The Washington Capitals are up in Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs for the second time in a little over a week, Thursday night. The Capitals, who are riding a three-game winning streak, are seeking revenge against the Leafs for handing them a 7-3 loss on home ice in their last matchup.
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Per The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson, head coach Spencer Carbery says the team is “working through” their forward lineup before puck drop at Scotiabank Arena. Sonny Milano is the lone known question mark heading into the outing as he missed the team’s overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.
Milano suffered an upper-body injury in Sunday afternoon’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. He was one of three players to get in some extra work on Wednesday despite Carbery giving the team the day off before their flight to Toronto.
The Capitals recalled forward Matthew Phillips and defenseman Vincent Iorio from the Hershey Bears to join them on their short trip. Ethan Bear entered NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program and will be unavailable indefinitely, necessitating Iorio’s recall.
Johnson adds that the two recalls were the last players on the ice for the morning skate, meaning they will likely be healthy-scratched. She also reports that it appears that Mike Sgarbossa will be in against the Leafs.
If Milano cannot play, the Capitals will likely ice the same exact lineup as they did against the Red Wings.
Carbery did make one in-game adjustment against Detroit, benching Nicolas Aube-Kubel after a poor defensive play led to a goal. Aliaksei Protas replaced him on the team’s checking line with Nic Dowd and Beck Malenstyn.
Charlie Lindgren will get his third straight start. Toronto scored all seven of their goals in their recent win over the Capitals against Lindgren. The 30-year-old backstop is 9-3 in March with a 2.28 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and two shutouts.
The Maple Leafs have lost two in a row coming into Thursday night. In their last loss, the New Jersey Devils put a touchdown on them in a 6-3 decision. Auston Matthews scored his 59th goal of the season in the loss but could be unavailable against the Capitals due to an illness.
