ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals have been champing at the bit to play some hockey, and now, they're finally ready to get their season underway.
Washington held its final practice before the start of the regular season on Thursday, getting one more look at line combinations and taking reps before heading to Raleigh for the first back-to-back of the year.
The Capitals will open their season on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, and then immediately head to Tampa for a meeting with the Lightning on Saturday.
Washington is excited to see what its new-look team will be able to do in action, but knows that there's still work to do and chemistry to be formed.
"Expectation only gets you so far, you gotta play the game," Tom Wilson said. "We believe in this group. When you look at the team on paper, we know we can be dangerous. That being said, you got to go play the game. It's a long year, we got to start building day by day."
The opening-night lineup will be the same as it's been in practice, with Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ehten Frank and Dylan McIlrath serving as the extras. Alex Ovechkin, who was injured in the preseason, is healthy and ready to play.
Logan Thompson will get the start against the Hurricanes, and Charlie Lindgren will start the second game of the back-to-back against the Lightning.
Here are the combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Ryan Leonard
Alex Tuch-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Ilya Protas-Jordan Kyrou
Boone Jenner-Justin Sourdif-Anthony Beauvillier
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Cole Hutson-Vinny Desharnais
Martin Fehervary-Timothy Liljegren
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
The Capitals also announced their alternate captains for the upcoming season. Wilson will wear the "A" full-time, while Dylan Strome will serve as an alternate at home and Matt Roy on the road.
Washington will travel to Raleigh on Thursday and hold an optional morning skate before dropping the puck on the new year on Friday at 7 p.m.
