The Washington Capitals are set to square off with the Arizona Coyotes in a Sunday matinee matchup after coming up with a big win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. The Capitals may have to take the ice against the Coyotes without one of their top defensemen as head coach Spencer Carbery revealed that Rasmus Sandin will be a “true game-time decision.”
Carbery said that Sandin was “nicked up” in the win over Philadelphia during his post-practice media availability on Saturday. The Swedish defender did participate in the optional skate which could be a good sign for the decision to be made on Sunday.
Sandin skated 17:49 of ice time against the Flyers and recorded the secondary assist on John Carlson’s wraparound goal in the second period. The left-shot blueliner has 13 points (3g, 10a) in his last 20 games. He skates on average the second-most minutes per game (21:20) of any Capitals player this season.
If Sandin cannot go, Ethan Bear will jump back into the lineup after he sat out healthy on Friday. Trevor van Riemsdyk will then likely flip over to the left side of the defense so that Bear can play on his natural right side.
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In more positive news, Beck Malenstyn is expected to play after he missed out on Saturday due to an illness. Malenstyn skated 13:05 of ice time against the Flyers and has two points (1g, 1a) in his last three games.
Carbery also announced that Charlie Lindgren will get another start in goal. Lindgren stopped 21 of 23 shots he faced against Philadelphia, shutting them out over the last two periods. This will be his third straight start.
The Coyotes will come into the action with just one win in their last 15 games. They picked up that win over the Ottawa Senators on Friday after not winning a single game in the entire month of February.
