The Washington Capitals are set for action against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday evening as they attempt to snap a five-game losing streak and earn their first win in April. The team will honor defenseman John Carlson with a pregame ceremony celebrating his 1,000th career NHL game.
Charlie Lindgren was the first goaltender off of the ice at the team’s morning skate, so he’ll return to the starter’s net after a night off on Friday night; Darcy Kuemper was the goalie of record in that 4-2 losing effort to the Carolina Hurricanes. Kuemper put up a stronger showing than many of his recent performances and did all he could to keep the Capitals in the game until a late power-play strike from Sebastian Aho.
Amid a shooting gallery for Carolina, Kuemper stopped 41 of 44 shots, marking the most saves he’s made in a single game since joining the Capitals. The outing was just his fourth appearance since his last victory in net, a 6-3 win over the Senators on February 26.
Lindgren returns to the cage after a set of back-to-back games halted his run of six straight starts, necessitating Kuemper’s involvement. The 30-year-old netminder has had a rough start to April after a heroic March saw him go 9-4-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average, a 9.19 save percentage, and two shutouts. Lindgren has allowed a combined nine goals in his last two appearances.
Sunday evening will be his first start against the Senators this season during his Capitals tenure. He has not picked up a victory since March 15 against the Buffalo Sabres.
Outside of the change in net, the Capitals won’t be subbing in any of their recent healthy scratches. Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Vincent Iorio stuck around after the morning practice to get in some extra work, as they’ll be sitting out again. TJ Oshie, who will miss his third straight game due to injury, joined them.
With the Detroit Red Wings beating the Sabres earlier on Sunday, the Capitals need to win to keep pace in the race for the second wild-card playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Two points would tie them with Detroit at 84 standings points and 77 games played.
The Philadelphia Flyers (83 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (83 points) will be idle on Sunday, so a win would also move the Capitals ahead of both Pennsylvania teams.
