Capitals vs. Coyotes: Lines, Injury Report, Keys To Success, Storylines & Full Game Preview

The Washington Capitals will look to close out a five-game road trip on a high note as they make one final stop in the Desert to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.

Washington has split the road trip 2-2, and the team will hope that a new-look lineup will ignite the offense.

Here's everything to know before puck drop at 9 p.m. ET at Mullett Arena.

Evgeny Kuznetsov will be a healthy scratch for the first time since 2021, as head coach Spencer Carbery elected to sit the Russian following a lackluster showing against the Vegas Golden Knights and overall struggles and inconsistency a quarter of the way through the season.

That said, here is how the team will line up:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson

Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha

Sonny Milano-Hendrix Lapierre-Matthew Phillips

Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen

Darcy Kuemper will start, and Charlie Lindgren will back up after missing Saturday due to an illness. Hunter Shepard, who was recalled to fill in for Lindgren on Saturday, was sent back to Hershey.

Here are the outstanding injuries for Washington:

T.J. Oshie (upper-body, IR), Max Pacioretty (Achilles, LTIR), Nicklas Backstrom (hip, LTIR)

The Capitals need to find their spark on offense — and fast. Washington failed to generate a lot against Vegas, and its final push came too little, too late. The team's 2.38 goals per game on average rank second-to-last in the NHL.

Production won't come easy, though, against Arizona, which gives up just 2.96 goals per game and manages 3.22 per game. Plus, Connor Ingram has been red-hot and is 3-0-0 with a .947 save percentage in his last three games.

Special teams are also imperative. The Coyotes have the sixth-best power play in the league (25.6 percent), with Logan Cooley and more young talent leading the charge there. Washington needs to capitalize on its power play chances, too, as Arizona's PK (80.3 percent) ranks in the middle of the pack.

- Tom Wilson scored four times in his last two games and is tied with Dylan Strome for the team lead in goals (8).

- Alex Ovechkin is one point away from 1,500 in his career.

- Cooley said Ovechkin was his favorite player and role model growing up, and he will get his first taste of NHL action against him on Monday.

- Darcy Kuemper has a strong record against his former team. In seven career games against the Coyotes, Kuemper is 6-1-0 with a .952 save percentage, 1.19 GAA and four shutouts.