Here's everything to know as the Capitals take on the Canadiens on Tuesday in their first game back after the All-Star Break.
WASHINGTON — The real work starts Tuesday for the Washington Capitals, who are officially back from the All-Star Break and have a lot of ground to gain as they look to start the climb back up the standings against the Montreal Canadiens.
Here is everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals lineup will look different on Tuesday, as the team is without center Evgeny Kuznetsov indefinitely following his entry into the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
Michael Sgarbossa has been recalled to help fill the void up front and will take his place as the third-line pivot between Anthony Mantha and Aliaksei Protas.
Meanwhile, on the blue line, Ethan Bear will be the odd man out again, while Alex Alexeyev will also remain a scratch as things get a slight shakeup.
Charlie Lindgren gets the start as Washington looks for strong goaltending to help lead a successful second half.
Here are the projected line combinations against Montreal:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty-Connor McMichael-T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas-Michael Sgarbossa-Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- Sonny Milano will miss his 23rd consecutive game with an upper-body injury but did practice in a regular jersey and was cleared for contact for the first time in nearly two months.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov is out indefinitely as he enters the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
- Nicklas Backstrom remains away from the game indefinitely due to his hip not responding to the hip resurfacing surgery he had in June 2022.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin scored his ninth goal of the season in the team's final game before break against the Dallas Stars and hopes to keep the ball rolling.
- Dylan Strome, who is tied with Ovechkin for the team lead in points, has three goals in his last two games.
- Anthony Mantha has three goals and four points in his last three outings.
How To Watch Capitals vs. Canadiens
The game will be live on Monumental Sports Network and can be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can also tune in on Caps Radio 24/7 and 106.7 FM The Fan.