No, Evgeny Kuznetsov won’t be in the lineup – yet – but another new Cap will be, as Jaroslav Halak makes his debut for the Caps as they play host to the Coyotes. Meanwhile Casey Wellman has been called up and could be in the lineup either in place of Ryan Stoa or Brooks Laich, who is a game-time decision.
So as has become a trend, all bets are off on tonight’s lineup – but here’s what we think the lines and defensive pairs could look like:
Marcus Johansson – Nicklas Backstrom – Alex Ovechkin
Dustin Penner – Jay Beagle – Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera – Eric Fehr – Joel Ward
Chris Brown – Casey Wellman – Tom Wilson
That possibly puts Ryan Stoa out as healthy scrach, Laich potentially out with injury, John Erskine, Mikhail Grabovski and Aaron Volpatti definitely out with injuries, and Braden Holtby backing up Halak.