The Capitals are dressing the majority of their regulars for Saturday's tilt with the Bruins.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals have one final game on their preseason slate before their regular season starts next week, and they'll close things out with a vital showdown against the Boston Bruins.
Saturday's tilt provides head coach Spencer Carbery with one final look at his potential opening night roster.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 5 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals will dress the majority of their regulars, with the exception of Sonny Milano. Interestingly enough, Andrew Cristall will slot in in his spot on the third line with Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas.
Carbery called that unit a "work in progress" this past week, so Cristall getting one final preseason game to show why he belongs up in the NHL to start the season is huge.
Otherwise, the remaining forward lines and defensive pairings will remain the same as they have been for Carbery, as the team has found chemistry and stability on the other trios.
Charlie Lindgren will get the start and play in the full game on Saturday, with Logan Thompson backing up.
Here are the projected combos:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Andrew Mangiapane
Connor McMichael-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Andrew Cristall-Hendrix Lapierre-Aliaksei Protas
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Taylor Raddysh
Jakob Chychrun-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson
Washington Capitals Players & Storylines To Watch, Things To Know
- As mentioned, it's a big game for Cristall. The 19-year-old can either make the NHL out of camp or return to juniors, and with no in-between, he's done everything he can to prove he should remain up with the big club. He has points in each of his preseason outings so far, and one final game could make or break whether he gets that nine-game look.
- Milano, Jakub Vrana, who is on a PTO for camp and is still vying for a spot, and Ivan Miroshnichenko will not play as both have gotten the opportunity to show what they can do in the preseason. For Milano, things didn't necessarily go according to plan, but as a veteran, he gets "benefit of the doubt" from Carbery. Vrana has showcased his speed and shot, but at this point, it's too early to tell if it's enough to earn a deal. The same goes for Miroshnichenko, who impressed with his offensive prowess through the preseason.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois will play on the top power-play unit and will be in the lineup with Alex Ovechkin for the first time since being traded to D.C.
- The Duhaime-Dowd-Raddysh line has been humming all preseason long and has combined for eight points through two games together so far. Duhaime is tied for the team lead in scoring this preseason with Cristall and Dylan Strome.
- Ethan Bear, Mike Sgarbossa and Luke Philp all cleared waivers on Saturday and have been assigned to the AHL's Hershey Bears.
READ MORE ON THE HOCKEY NEWS
- Capitals mailbag: Who wins the extra forward role, Ovechkin's PP time and more
- Jakub Vrana feeling the love as he attempts to come back to Capitals
- Andrew Cristall can either make the NHL or return to juniors, and he's leaning toward the former
- Capitals ink Eriks Mateiko to entry-level contract
- Logan Thompson's new Capitals mask pays homage to childhood, franchise history
- Alex Ovechkin discusses why scoring has become so much more difficult in today's game, not stressing over Wayne Gretzky's record