The Washington Capitals will see a familiar face return to their preseason lineup for the first time in two weeks on Saturday night.
Nic Dowd played in the team’s first exhibition game of the year on September 21 but departed training camp soon after for personal/family reasons. He returned to the ice for the first time earlier this week, participating in an individual session with skills coach Kenny McCudden on Monday.
“Nice to get back to work and excited to get back in the swing of things,” Dowd said Saturday morning. “We’ll work some things out tonight, I’m sure. I haven’t (not) played a game in two weeks at any point throughout the season, whether or not it’s game six of exhibition or game 60 of the regular season. You take two weeks off, you’re going to have to be smart about how you play and manage your shifts, but that’s what exhibition is for. It’s always the goal to go out there and have a great game, put your best effort forward, and move that into the regular season.”
Dowd played 14:16 of ice time in Boston earlier this fall, recording one hit and one shot block in the 5-2 victory. He played on a line with Brandon Duhaime and Ethen Frank, and will stick with Duhaime again on Saturday, but Frank will swap out for Justin Sourdif to complete the fourth-line trio.
Sourdif is entering his first season with the Capitals after being traded to DC by the Florida Panthers over the summer. The 23-year-old winger is projected to fully graduate to the NHL this year after playing just four games in the league for the Panthers over the past two seasons.
“I’ve only been able to play with him two or three times now in practice, but he’s got a lot of speed, smart kid,” Dowd said. “I think he’s smart defensively, wants to make the right plays, so it’ll be good. This is our first game together, so it’ll be nice to try and develop a little chemistry.”
Dowd, headed into his eighth year with the Capitals, set new career highs in points (27) and goals (14) last season. The Alabama native signed a two-year, $6 million contract extension with the club last April.
With Dowd’s return, the Capitals will face the Columbus Blue Jackets in their preseason finale and feature a lineup that will largely remain the same when the regular season begins. However, head coach Spencer Carbery did indicate that an unnamed forward will be a game-time decision, so Sonny Milano skated with the game group as an extra for precautionary reasons.
Logan Thompson, taking more of the number-one starter role this year, will play the entire game against the Blue Jackets. He has made two other appearances in the preseason, stopping 50 of 55 shots against.
