The Washington Capitals are back out on the road for their fourth game of the preseason. The Caps will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 pm Tuesday night.
After cutting three prospects ahead of the game, the Capitals’ roster in Columbus will feature most of the remaining players on the bubble this fall, as well as the preseason debuts for a couple of key veterans.
Tom Wilson and John Carlson will see their first action of the preseason after sitting out the first three exhibition contests. Likely Bears forward Sheldon Rempal, one of the KHL’s leading scorers last season, will also get a jersey for the first time this fall.
Other Capitals regulars, including Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael, Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Roy, Logan Thompson, and Charlie Lindgren, are also set to dress. Thompson will get the full game in net with Lindgren as the backup.
Joining them will be a whole host of players battling for the very few open roster spots still available: Andrew Cristall, Hendrix Lapierre, Ethen Frank, Henrik Rybinski, Ilya Protas, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Bogdan Trineyev, Vincent Iorio, and Dylan McIlrath.
Alex Ovechkin will not be making the trip up with the Capitals despite now being a full participant in practices. Carbery said earlier in camp that he’d like to see Ovechkin play in two preseason games ahead of Opening Night against the Boston Bruins on October 8.
None of the game group has run line rushes as a full unit in recent days, so the Capitals’ exact lines in Columbus will remain a mystery until warmups.
Tuesday’s matchup will be televised on Monumental Sports Network. The Capitals are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents 13-5 through the first three games of the preseason.
