The Great Eight is ready for some game action.
Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery announced that the first practice group from Wednesday’s Training Camp session would be the team’s game group for Thursday’s matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. That means that Caps captain Alex Ovechkin will take the ice for his preseason debut.
Other veterans that will join Ovechkin on the ice include Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, Nic Dowd, TJ Oshie, John Carlson, and Charlie Lindgren.
Here is how that full group looked as they did drills on Wednesday:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Miroshnichenko
McMichael-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Snively-Dowd-Oshie
Cristall-Sgarbossa-Dube/Suzdalev
Sandin-Carlson
Haman Aktell-Alexeyev
Johansen-Iorio
Leivermann-Day
Lindgren
Shepard
Gibson
Ovi and the other vets will get into their first preseason game earlier than they normally do due to some scheduling quirks that Carbery and staff are trying to work around.
“I think with the timing, how long it’s been since we started camp, it’s getting to that time,” Carbery said. “You have to think about it as well that we go for three in a row on the road after this game. We felt like it was important to get some of our veterans guys in at home.”
Carbery also expressed his desire along with assistant coach Kirk Muller to see the full first power play unit get on the ice together in a game situation. Wednesday marked the first Training Camp practice where the man advantage was actively worked on.
“Being able to see that early and Kirk working with them and integrating some different things,” Carbery said. “It’s really base level right now. There were some building blocks put in today and hopefully we see a few of those things on display tomorrow night.”
Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Oshie, and Carlson took up their typical spots on the power play. The second unit will feature Ivan Miroshnichenko, Connor McMichael, Tom Wilson, Andrew Cristall, and Rasmus Sandin.
Outside of the more veteran names getting into the lineup, Thursday will see the preseason debut for three top forward prospects. The team’s 2022 first-round pick Miroshnichenko has received the top line assignment, their 2019 first-round pick McMichael will get top-six minutes, and their 2023 second-round pick Cristall will touch pro ice for the first time in his career.
“We ultimately want to give him a good opportunity to play with some veteran players that could help him through a game, that are very, very intelligent, have been through this thousands of times, and set him up for success,” Carbery said of Miroshnichenko. “We’re trying to make him feel as comfortable as possible and hopefully he can show what he’s capable of doing.”
The rookie bench boss echoed some of those thoughts for Cristall. “I think he’s had a really good camp,” Carbery said. “When he’s out on the ice, things happen. When he’s around the puck, good things happen. He’s constantly a scoring chance. I’ve just found that he’s constantly caught our eye. I’m looking forward to see tomorrow night what he’s able to do against established pros. He’s so smart. He’s so crafty. To see some of that on display would be great for him.”
All four defensemen that are competing for spots in the Opening Night lineup will also dress against Detroit. Hardy Haman Aktell, Alex Alexeyev, Lucas Johansen, and Vincent Iorio’s battle intensified after Joel Edmundson was announced to be out long-term due to fracturing his hand.
Alexeyev, Iorio, and Johansen all have already played this preseason while Haman Aktell will be making his Caps debut.
“What I think is the most important thing for anyone of those guys to get in the opening night lineup is the reliability,” Carbery said. “You got to be reliable in all situations.”
Carbery additionally confirmed that Lindgren will get the full 60 minutes in net against Detroit. Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson split the team’s first game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
