The Washington Capitals look primed to get alternate captain Tom Wilson back in their lineup on Wednesday night.
Wilson, who has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury, was a full participant in the team’s morning skate in Vancouver and told reporters that he’s hopeful to dress against the Canucks. The veteran winger is still the Capitals’ leading scorer with 42 points (22g, 20a) in 41 games.
“I’m getting ready to go,” Wilson said pregame. “My mentality is that I’m going to try and play. I haven’t talked to the training staff. We just wanted to attack this day and see how it felt. Got some stuff to discuss, but I don’t know 100 percent what the plan is, but I’m feeling a little better, so hopefully I’m close.”
While Wilson may want to make his return, the Caps will need to make a couple of moves before that’s possible. First, the club will need to send Ivan Miroshnichenko back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears and then activate Wilson from injured reserve. As of now, neither move has been made.
Head coach Spencer Carbery wasn’t willing to commit either way to Wilson playing. “I will find that out,” Carbery said. “Yeah, you’ll find out tonight.”
Wilson has not played since being injured by a counter hit from Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy on January 3. The Capitals have gone 3-5 without Wilson in their lineup and have not scored more than three goals in their last five games.
The 31-year-old winger has been a full participant in practice for a whole week. Before the injury, Wilson had recorded eight points (5g, 3a) in his last three games. He was unable to get another practice in on Tuesday, as the Capitals were forced to cancel their skate in Vancouver due to plane issues in Denver.
Outside of Wilson’s potential return, the Capitals will see Logan Thompson retake the starter’s net from Charlie Lindgren. Thompson has lost his past two starts and is 2-4-1 overall in January with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
The Canucks represent the Capitals’ best chance to turn things around after losing their last three, as Vancouver is the NHL’s last-place team and has lost eleven games in a row. In their last outing, they fell 4-3 to the New York Islanders despite holding two separate leads in the game.
Update (4:45 pm): The Capitals activated Tom Wilson and returned Ivan Miroshnichenko to the AHL.
