Here's everything to know as the Capitals play host to the Avalanche.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are feeling inspired after back-to-back convincing outings against two Conference-leading teams, and they'll look to keep the momentum going as they take on the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
Head coach Spencer Carbery made a couple of notable tweaks at forward as he looks to keep sparking his offense, placing Tom Wilson on the fourth line with Nic Dowd and Beck Malenstyn while putting Nicolas Aube-Kubel on the third line with Mike Sgarbossa and Max Pacioretty.
It could be the spark that Wilson, 29, needs as he finds himself in the throes of a six-game point drought while going the last nine games without a goal. It also gives the team another physical presence on the fourth line that can further help shutdown Nathan MacKinnon and company.
Charlie Lindgren will get the start.
Here are the projected combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Max Pacioretty-Michael Sgarbossa-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Tom Wilson
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson-Ethan Bear
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- Sonny Milano will miss his 26th consecutive contest as he continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury, and he did not practice on Tuesday due to illness. The 26-year-old has not played in two months and was believed to be initially injured after taking a high hit from Jacob Trouba back on Dec. 9 against the New York Rangers.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov remains out indefinitely after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
- Nicklas Backstrom is still on long-term injured reserve and is unlikely to play again this season after stepping away due to his hip not responding as he'd hoped following hip resurfacing surgery in June 2022.
- Trevor van Riemsdyk (illness) remains out of the lineup and will miss his fourth consecutive game.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin has goals in five straight games and 16 points in his last 15 outings. He has 835 career goals and needs just 60 more to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time record, and he is back on pace for a 20-goal campaign.
- Since his five-game goal streak, the Capitals have gone from 2.35 goals per game to 2.6.
- Dylan Strome has points in five of his last six outings and continues to play an integral role for Washington.
- T.J. Oshie has helpers in back-to-back games.
- Rasmus Sandin has points in four of his last five games and continues to gain confidence while providing offense from the blue line.
How To Watch Capitals vs. Avalanche
The game will be live on Monumental Sports Network and be streamed on ESPN+.
Fans can also tune in on Caps Radio 24/7 and 106.7 FM The Fan.