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Aliaksei Protas promoted to first line and first power-play unit

By Chris Cerullo

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November 24, 2021 11:22 am

The seemingly neverending shuffling of the Washington Capitals forward lines continued at Wednesday’s morning skate.

Due to injuries to TJ Oshie and Conor Sheary and the COVID-19 related absence of Lars Eller, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette got creative with his lines before the team takes on the Montreal Canadiens.

The main benefactor from those absences appears to be Aliaksei Protas who is set for first-line action and first power-play unit responsibility.

The team’s full lines are via The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir.

Protas has played in eight games so far this season for the Capitals and recorded his first NHL point last week against the San Jose Sharks. In those eight games with Protas on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals have seen 58.5-percent of the shot attempts, 55.7-percent of the expected goals, 55.7-percent of the scoring chances, and 58.2-percent of the high danger chances.

The Belorussian rookie played 4:54 of power-play time against the Kraken Sunday night.

Meanwhile, Ilya Samsonov will start for the Capitals as he brings his 151:27 shutout streak into action. Samsonov is 6-0-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .924-save percentage this season.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB

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