The Capitals will see a few tweaks to the lineup as they look to end a five-game losing streak.
After a rough showing in their return from the All-Star Break, the Washington Capitals will see some lineup changes against the Florida Panthers on Thursday as they look to put an end to a five-game losing streak.
Up front, Matthew Phillips will draw back into the lineup, taking Nicolas Aube-Kubel's spo, head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters. Aube-Kubel will be a healthy scratch for the first time in months after a rough showing on Tuesday against the Canadiens in which he had a turnover early and played just 8:57 minutes.
There will be another tweak on the blue line, as Ethan Bear will draw back in after a healthy scratch, per Spencer Carbery. He will go in for Trevor van Riemsdyk, who is ill. Bear will likely slot in on the second pairing alongside Rasmus Sandin.
On Wednesday, Phillips skated in Aube-Kubel's spot alongside Nic Dowd and Beck Malenestyn. Van Riemsdyk was on the second pairing with Rasmus Sandin, so expect Bear to draw in there.
Darcy Kuemper will get the start after coming in to relieve Charlie Lindgren, who surrendered three goals on nine shots against Montreal. He ended up stopping 15 of 17 shots in the eventual 5-2 defeat.
Here are the projected line combinations. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. in Florida, which marks the first game of the team's annual Mentors' Trip.
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty-Connor McMichael-T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas-Michael Sgarbossa-Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Matthew Phillips
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Ethan Bear
Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren