Ivan Miroshnichenko will draw into his first game of the season for the Washington Capitals against the New Jersey Devils, Saturday night. Head coach Spencer Carbery is giving the 20-year-old winger the nod on his first line as the Caps continue to try and maintain winning ways without Alex Ovechkin for the next few weeks.
Miroshnichenko has 14 points (7g, 7a) in 16 games for the AHL’s Hershey Bears this season, which ranks second on the team. He played in his first 21 NHL games for the Capitals under Carbery last season, tallying six points (2g, 4a).
Miro’s first appearance this season will see Andrew Mangiapane move back to his regular spot on the third line. Jakub Vrana will be a healthy scratch, with Hendrix Lapierre sticking on the wing for a second game.
Projected lines against Devils
Carbery was frank about not liking what he saw from his top line against the Colorado Avalanche. Mangiapane got the first shot in Ovi’s spot, with Protas playing on the right, and the trio did not get on the scoresheet in the 2-1 loss.
“Wasn’t a huge fan of Strome’s line last game for whatever reason,” Carbery said. “Whether it’s a product of Pro and Stromer not playing to their standard or using [Mangiapane] on that line, so we’ll get a different look there. I haven’t liked Pro in the games that he plays on his off-side, so chalk that one up again playing the right side. Some of his touches over there — it’s just, I’d rather see him on the left side, so that’s what we’ll go back with.
“I think this is one for Stromer as he continues to progress in his career, grow into being a leader, a first-line centerman in this league that can be really, really productive. Part of that is production, but also part of that is making other players better. So, that is a good challenge for him to help Miro along on his line with Pro and help that threesome become a productive line for us tonight.”
Carbery also spoke on what he’d like to see from Miroshnichenko in his season debut. The second-year bench boss stressed again that he does not want Miroshnichenko to do anything outside his normal skillset.
“[I want to see] a lot of energy, tons of pace in his game with his skating, competitiveness on the puck, and go out and do his thing,” Carbery said. “I don’t want him to overthink it — just go out and play as hard as he possibly can, be good with the puck, and hopefully contribute the way we think he’s capable of.”
Lapierre will stay in the lineup for a second consecutive game after being a healthy scratch for four games earlier in the month. He recorded 9:33 of ice time against the Avalanche, playing on the wing for the first time this season.
“I thought Lappy had some pretty good sequences — a little bit off on his touches, but you could tell he’s just rusty and lacks a little bit of confidence when he gets the puck,” Carbery said. “He did some good things, got the scoring chance that gets blocked, but he got a good look in the slot, couple good delays off entries, so I think he deserves to play again. To put Mange and Lars [Eller], who should be able to do a real good job being reliable — we’ll give that line a look.”
Charlie Lindgren will get the nod in net, his 10th start of the season. Lindgren was the goaltender of record in Washington’s 6-2 victory over Utah HC on Monday, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced. The 30-year-old backstop has gone 5-4-0 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage this year.
New Jersey comes into Saturday night’s game after winning seven of their last ten games. After a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, they are one point ahead of the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division standings, though the Caps have three games in hand. Washington went 1-1-0 in two games against the Devils in October.
