Jakub Vrana will be back in action against the Dallas Stars on Monday night and suit up for the Washington Capitals for the first time in 10 games. The 28-year-old winger last played on November 21 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Vrana’s return to the fray means Hendrix Lapierre will head up to the press box for the first game of Washington’s two-game road trip. Head coach Spencer Carbery announced the change during his pregame media availability.
“[Vrana will] come in the lineup tonight,” Carbery said. “Lappy will come out.”
Projected lineup against Dallas
In 16 games this season, Vrana has recorded seven points (4g, 3a). The Capitals have struggled mightily with the Czech forward on the ice at five-on-five this season, seeing just 45.3 percent of the shot attempts and 39.3 percent of the expected goals during his minutes.
Washington went 8-1-1 in the 10 games Vrana sat out, making it tough for Carbery to mix him back into active duty. Lapierre played just 7:30 of ice time against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and was a minus-1 in the 4-2 win.
“[Vrana] hasn’t played in a long time, so we were looking for opportunities to get him back into the lineup,” Carbery said. “We had been doing fairly well from team results. I don’t make that the be-all and end-all in decisions to keep the lineup the same, but I think some of it goes in. When you’re playing well as a team, you tend to, as coaches, keep the same lineup. Felt like, though, this time, Lappy needed a breather and to come out of the lineup, take a step back, and give V an opportunity to come in the lineup.”
The Stars come into Monday’s contest with an 18-11-0 record, which sees them sit third in the Central Division. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Dallas has a 12-2 record inside American Airlines Center this season. Washington has lost their last two visits to Dallas.
“[They’re] a really quality hockey team that’s sitting where they are,” Carbery said. “They’re really talented – go back through the years, including this year. On home ice, they’re as good as anybody in the league. One of their losses [came] over in Finland, so if you take that game out, they’ve got the best home record in the National Hockey League. Good test for us to come back on the road. We’ve played in a lot of these environments of late, if I even go back to the Florida/Tampa games, in New Jersey, in Toronto. Real difficult and significant challenge tonight.”
The Capitals have won a franchise record 10 road games in a row. Their last road loss was to the Carolina Hurricanes on November 3.
