Here's everything to know before the Capitals host the Red Wings and look to gain more traction in the playoff race.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are in for the biggest game of the season on Tuesday, as they play host to the Detroit Red Wings and look to continue to build on their playoff push.
With two points and a regulation win, Washington can secure a three-point lead over the second Wild Card spot.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at Capital One Arena at 7 p.m. ET.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals are keeping things mostly intact, with Charlie Lindgren making his 12th start in the last 14 games. The only exceptions are Mike Sgarbossa slotting in for an injured Sonny Milano and Max Pacioretty and Aliaksei Protas swapping lines.
Here are the line combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Connor McMichael-T.J. Oshie
Max Pacioretty-Dylan Strome-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Mike Sgarbossa-Hendrix Lapierre-Aliaksei Protas
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- Sonny Milano is out due to an upper-body injury.
- Tom Wilson is serving the third game of a six-game suspension.
- Nicklas Backstrom is still on long-term injured reserve and is unlikely to play again this season after stepping away due to his hip not responding as he'd hoped following hip resurfacing surgery in June 2022.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin has eight goals in his last five games and has points in 11 of his last 13 outings.
- John Carlson has points in five straight games and is two games away from 1,000 in his career.
- Dylan Strome is on a four-game point streak, with seven points over that span.
- Connor McMichael has points in six of the last seven games.
- Charlie Lindgren's start marks his 100th career NHL game.
- The Capitals have power-play goals in 13 of the last 15 outings overall. Since Feb. 8, the team's PP percentage of 35.3 is the best in the NHL.
Quotes From The Capitals
- "Towards the end of the year, you want to be playing meaningful hockey every single game, and I think teams historically that have been playing meaningful hockey going into the playoffs are more tested when they get there. I think guys in the NHL, their whole lives, have worked hard to get to this point to play with that pressure and use it as an advantage." - Nic Dowd on the pressure going into the game against Detroit.
- "I don't think I'm putting any extra pressure to be honest. I don't really look at the magnitude. Obviously, you're not delusional to that fact. But no, just looking forward to getting out there and playing another really meaningful competitive hockey game against a real good hockey team that we kind of owe them for what they did to us in Detroit a month ago. Excited for the opportunity and ready for the challenge." - Charlie Lindgren on his approach to Tuesday's tilt.
How To Watch Capitals vs. Red Wings
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.