The Capitals are looking to even the series in Game 2 against the Rangers.
The Washington Capitals blue line will look different once again on Tuesday as they look to even the series in Game 2 against the New York Rangers, as Lucas Johansen will draw into the mix and make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut with several defensemen still ailing.
Per head coach Spencer Carbery, Johansen will play as Nick Jensen, Rasmus Sandin and Vincent Iorio remain sidelined with upper-body injuries.
Jensen and Sandin have not played since the end of the regular season when both were injured on hits along the boards. The same thing happened with Iorio in Game 1 after he went hard into the boards following a check from Alexis Lafreniere.
Per Monumental Sports Network's Tarik El-Bashir, all three skated in non-contact jerseys at Washington's optional morning skate at Madison Square Garden.
With Iorio also ailing, Washington recalled Hardy Häman Aktell from the AHL's Hershey Bears to serve as the extra blueliner.
When it comes to what the Capitals want to see from Johansen, Carbery wants the 27-year-old to keep things simple.
"He's done a good job; he's played for us this year early in the year. We're very familiar with his game, having been in the organization for a long time," Carbery said. "For him coming into his first NHL playoff game, he's played, he's got a lot of experience, so this isn't just someone being thrown in at 21, 22 years old, he's played a lot of important games... just for reliable minutes, which I'm hopeful he will provide."
Here are the projected lines for Tuesday's Game 2:
Alex Ovechkin-Connor McMichael-T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty-Hendrix Lapierre-Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Alex Alexeyev-Dylan McIlrath
Lucas Johansen-Trevor van Riemsdyk
The Capitals will also look to their youth and offense to step up and provide more of a spark after falling 4-1 in Game 1.
"There was a ton of tentativeness from us," Carbery said of the Capitals' performance in Game 1, adding, "When those opportunities do present themselves to make a play or get the puck to middle ice or to attack a 2-on-1 where they've missed their coverage and they're out of sorts, we gotta take advantage of those."
Game 2 is at 7 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.