The Capitals sit four points out of third in the Metropolitan Division.
The Washington Capitals are in the midst of the most important stretch of the season to date that could very well determine the playoff picture, as they sit four points out of third in the Metropolitan Division and face a top Wild Card opponent in the Detroit Red Wings.
Washington has points in five straight outings and also sits six points behind the Red Wings for another path to the postseason.
Here’s what to know before puck drop at Little Caesars Arena at 7 p.m. ET.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals will run it back with the same lineup they had on Tuesday as they rely on a mix of Hershey Bears from the past and present amid mounting injuries.
Ivan Miroshnichneko will be the healthy scratch up front as Pierrick Dubé and Hendrix Lapierre remain in the mix amid injuries to T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd up front. Alex Alexeyev will also remain in with Nick Jensen and Martin Fehervary ailing.
Charlie Lindgren will get the start with Darcy Kuemper having played against Ottawa 24 hours prior in a 6-3 win.
Here are the line combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Max Pacioretty-Mike Sgarbossa-Pierrick Dubé
Beck Malenstyn-Hendrix Lapierre-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Joel Edmundson-Ethan Bear
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- T.J. Oshie is week-to-week with an upper-body injury that he suffered back on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning when he turned with the puck and appeared to pull something. Given the nature of the injury, it could be related to his chronic back issues. He is on the injured reserve and has not skated since.
- Nic Dowd is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered back on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils. He was skating in a non-contact jersey on Monday and remains on the IR.
- Martin Fehervary is week-to-week with a lower-body injury he suffered back on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. He was skating behind the net when he lost an edge, and his leg buckled under him. Fehervary was also in a non-contact jersey on Monday and remains on IR.
- Nick Jensen, who left Saturday's game shortly after going hard into the boards, will not play.
- Sonny Milano remains out with an illness.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov remains away from the team indefinitely as he receives care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
- Nicklas Backstrom remains on indefinite leave due to his hip not responding as he'd hoped following hip resurfacing surgery.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Connor McMichael has put up three multi-point outings in his last four games.
- Aliaksei Protas is coming off a three-point performance and has points in four of his last five outings, with seven points total over that span.
- Max Pacioretty ended a 17-game goal drought on Monday and has found the scoresheet in four of his last five.
- Dylan Strome has points in five straight outings.
- Hendrix Lapierre is coming off a two-goal performance.
- Beck Malenstyn has three points and 13 hits in his last three games.
- Anthony Mantha has five points in his last five games.
- Alex Ovechkin has points in 10 of his last 12 games and eight goals over that span.
How To Watch Capitals vs. Red Wings
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.