Capitals Notebook: Team Holds Last Practice Before Preseason Finale, Lines Taking Form As Vrana, Cristall & More Make Final Push

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals were locked in at their last practice before their preseason finale against the Boston Bruins, as they took the ice for some hard work on Friday at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.

Washington put emphasis on small area drills and running lines, while also getting in some power play and penalty kill practice.

The line combinations also provided an inside look at how the roster could look to start the regular season, as Sonny Milano, Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas made up the third line while Jakub Vrana, Andrew Cristall, Mike Sgarbossa and Ivan Miroshnichenko, who are all competing for extra forward roles, were on a fifth line.

There is a chance that some fringe players could appear in the mix on Saturday against Boston, but head coach Spencer Carbery is not yet committed to that and said to expect a lot of regulars in the mix while Charlie Lindgren will play the full game vs. the Bruins.

Here are the line combinations at practice that could suit up against Boston:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Andrew Mangiapane

Connor McMichael-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson

Sonny Milano-Hendrix Lapierre-Aliaksei Protas

Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Taylor Raddysh

Jakub Vrana/Andrew Cristall-Mike Sgarbossa-Ivan Miroshnichenko

Jakob Chychrun-John Carlson

Martin Fehervary-Matt Roy

Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Alex Alexeyev-Dylan McIlrath

Ethan Bear

Charlie Lindgren

Logan Thompson

Hunter Shepard

PP1: Ovechkin, Carlson, Wilson, Dubois, Strome

PP2: Sandin, Chychrun, Lapierre, McMichael, Mangiapane

Cristall and Vrana were both battling hard in their respective reps, as both are pushing to make the most of their ice time in these final days with opening night rosters due Monday at 5 p.m. ET.

Looking at the roster, Cristall could get a nine-game look at the NHL level to start the season following a stellar camp. Meanwhile, Vrana is trying to turn his professional tryout into a full-time contract with D.C.

At the same time, Ivan Miroshnichenko and Mike Sgarbossa are looking to avoid returning to Hershey for now (Sgarbossa will have to clear waivers).

Puck drop for Saturday's preseason game is at 5 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.

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- Alex Ovechkin discusses why scoring has become so much more difficult in today's game, not stressing over Wayne Gretzky's record

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