Here's everything to know before the Capitals take on the Kraken.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are looking to build off a gritty win and take down another Western Conference opponent on Thursday, but it'll be a tall task as they navigate injuries and welcome the red-hot Seattle Kraken.
Here is everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
Washington made some slight tweaks to their line combinations at practice this week after changing some things mid-game against the Los Angeles Kings a few days back.
One of those changes will stick, as Max Pacioretty will remain on the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. Tom Wilson will miss Thursday's game with a broken nose, so Hendrix Lapierre will draw in for him on the second line.
Meanwhile, T.J. Oshie will make his return from an upper-body injury and play for the first time in 11 games. Sonny Milano remains out, as does Rasmus Sandin.
Here are the projected line combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Max Pacioretty
Hendrix Lapierre-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Trevor van Riemsdyk-Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson-Ethan Bear
Darcy Kuemper will start, with Charlie Lindgren backing up as he dresses for the first time since Dec. 29.
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- Alex Ovechkin is in after it was announced he would be a game-time decision. He has been dealing with a lower-body injury since Friday when he collided with Jordan Staal. He ended up playing on Sunday, though he was "nicked up" and missed practice on Wednesday while taking maintenance days on Saturday and Tuesday. He skated for parts of Thursday's optional morning skate.
- Tom Wilson will not play after breaking his nose near the end of Sunday's win over the Kings when he took an errant high stick from Alex Laferriere. He was in a full shield at practice on Wednesday but is dealing with soreness, as head coach Spencer Carbery mentioned.
- Sonny Milano (upper-body) remains out of the lineup and is still in a non-contact jersey. He will miss his "Chia Milano" giveaway night, which is the 15th straight game he'll sit because of an injury he suffered back on Dec. 9.
- Rasmus Sandin (upper-body) is on the IR and remains day-to-day. He had missed two games with an illness before ending up with an upper-body ailment.
- T.J. Oshie and Charlie Lindgren are both back. Oshie will play on the second line, while Lindgren will back up Kuemper.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin has points in five straight games.
- Max Pacioretty picked up his first point as a member of the Capitals with an assist on Sunday. That also marked his first helper since 2021-22.
- John Carlson is on a three-game point streak.
- Nic Dowd has game-opening goals in back-to-back games and points in four of his last five games overall.
- Nicolas Aube-Kubel is coming off a three-point performance (1G, 3A) on Sunday.
- Beck Malenstyn has points in three straight games.
How To Watch Capitals vs. Kraken
The game will be live on Monumental Sports Network.
Fans can also listen on Caps Radio 24/7 and 106.7 FM.