called up from Hershey yesterday.
If you were taking attendance, the Capitals had four goalies on the ice at one point near the end of their morning skate:
Craig Anderson
Pheonix Copley
Ilya Samsonov
Zach FucaleVitek Vanecek (lower body did not skate.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 17, 2021
Samsonov did work with the taxi squad while Evgeny Kuznetsov, who returned to the ice on Sunday, participated in practice as an extra.
Kuznetsov seems to be in good spirits and appears to be smiling a bunch as he works his way back from the Covid-19 absences list. Samsonov is getting plenty of reps with the taxi squad, too. #Caps pic.twitter.com/TTrcW03XBB
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) May 17, 2021
The Capitals’ lines appear unchanged from Saturday’s Game One.
Capitals morning skate lines, D pairs and goalies
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Mantha
Sheary-Eller-Raffl
Sprong-Oshie-Wilson
Hagelin-Dowd-HathawayOrlov-Carlson
Dillon-Schultz
Chara-JensenAnderson
Copley
SamsonovExtras: Kuznetsov, Carr, TvR, Fehervary.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 17, 2021
After the skate, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette would not confirm Anderson would start or if Ilya Samsonov would be the third-string emergency goaltender. The only thing he said was reiterate that Vanecek is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Capitals coach Peter Laviolette isn't giving info on his lineup tonight or saying if Kuznetsov and Samsonov will dress tonight (neither looks to be in the lineup from the morning skate)
Wouldn't give any info on the goalies other than Vitek Vanecek is day to day.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 17, 2021
