The Capitals will get a big boost up front on Thursday as Dubois returns from injury.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals lineup will get a much-needed boost on Thursday in the team's final game before the Olympic break, as Pierre-Luc Dubois will return to the lineup against the Nashville Predators.
Dubois missed the last 47 games after undergoing adduction surgery back in November. He was admittedly already "banged up" through the first six games of the season, and the "perfect storm" happened where J.G. Pageau fell on him back on Oct. 31 and led Dubois to surgery.
“I started the year injured. I played those six games, finished four, and on those (last) four, I couldn’t even sprint,” Dubois admitted. “I was jogging out there. It was frustrating because I couldn't do the things that I can do now. To come back and actually be able to sprint and stop and start, not just stop, explode out of the corner, all those things that I wasn't able to do when I was playing, this will be a lot more fun."
The 27-year-old will start on the second line with Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. He'll draw in for Sonny Milano, who is out for personal reasons.
Meanwhile, the Capitals will make a handful of changes to the lineup, per coach Spencer Carbery, and Logan Thompson I appears ready to start as he returns from an upper-body injury.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Capital One Arena. It's a must-win game for Washington, who has won three of the last four but still sits out of playoff position entering the break.