The Washington Capitals will get a chance for immediate revenge on the Detroit Red Wings as the two teams finish off their home-and-home back-to-back against one another on Sunday.
After being a healthy scratch in the first game this weekend, Capitals forward Hendrix Lapierre will go back into the team’s lineup in Detroit. Sonny Milano, who played 9:21 of ice time in Saturday’s 5-2 loss, will sit out and head to the press box.
“Lappy will come in for Milano, and we’ll have a couple guys warming up,” head coach Spencer Carbery said pregame. “We’re just working through a couple things.”
Carbery did not elaborate on whether Lapierre will play center or on the wing as a one-for-one replacement for Milano. Connor McMichael finished Saturday’s game down the middle between Alex Ovechkin and Ivan Miroshnichenko, which Carbery hinted could be a line combination that sticks for Sunday afternoon.
If McMichael stays at center, he’ll join Justin Sourdif, Dylan Strome, and Nic Dowd down the middle, meaning Lapierre will likely get flexed out onto the wing. The 23-year-old former first-round pick has regularly played on the wing under Carbery the past few seasons.
Capitals forward lines to end 12/20 game against Red Wings
Ryan Leonard has not been activated from injured reserve ahead of the game, so he’ll miss his seventh game due to the shoulder injury he suffered against the Anaheim Ducks on December 3. The next game he could feature in comes back at Capital One Arena against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Charlie Lindgren will start for the Capitals after Logan Thompson took the loss on Saturday. Lindgren is 5-3 in his career against the Red Wings, with a 3.35 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.
The Capitals have not lost back-to-back games against the Red Wings in a single season since the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.
