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Brenden Dillon will skate with John Carlson on the top pair during his Capitals’ debut

The Washington Capitals’ newest acquisition, Brenden Dillon, participated in his first practice with the team, Thursday morning.

Dillon, who joined the Capitals from the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, was matched on the first pairing with John Carlson. The 29-year-old pivot will make his Capitals debut tonight against the Montreal Canadiens.

Jonas Siegenthaler was the odd D-man out.

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By Donya Abramo and Ian Oland 4 hours ago

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Evgeny Kuznetsov to miss third-straight game, will not play against Vegas Golden Knights

Evgeny Kuznetsov fully practiced with his Capitals teammates on Sunday, but he will not play Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights, per head coach Todd Reirden.

It will be Kuzy’s third-straight game missed due to an upper-body injury.

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By Ian Oland 4 days ago

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Radko Gudas to sit against Islanders as Todd Reirden continues experimenting with different defense pairings

After watching his team absorb a 7-2 shellacking from the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, Todd Reirden is making some changes to the Capitals lineup – albeit they are subtle.

Radko Gudas, who has played all 55 games this season, will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his Capitals career. The benching allows rookie Martin Fehervary to continue his audition before the trade deadline while Reirden can continue experimenting with the defense pairings. Three different defensemen (Jonas Siegenthaler, Nick Jensen, and now Gudas) have sat in the last three different games to accommodate Marty in the lineup.

Fehervary scored his first NHL point on Saturday, a secondary assist on an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal.

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By Ian Oland 1 week ago

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TJ Oshie remains on first line after spurring Alex Ovechkin to hat trick

The Washington Capitals will keep their flipped lines together from the third period of Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Capitals head coach Todd Reirden threw TJ Oshie on the first line and bumped Tom Wilson down to the second. It paid immediate dividends. After failing to register a shot through the game’s first two periods, Alex Ovechkin scored on the first one he had, a brilliant pass from Oshie in the corner. Ovi would add two more in the next 4:34 to score the first natural hat trick of his career.

Reirden kept the lines together this week during practice and this morning made a change to the defensive pairings.

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By Ian Oland 2 weeks ago

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Here are the Capitals’ lines against Montreal with Alex Ovechkin out due to suspension

The Washington Capitals will play the Montreal Canadiens north of the border tonight. It’ll be the Capitals’ first game since their bye week began eight days ago.

Alex Ovechkin will not suit up against the Canadiens and serve a one-game suspension due to skipping the 2020 All-Star Game. Ovechkin opted instead to play against division-rival, New York Islanders, two Saturdays ago and scored a hat trick in the game.

According to the Washington Post’s Samantha Pell, Richard Panik will replace Ovechkin on the first line while Travis Boyd will slide into third line duty. Reirden will keep his second and fourth lines together.

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By Ian Oland 3 weeks ago

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Jakub Vrana promoted to first powerplay unit, replacing Evgeny Kuznetsov

Jakub Vrana is getting a special teams promotion that may take his numbers into the next stratosphere.

Vrana, who has 19 goals this season – all at even strength, replaced Evgeny Kuznetsov on the Capitals’ first powerplay unit Friday during practice.

NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti posted the details.

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By Ian Oland 1 month ago

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Nicklas Backstrom will miss tonight’s game against the San Jose Sharks

Nicklas Backstrom will miss his sixth straight game with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Tuesday, during the morning skate, Backstrom was an extra forward indicating he would not get a jersey tonight.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Nicklas Backstrom misses practice with upper-body injury

Nicklas Backstrom missed practice on Friday at MedStar Capitals Iceplex and will not play in Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

The star center remains out two days after missing his first game of the season Wednesday with an upper-body injury.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Here are the Capitals expected lines against the Rangers potentially without four of their regular forwards

The Washington Capitals will be on national television Wednesday as they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Capitals lineup will look mighty different.

The Capitals announced in the morning that they will be without first-line center Nicklas Backstrom, third-line forward Carl Hagelin, and fourth-line center Nic Dowd due to injury. The Capitals may also be without third-line forward Garnet Hathaway who had a phone hearing with the NHL for his spitting incident Monday.

Here’s how the Capitals lined-up this morning during the team’s morning skate.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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