The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers play the first half of their home-and-home, back-to-back set of games on Saturday. The Capitals host the first matinee matchup at Capital One Arena before heading up to Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
With the early start, the Capitals did not hold a morning skate but head coach Spencer Carbery met with assembled media to give a few injury updates hours before puck drop. Per Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir, Carbery revealed that for the third consecutive game, Caps captain Alex Ovechkin will be a game-time decision. Ovechkin did not practice on Friday.
Carbery added that Tom Wilson will join Ovechkin as a game-time decision. After missing Thursday’s loss to the Seattle Kraken, Wilson did practice on Friday and was optimistic about his status for Saturday’s game.
Ovechkin has been listed as a game-time decision against both the Kraken and Los Angeles Kings in the past week after a collision with Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal on January 5. The Great Eight has taken warmups before both outings and ultimately played in both games, recording an assist in each.
On Thursday against Seattle, Ovechkin played the second-most minutes (16:40) of any Capitals forward. Carbery had him lined up on the first line with Dylan Strome and Max Pacioretty and the trio hit pay dirt with Pacioretty’s first goal in over a year.
Ovechkin has yet to miss a single game this season but Carbery called him “touch-and-go” after practice on Friday. He missed five games due to injury last year.
Wilson has been skating this past week with a full, bubble face shield after breaking his nose against the Kings. While the trauma involved with the initial injury and the nose-straightening process kept him out against Seattle, the big winger was more hopeful about playing on Saturday.
“Right now I feel really good,” Wilson said Friday. “We have to see, after the adrenaline from being out at practice and skating around [wears off], how I feel a little bit later today. I feel pretty good so hopefully I’ll be ready to rock tomorrow.”
Outside of his two wingers’ pregame statuses, Carbery also announced that Charlie Lindgren would be making his full return from injury and start against the Rangers. Lindgren has yet to play in the new year after departing a December 29 game against the Islanders with an upper-body injury.
Lindgren has played against the Rangers once already this season, making 31 saves and shutting them out 4-0 on December 9. The 29-year-old netminder has just two wins in his last eight starts.
The Rangers come into the action losers of two in a row but still firmly atop the Metropolitan Division with 54 points in 40 games. They are giving the first nod in net to veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick, saving Igor Shesterkin for the home half of the back-to-back.
