The Capitals will have a new-look lineup when they face the Devils.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals will have a new-look lineup for Wednesday's tilt against the New Jersey Devils, as Max Pacioretty will make his season debut while the team makes some other lineup tweaks.
Pacioretty will draw in on the third-line left wing and skate with Dylan Strome and Matthew Phillips. In turn, Hendrix Lapierre will draw out as the rest of the combinations stay the same.
It will mark Pacioretty's first game since Jan. 19, 2023, when he re-tore his Achilles tendon just five games into his return from an initial tear suffered in August 2022.
"Just for him to get comfortable, to be honest of you," head coach Spencer Carbery said of what he expects from No. 67. "Not that he's not a great player and can contribute a lot. It's been a long time for him and the process... Excited for him to just get back out playing in an NHL game, to be honest for you. His game, I know being out this long, will just continue to build and get better and better."
On the blue line, the defense will look slightly different, as Trevor van Riemsdyk will get to come back in following his healthy scratch with Joel Edmundson not dressing due to maintenance.
Per Carbery, the defense could continue to change, with the team now balancing seven defensemen after signing Ethan Bear. Edmundson's day off comes in wake of the back-to-back scenario.
"It'll be a game-by-game situation, but it just gives us now some flexibility to do something like give Eddie a night off and give him a maintenance day on a back-to-back, tough travel, so situations like that may arise," Carbery pointed out. "I'm not going to guarantee that it'll be a rotation every single night, but now, it gives us a luxury to be able to play seven guys... there's a little bit of an accountability part to it, too. You got to have your game in a good spot to stay in the lineup."
Hunter Shepard will get the start for Washington, with Charlie Lindgren on the injured reserve and still day-to-day.
Here are the projected lines.
Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Max Pacioretty-Dylan Strome-Matthew Phillips
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Ethan Bear
Trevor van Riemsdyk-Nick Jensen
Hunter Shepard
Darcy Kuemper
Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.