The Capitals will be without a key member of the lineup on Tuesday.
The Washington Capitals will be without a key member of the lineup for Tuesday's tilt with the Buffalo Sabres, as T.J. Oshie will be unavailable to the group.
Head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters that Oshie will not play via NHL.com's Heather Engel.
Oshie did not skate on Monday due to maintenance and has been dealing with an upper-body injury. His career has been plagued by chronic back issues, but it's unclear if it's related.
With Oshie out, expect Nicolas Aube-Kubel to draw in as the extra forward. Matthew Phillips is also up with the big club, and Tom Wilson is serving the final game of his six-game suspension for high-sticking Noah Gregor.
Through 47 games this season, Oshie has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points, and he has been playing on the top line with Connor McMichael and Alex Ovechkin of late.
In more positive news for the Capitals, Rasmus Sandin will make his return to the lineup after being a late scratch on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. He skated on Monday and will be back on the second defensive pairing with Nick Jensen.
Here are the projected lines for Washington against Buffalo:
Alex Ovechkin-Connor McMichael-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Aliaksei Protas-Dylan Strome-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Max Pacioretty-Hendrix Lapierre-Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Mike Sgarbossa
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Washington is in somewhat of a must-win situation, as the Philadelphia Flyers bumped the Capitals back down to the second Wild Card spot on Tuesday while the Detroit Red Wings tied them in the standings.