The Washington Capitals will finish off their western Canadian road trip on Friday with a visit to Vancouver against Bruce Boudreau’s Canucks. Vancouver beat the Capitals 4-2 in DC back on January 16. The Capitals are 1-0-1 after trips in Calgary and Edmonton.

The Capitals’ lines will mostly stay the same against the Canucks, but there is one notable change. According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, Conor Sheary will see a promotion to the top line alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin. Sheary finished Wednesday night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers with the trio.

Here is the rest of the Caps lineup from the morning skate via Gulitti.

Wednesday’s game against the Oilers ended a personal four-game point streak for Sheary who scored four goals and had six total points during that stretch of play. The crafty winger has spent over 113 minutes playing with Ovi and Kuzy at five-on-five this season and last. The trio has a 54.5-percent shot attempt percentage and a 56.4-percent expected goals percentage in those minutes together.

Sheary’s move to the top line bumps Tom Wilson to the third. Daniel Sprong, Matt Irwin, and Michal Kempny remain the healthy scratches.

Returning to the starter’s net for the Caps will be Vitek Vanecek. In 2022, Vanecek has a 7-3-0 record with three shutouts, a 2.04 goals-against average, and a .931 save percentage. All three of those latter stats are top five in the league among goaltenders with at least ten appearances. He has started three of the last four games for the team.

The Canucks have won three games in a row and eight of their last ten. They have amassed a 21-8-4 record under Boudreau after starting the season 8-15-2 under Travis Green. They are only one point out from the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB