Now we know what issue the Washington Capitals were working through inside the room after its morning skate.

Forward Garnet Hathaway will be scratched due to a non-COVID illness and will miss the matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

#Caps Garnet Hathaway will not play tonight vs. Tampa Bay (non-COVID illness)

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 6, 2022

Hathaway had been skating on the fourth line with Johan Larsson and Nic Dowd at practice the past two days.

Connor McMichael will reenter the lineup as he was the only “extra” skater that did not get in further drill work after this morning’s skate. The rookie was on the ice for warmups and will center the third line between Marcus Johansson and TJ Oshie. Eller will replace Hathaway on the wing of the fourth line.

Lineys#CapsBolts | @CaesarsSports pic.twitter.com/DFLOgWLkqO

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 6, 2022

Hathaway was the lone Caps goal scorer against the Wild on Sunday. He potted his eleventh marker of the season which tied his single-season career-high that he had set with the Calgary Flames during the 2018-19 season. The rugged forward is tied for fifth on the team in goas.

Hathaway has played 1:20 of ice time on the team’s penalty kill so it’s likely the extra burden will land on forwards like Larsson and even Evgeny Kuznetsov as they support the more central killers like Tom Wilson, Nic Dowd, and Lars Eller.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB