The Washington Capitals will be looking to bounce back against one of the hottest teams in the NHL on Tuesday night. After a very poor showing in a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, the Caps will be looking to get back in the win column on the road against a Minnesota Wild team that has won four games in a row.
With the bad loss to the Jets will come a couple of lineup changes for the Capitals. Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed that Sonny Milano will be back in action against the Wild and Charlie Lindgren will make his first start since returning from an upper-body injury.
“We will have a few [changes],” Carbery said Tuesday morning. “Sonny will go back in. Chuckie Lindgren will start in net for us.”
Milano was a healthy scratch against the Jets, allowing rookie winger Bogdan Trineyev to make his NHL debut on the Capitals’ fourth line. Milano has been sparsely used by Carbery in December, averaging just 8:08 of ice time in the four games he has played.
In 19 total games this season, the 29-year-old winger has recorded six points (4g, 2a) and averaged 9:14 of ice time per game. Milano has never scored against the Wild in his career, notching just one assist against them in nine games.
Trineyev will head back to the press box along with reserve defensemen Dylan McIlrath and Declan Chisholm. The 23-year-old Russian skated 11:45 of ice time in his debut against the Jets, recording one shot attempt and one shot block.
Lindgren will return to the Capitals’ net for the first time since he made 23 saves in a 7-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on December 3. The 31-year-old netminder was removed from injured reserve on Saturday and served as Logan Thompson’s backup in Winnipeg.
In five career appearances against the Wild, Lindgren, a Lakeville, Minnesota native, is 0-4-1 with a 3.26 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. Overall this season, Lindgren is 5-3-1 with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .893 save percentage, and one shutout.
The red-hot Wild will have star defenseman Quinn Hughes in their lineup for the second time after acquiring him from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade last week. In his Wild debut, Hughes scored a goal in the team’s 6-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
