The Washington Capitals will play Utah HC for the first-ever time on Monday night. Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed that a few of his players may be banged up at the end of their three-game road trip and need to get through warmups before being officially in the lineup.
Charlie Lindgren getting the start in net is the only official change that Carbery confirmed. Logan Thompson made 40 saves against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night.
“Just goaltender, and then we’ve got a couple things through warmup that we’ll work through,” Carbery said pregame.
Brandon Duhaime is likely one of the game-time decisions, just as he was against Vegas. The 27-year-old winger was forced out of Friday’s win over the Colorado Avalanche after blocking a shot with his left skate.
Duhaime skated 14:37 against the Golden Knights, but according to the game’s shift chart, he missed one shift that his linemates, Nic Dowd and Taylor Raddysh, took near the end of regulation.
The same can be said for Dylan Strome, as his linemates, Alex Ovechkin and Aliaksei Protas, took two shifts without him after Vegas pulled netminder Ilya Samsonov on Sunday night. Strome skated 14:42 of ice time, the least he has skated in any of his 17 games this season. He still managed to record two assists in the win.
Lindgren won his last start, stopping 17 shots against the Avalanche. The 30-year-old backstop is 4-4-0 this year with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. Per MoneyPuck, he has allowed 3.5 more goals than expected in his eight starts.
Utah HC is fifth in the NHL’s Central Division with their 7-7-3 record. The club has been uneven in November, posting a 2-3-1 record through six games. They lost their last game 4-2 to the Golden Knights on Friday.
Update (8:48 pm): Lindgren starting is the only change to the team’s lineup from the win against Vegas.
Lineys! #CapsUtah | @JackDaniels_US pic.twitter.com/fNLRZHDPnY
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 19, 2024
