The Washington Capitals are looking for their first win on a five-game road trip out west and will get another chance in Seattle against the Kraken on Thursday night.
Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed that he’s making a few changes to his lineup ahead of puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena.
Key forward Aliaksei Protas, who missed Wednesday night’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers due to a lower-body injury, will suit up after just one game on the shelf. Defenseman Alex Alexeyev will also jump back into the lineup after he sat out healthy in Edmonton due to Martin Fehervary’s return to action.
“We’ll probably use all of the fresh bodies we have to be able to get into the lineup,” Carbery said postgame on Wednesday.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Ethan Bear will come out to allow Protas and Alexeyev back in. If they are straight-up substitutions, here’s what the Capitals could look like against the Kraken.
Protas was dinged up against the Chicago Blackhawks last week after blocking a Connor Bedard shot. Alexeyev sat out in Edmonton after playing a season-high 16:54 of ice time against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.
The rookie bench boss also confirmed that Charlie Lindgren would get the second half of the back-to-back after Darcy Kuemper gave up all seven goals to the Oilers. Lindgren had started six games in a row until Kuemper took the reins on Wednesday.
The Capitals have yet to secure a victory in Seattle’s home building after losing their first two tries against the NHL’s newest franchise. The Kraken are in a similar spot to the Capitals in the standings with their .531 points percentage in 64 games compared to the Capitals’ .539 in 64 games.
