Jakub Vrana is set to make his return to the Washington Capitals’ lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. The 28-year-old winger has sat out the past two games as a healthy scratch in favor of Sonny Milano.
Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed after the team’s morning skate that Milano suffered an upper-body injury in the 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. While the Capitals did not run line rushes Friday morning, Vrana is the only other healthy forward available for selection after Mike Sgarbossa was returned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Thursday.
“Sonny sustained an injury last game, upper-body, and will be out for a bit,” Carbery said. “I don’t know a timeline. I shouldn’t say [a bit]. He’s out.”
Milano played a season-high 10:00 of ice time against the Predators. He took his final shift right before Alex Ovechkin struck for the game-winning goal with 9:35 left in regulation. There was no obvious sign of injury, but Nashville’s Jeremy Lauzon took an interference penalty against Milano in the first period, and Milano’s linemates, Andrew Mangiapane and Hendrix Lapierre, later took shifts without him in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Vrana will get back in after recording four points (2g, 2a) in his first nine games of the season. The Czech forward formed a great connection with Mangiapane and Lapierre, seeing 65.9 percent of the five-on-five expected goals when the three jumped over the boards.
Fueling up for Friday night#ALLCAPS | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/F1jb9CcSpL
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 8, 2024
Washington is set for a back-to-back with travel, starting at home against the Penguins on Friday and then on the road against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Carbery stated that he thinks the team will be making a forward recall from Hershey before making the trip.
“Yeah, we’re going to have to figure something out,” Carbery said.
Outside of Milano missing out, the only other confirmed lineup change from the team that beat Nashville will be Charlie Lindgren swapping in for Logan Thompson. Lindgren has taken all three of the Capitals’ losses this season, although he was stellar in his last start, stopping 41 shots against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Puck drop against the Penguins is set for 7:30 pm. Pittsburgh comes into the game just 2-6-2 in their last 10 outings and only one point above the Philadelphia Flyers for last in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals split their season set 2-2 with the Penguins last season, losing both games at Capital One Arena.
