Per Alex Prewitt, the Caps are back in action after the break with the same – albeit rested and perhaps a bit more tan – lineup that stumbled into the break, with All-Star Alex Ovechkin and friends ready to take on the Blue Jackets. Braden Holtby will be between the pipes as the Caps play the first of back-to-back games, with these lines and defensive pairings in front of him:
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Andre Burakovsky
Marcus Johansson – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Troy Brouwer
Brooks Laich – Eric Fehr – Joel Ward
Jason Chimera – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson
That leaves Justin Peters backing up Holtby, Michael Latta and newly recalled Cameron Schilling as healthy scratches, and Dmitry Orlov, John Erskine and Aaron Volpatti still on the IR.