Wednesday Caps Clips: Putting the Dead in Deadline

Your savory breakfast links:

• Recaps and other assorted musings on last night’s loss from us, Vogs, Caps video (Laviolette, locker room, recap), NHL, AP, WaPo, NBCSW, Detroit Free Press, WHN, NoVa Caps, RMNB, and WiiM.
• With Nic Dowd drawing back into the lineup, Aliaksei Protas was headed back to Hershey... [Caps]
• But of course, since one player returned to health, another had to be sacrificed to the injury gods.

• Don’t expect Protas to make a U-turn on Route 83, though...because the captain is on his way.

• It was a better effort than Saturday (low bar) but the same result. [NBCSW]
• Great to see Jakub Vrana back in an NHL uniform - and to let the fans welcome him back to DC for the first time since his trade.

• This week will go a long way toward shaping Brian MacLellan’s plans ahead of next Friday’s deadline. Although he, uh, may not need the whole week. [Athletic ($)]
• Interesting to learn that some of those plans could involve Dmitry Orlov, as it’s rumored that contract discussions with the blueliner may not be going well. [TSN]
• We’ve said it and others agree - sell, sell, SELL! [S&S]
• Breaking down every one of the 101 (!!) line combinations used this year (Ed. Note: as a fan of puns, headline wordplay, and Disney...this one is pretty great). [NoVa Caps]
• Maybe they’ll find a friendly trade partner down in Tampa. [THW]
• NHL players and execs have voted on who they think are the top 10 wingers - right and left - in the NHL right now. [ESPN+]
• Get a sneak peek at what goes on behind the scenes to help acclimate a newly traded player and his family. [NHL]
• Unpacking some stats from a stacked Eastern Conference race. [THN]
• Finally, happy 48th birthday to Patrick Boileau, happy 70th to Al Hangsleben, happy 52nd to Jason Marshall, happy 58th to Joe Reekie, and happy 26th to Ilya Samsonov!