The Washington Capitals will be down a few defenders when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Halloween. Neither Matt Roy nor Jakob Chychrun will dress, which has forced head coach Spencer Carbery to shift around his normal pairings.
Alex Alexeyev will be deployed for the first time this season after being a healthy scratch for the first eight games. Alexeyev missed Wednesday’s practice for the birth of his first child and will play on the team’s third pairing against Montreal.
The 24-year-old Russian blueliner will be paired with Trevor van Riemsdyk, although Carbery mentioned things may move around during the game.
Lines
Alexeyev played in 39 games last year, his single-season career high, and got a jersey in all four of the club’s playoff games against the New York Rangers. However, he hasn’t been able to crack this year’s lineup after Washington significantly added to its defense corps this summer.
“[We] just [need him] to come in and give us solid, reliable minutes,” Carbery said Thursday. “I mean, it’s his first game of the year. He’s been sitting for a while waiting for this opportunity. So, hopefully, can come in here, doesn’t have to do anything outside of just giving us good solid, reliable minutes. And that comes with breaking pucks out well, defending well, doing a good job with his decisions and reads defensively.”
Alexeyev has often had to endure long stints out of the lineup during his NHL career, which now spans parts of four seasons. Carbery believes the young rearguard has something intrinsic about him that allows him to jump into high-pressure situations without much of a warm-up.
“I would actually say it’s part of his mental makeup,” Carbery said. “When he comes into the lineup – he has a very clear understanding of what is impressive to us as coaches and to our management is getting out of games clean, breaking pucks out well, defending well, not getting beat in any one-on-one situation, be good with your regroup touches, your O-zone blue line touches, and get out of that hockey game.
“And he, sitting for a while, sitting for a while, doesn’t come in trying to save the world. He comes in and goes, I know exactly what I need to do for 16 to 18 minutes tonight.”
Martin Fehervary, coming off a team-leading 26:18 of ice time against the Rangers, will be paired with John Carlson in Chychrun’s spot on the top pairing. Rasmus Sandin, who played 24:45 against New York, has been moved up to skate with Dylan McIlrath on the second pairing.
Home for Hockey Halloween tonight#ALLCAPS | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/BjzTTVMm0O
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 31, 2024
Carbery is going with the same group of 12 forwards that put together a dominant display in their last outing against the Rangers. Mike Sgarbossa sticks as the third-line center, with Hendrix Lapierre sitting out healthy for a second straight game.
Sgarbossa played 8:33 in his season debut, and his line was the only one that struggled to get a foothold in the game. The unit, also featuring Jakub Vrana and Andrew Mangiapane, was out-attempted 10-4, and the Capitals recorded just one high-danger chance during their shifts compared to New York’s two.
Charlie Lindgren was the first goaltender off the ice at Thursday’s morning skate, so he’ll return to the starter’s cage against Montreal after his last appearance ended in a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Lindgren is 2-2 this season with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage.
The Canadiens are 4-5-1 to start the 2024-25 campaign and lost their last game 8-2 against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. They’ve given up four or more goals in six of their 10 games.
