Current Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz has not changed his forward lines at morning skate before Game Five. After a disastrous outing in Game Four, the top line remains Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Devante-Smith Pelly.
Per our beloved special boy on the street Chris Gordon, here’s how the Caps lined up at Kettler today:
Ovechkin -Kuznetsov – Smith-Pelly
Stephenson – Backstrom – Oshie
Connolly – Eller – Vrana
Gersich – Beagle – Chiasson
Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Djoos
Holtby
Tom Wilson’s three-game suspension forced current Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz to change the top line for Game Four. On Thursday Alex Ovechkin had only one shot attempt during 5-on-5 play, a miss from center ice. His line got dominated, with the Pens out-attempting the Caps 21 to 6 and outscoring them 1 to 0, roughly the margin of defeat.
Current Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz’s position on the line’s performance has evolved since Thursday. “We’re going through the tape right now,” Trotz said after Game Four. After that analysis, Trotz said the top line “will have to get it together quickly,” which might suggest that current Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz is not committed to this trio should they stumble early in the game.
We’ll have more from Kettler later.
