The Washington Capitals are in Winnipeg as they kick off an important five-game road trip. Monday, the team took the ice at Canada Life Centre for their morning skate and was missing two key contributors from their group.
Neither veteran winger Tom Wilson nor starting goaltender Charlie Lindgren were on the ice hours before puck drop against the Winnipeg Jets. Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed in his post-skate media availability that both were absent for “maintenance days” and added that their status is still unknown for the night’s contest.
“Working through some lineup things on all fronts,” Carbery said Monday. “I can’t give you much lineup. It’ll be determined in the next few hours as it leads up to game time. I just don’t want to give you misinformation and then it to change at the last minute so we’re just going to hold off on the lineup. We’re working through some things and we’ll find out tonight at 6:30.”
Wilson skated 17:28 of ice time against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night and scored his 15th goal of the season on a power play during the first period. Lindgren made his fifth start in a row against Chicago, making 31 stops in the 4-1 victory.
The Capitals would be in a predicament if neither player was able to dress for the game against the Jets as the Caps are carrying just 12 active forwards on their roster and recently sent third-string goaltender Hunter Shepard back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The team may need to play down a forward if Wilson cannot go and with Winnipeg’s emergency backup goaltender on their bench if Lindgren cannot go.
Monday matchup ahead#ALLCAPS | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/LyM2gTkr7h
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 11, 2024
TJ Oshie, Nic Dowd, and Martin Fehervary, all on injured reserve, are on the trip but have just one practice under their belts without donning non-contact jerseys. The Capitals have yet to remove any of them from IR and they won’t be able to play in a game until that process takes place.
Carbery seemed confident on Saturday that the team would be able to manage the next few weeks despite the current state of the roster.
“It is a little bit we’re walking a tightrope right now because [if] someone shows up to the rink sick today we’re potentially playing one short with Hershey in Charlotte right now,” Carbery said then. “But we’re fairly confident that we’re right there with those three guys. It’ll insulate us there and we’ve gotta be careful with the recall rule as we’ve had two already. I think we’re in a good spot heading into tomorrow and onto the road.”
The game against Winnipeg is the first of five out on the road against Western Conference opposition. With a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games, the Capitals have reentered the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference and need to have a good showing on this trip to stay in that conversation.
As things currently stand, the Capitals are five points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division with three games in hand. They are also just three points out of the last wild card spot, currently held by the New York Islanders.
Tonight’s game marks the Capitals’ first game against the Jets this season.
