The Washington Capitals made the trip down to Raleigh, North Carolina, after securing a 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins in Ryan Leonard’s NHL debut. The Caps will square off with the Carolina Hurricanes in the back half of a back-to-back on Wednesday night before returning home to DC.
Head coach Spencer Carbery spoke with the media a few hours before puck drop and revealed that Leonard would play in his second NHL game as the Capitals will ice the same 18 skaters that downed Boston. The only difference will be that they’ll defend a net guarded by Logan Thompson.
“We’ll actually go with the same lineup,” Carbery said. “Logan will start.”
Capitals lineup
Leonard staying in means Taylor Raddysh will sit out for a second straight game. Carbery and the rest of the team’s coaching staff discussed the pros and cons of keeping the rookie winger in action back-to-back days and ultimately decided it would be positive for him.
“He is [playing] – talked about it as a staff,” Carbery said. “Talked to him about it and feel like he’s good to go physically, mentally with what’s gone on over the last week. A good test for him as [the Hurricanes are as] difficult a team to play as there is in the National Hockey League on a back-to-back. So, good opportunity for him to take another step and then also experience what it’s like to play against this team in this environment.”
Leonard finished his debut with 14:13 of ice time and three hits. He played a big part in Dylan Strome’s third-period goal, which put the Capitals up 3-2 over halfway through the final frame.
Carbery’s announcement of no changes also means that Matt Roy will not play for a second straight game. The 30-year-old defender was not in Boston to play against the Bruins due to family reasons and was replaced by Dylan McIlrath, who will play again against the Canes.
Thompson starts after giving up more than five goals in a game (7) for the first time this season in an 8-5 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Sunday. Despite posting a solid 6-2-1 record, the 28-year-old backstop struggled through March, recording a 2.98 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage.
Carolina comes into the game winners of their last two and eight of their last 10. They sit 11 points behind the Capitals as the second-place team in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. The two teams have split their two previous games this year, with a combined 5-5 score.
