Here's everything to know as the Capitals take on the Kraken.
The Washington Capitals have struggled greatly to kick off their biggest test of the season, but they'll have a new look as they desperately look to turn things around against the Seattle Kraken.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena at 10 p.m. D.C. sits three points out of a Wild Card spot and seven points out of third in the Metropolitan Division, with games in hand.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals will make quite a few tweaks, as Aliaksei Protas draws back in after missing Wednesday due to a lower-body injury and Alex Alexeyev draws back into the mix. Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Ethan Bear will come out of the lineup.
Charlie Lindgren will start after Darcy Kuemper got the nod last night, marking his seventh start in eight games.
Mike Sgarbossa will also sit out.
Here are the lines:
Alex Ovechkin-Connor McMichael-T.J. Oshie
Ivan Miroshnichenko-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty-Connor McMichael-Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Aliaksei Protas
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- Nicklas Backstrom remains on indefinite leave due to his hip not responding as he'd hoped following hip resurfacing surgery.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin has points in six of the last seven outings and is two goals away from tying Brendan Shanahan, Jaromir Jagr and Dave Andreychuk for the most 20-goal seasons in NHL history.
- Ivan Miroshnichenko has two goals in his last four games.
- Sonny Milano has goals in five of the last seven games and eight points in nine games since returning from an upper-body injury that held him out for over two months.
- Dylan Strome has eight points in his last six games.
- Hendrix Lapierre has six points in nine games since his latest call-up and is among the NHL's rookie leaders in scoring since returning to the NHL on Feb. 26.
- The Capitals have power-play goals in eight of the last nine outings overall.
How To Watch Capitals vs. Kraken
The game will be live on Monumental Sports Network.
Fans can also tune in on Caps Radio 24/7 and 106.7 FM The Fan.