The Washington Capitals’ lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken will be up in the air until just before puck drop. Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed after the team’s morning skate that both captain Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson will be “true game-time decisions.”
Ovechkin has been banged up for almost a full week now after clanging legs with Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal. The Great Eight has missed three practices and was a game-time decision against the Los Angeles Kings due to his ailment.
He played 17:29 of ice time against LA and extended his point streak to five games with a primary assist on Dylan Strome’s goal. Ovechkin is yet to miss a game this season.
“He will be again a true game-time decision,” Carbery said. “We’ll see how warmup and how the day unfolds but we’ll obviously have some decisions to make later today.”
Ovechkin did take the morning skate and participated in the main portion of drills that the team ran. He had several conversations with head athletic trainer Jason Serbus and Carbery, leaving the ice and returning to the ice three or four times.
RMNB’s Katie Adler caught a photo of Ovechkin preparing a new set of skates, blowtorch and all, in the Capitals’ locker room. When directly asked if he was playing tonight, Ovechkin jokingly replied, “I don’t know, ask Carbs.”
While Ovechkin is still an uncertainty, TJ Oshie is not. Oshie will be back in action for the Capitals after not getting into a game for almost a full month. After an 11-game absence beginning December 17 that also included a trip up to Minnesota for treatment on his ailment, Oshie will return against the Kraken.
Carbery had Oshie skating with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Max Pacioretty on the team’s second line at Wednesday’s practice. The 37-year-old veteran admitted that it was, “nice to be back,” after dealing with multiple long-term injuries again this season. Oshie has already missed a total of 17 games.
Back with the fellas#ALLCAPS | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/jp2rjTyMEB
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 11, 2024
Rasmus Sandin remains out on the backend while Alex Alexeyev and Matthew Phillips got in extra work after the skate, signaling that Hendrix Lapierre will be the chosen forward to go in if one of Ovechkin/Wilson can not dress. Sonny Milano is also still in a non-contact jersey.
Darcy Kuemper was the last netminder off the ice so he’ll get another start even with Charlie Lindgren back and healthy enough to play backup. Kuemper has made three starts in 2024 so far and has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.69 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.
Seattle comes into the matchup as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They’ve won seven games in a row and their two losses in their last 10 games have both come after regulation. The Capitals will need to halt that hot streak to keep pace in a hotly-contest Eastern Conference playoff race.
Consistent standings points are important as 4th place in the conference and 12th place in the conference are separated by just five points. By sheer points percentage, the Capitals currently sit eighth.
