Coming off a statement 5-2 win over the defending Cup champions on Friday, the Washington Capitals are right back at it just 24 hours later, as they pay a visit to old friend John Carlson and the Tampa Bay Lightning on the second night of their season-opening back-to-back.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Monumental Sports Network and is free to listen to on Capitals Radio Network and 106.7 The Fan FM.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals will stick with what worked, as they keep the same lineup they had against the Carolina Hurricanes. Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ethen Frank and Dylan McIlrath are the healthy scratches.
With Logan Thompson having played Friday, Charlie Lindgren will be between the pipes for his season debut on Saturday in Tampa.
Here are the lines:
Alex Tuch-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Ryan Leonard
Aliaksei Protas-Ilya Protas-Jordan Kyrou
Boone Jenner-Justin Sourdif-Anthony Beauvillier
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Cole Hutson-Vincent Desharnais
Martin Fehervary-Timothy Liljegren
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Washington Capitals To Watch
- Alex Tuch had two goals in his Capitals debut on Friday, and coach Spencer Carbery called him "arguably the best player on the ice." He found quick chemistry on his line with Tom Wilson and Pierre-Luc Dubois, who also shined with two assists as he starts the year hungry.
- Dylan Strome plays in his 600th career NHL game on Saturday and also had a multi-point performance with two helpers on Friday and set up Ryan Leonard for a momentum-shifting goal in the second. Keep an eye out for that line with Alex Ovechkin, who skated a career-low 12:46 minutes amid several penalties and little time overall at 5-on-5.
- The power play went 1-for-2, with Jakob Chychrun, who also had a multi-point night, getting the man advantage on the board. There was better puck movement and stronger entries, and it'll be critical again for the power play to continue to find momentum to start.
- Cole Hutson also scored in the Capitals' season opener, and his pairing with Vincent Desharnais got a lot done at 5-on-5, too, with Desharnais impressing with over 21 minutes played, three hits and three blocks. Look for them to make an impact again.
- Staying out of the box will be instrumental as D.C. took six penalties on Friday, but the penalty kill looked strong and went 5-for-6 against Carolina.
