The Capitals face more questions going into a matchup with the Penguins on Thursday.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery noted that there was a certain "anxiousness" in the air at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, and also an important piece missing as Anthony Mantha's stall was cleaned out following his trade to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Capitals have one last critical game before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, as they head to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins in a critical Metropolitan Division showdown that weighs heavy on the difficult playoff push ahead.

Still, the departure of Mantha, a 20-goal scorer and integral member of the team's top-6 this season, hurts.

"We developed a close bond with these guys, you play a lot of games with them and they have little ones away from the rink similar to mine," Trevor van Riemsdyk said. "It's definitely really sad to see him go, but you hope he flourishes in Vegas."

That said, Carbery and the team are trying to focus on the positive and keep things light while taking things one day at a time. The lines changed with Mantha out of the picture, as Ivan Miroshnichenko drew into the mix. Meanwhile, the team is pondering making another recall at forward, but will see how the day goes.

With the "McProMo" line no longer an option following Mantha's departure, Aliaksei Protas moved up to the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Hendrix Lapierre, while Connor McMichael centered Tom Wilson and Max Pacioretty. Miroshnichenko skated on the third line with Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano, and the fourth line remained intact.

Despite the deadline and potential moves coming, Carbery said the expectation that everyone who is healthy will be available to play against the Penguins, indicating no one will be held out for trade purposes.

As for injury updates, Nic Dowd will not play as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury suffered on Feb. 20, though he is feeling better and has been skating in a non-contact jersey. He is also a potential trade chip that could be on the move.

Martin Fehervary is still in a non-contact jersey and is making progress as he continues to practice with the team. T.J. Oshie skated ahead of practice for the second day in a row but remains week-to-week.

Here are what the lines looked like:

Alex Ovechkin-Hendrix Lapierre-Aliaksei Protas

Max Pacioretty-Connor McMichael-Tom Wilson

Ivan Miroshnichenko-Dylan Strome-Sonny Milano

Beck Malenstyn-Mike Sgarbossa-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Nic Dowd*

Trevor van Riemsdyk-John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen

Joel Edmundson-Alex Alexeyev

Alex Ovechkin-Hendrix Lapierre-Aliaksei Protas

Martin Fehervary*-Ethan Bear

Darcy Kuemper

Charlie Lindgren

* = Non-contact jersey