Here's everything to know as the Capitals face the Hurricanes to close out a three-game road swing.
After a rough go of it in Nashville that had a little bit of everything — the good, the bad and the ugly — the Washington Capitals will look to avoid extending their losing skid to three games as they get their first taste of the Carolina Hurricanes this season.
Here is everything to know before the Metropolitan Division meeting at 6 p.m. ET at PNC Arena.
Washington Capitals Lines
Washington, who couldn't get bounces to drop but had good bouts of pressure in Saturday's loss to the Predators, will be without the services of T.J. Oshie due to a lower-body injury. It is a late scratch for the 36-year-old, who has points in back-to-back games.
Matthew Phillips will play in his place.
Darcy Kuemper will return to the crease after Charlie Lindgren got the first game of the weekend's back-to-back.
Here are the line combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Joe Snively-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Matthew Phillips
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- T.J. Oshie (lower-body) will be out for Sunday's game and was a late scratch, even though head coach Spencer Carbery said pregame that there would be no lineup changes.
- Sonny Milano (upper-body) remains on the injured reserve and will miss his third straight game.
- Max Pacioretty (Achilles) is starting to ramp up and take contact but remains out of the lineup. He is still 2-3 weeks away from returning and is expected to suit up after the holiday break.
- Nicklas Backstrom (hip) has been around the team and facility and even skated, but his decision to step away from the game indefinitely remains unchanged. He played eight games this season before taking indefinite leave with his hip not responding to the resurfacing procedure he underwent in June 2022.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin's goal drought hit 12 games this season, two more than his previous career high. However, Saturday's game in Nashville packed promise, as he had a team-leading six shots and 14 attempts while picking up an assist. He has 99 points in 86 career games against Carolina, the most against any opponent in his career.
- Dylan Strome has points in three straight and six points in his last five games overall.
- Washington will see former friend Dmitry Orlov for the second time following his trade last season and for the first time since he signed with the Hurricanes in July.
- The Capitals have scored one goal or less in nine of 27 games this season, and all of those one-goal outings have resulted in regulation losses.