ARLINGTON, VA — The Capitals appear set to make some changes in a must-win Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes, with Lars Eller looking likely to come out of the lineup.
Though the team did not run line rushes during their optional morning skate on Thursday, head coach Spencer Carbery had Connor McMichael center the third line during practice on Wednesday, while Eller stayed out for work with the team’s extra skaters.
Carbery was characteristically cryptic on Thursday morning when asked if those changes would carry over to Game 5. “You’ll find out tonight,” he said.
Assuming Eller sits on Thursday night, he will be a healthy scratch for the first time since reuniting with the Capitals via trade in November. He missed just four games in the regular season, finishing the year with 15 points (6g, 9a) in 63 games for Washington. With 112 NHL playoff games under his belt, Eller has the third-most postseason experience of any active player on the team, behind only Alex Ovechkin (160) and John Carlson (136).
Eller has seen his ice time decrease during the Capitals-Hurricanes series, playing under 12 minutes in every game of the series and less than 10 minutes in Games 2 and 4. Playing with Andrew Mangiapane and one of Ryan Leonard and Taylor Raddysh, Eller’s line has struggled against Carolina. The Mangiapane-Eller-Leonard/Raddysh trio has been out-attempted 46-19, outshot 20-10, and out-chanced 23-9 by the Hurricanes at five-on-five, with an 8-4 disadvantage in high-danger chances.
Carbery noted that the choice to sit Eller wasn’t a simple one, though he didn’t assign it more weight than other lineup decisions.
“It’s no different for Dylan McIlrath not playing, Ethen Frank — there’s lots of guys in and out of the lineup this time of year,” he said. “Those decisions are never easy, but also ones that we don’t take lightly. We try to do what’s best for the team every single time we make those decisions.”
The Capitals will look to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Thursday night, with puck drop set for 7 pm.
