The Capitals face the Devils as they look to get back in the win column.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals will see some changes to their lineup for Saturday's contest against the New Jersey Devils, with Ivan Miroshnichenko set to make his season debut.
Miroshnichenko will slot into the lineup for the first time this season and play a big role as he fills Alex Ovechkin's spot on the top line with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas.
"I want to see him play as hard as he possibly can," head coach Spencer Carbery said, explaining that he's putting Miroshnichenko on that top line after it struggled in Thursday's loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Russian was called up from the AHL's Hershey Bears earlier in the week with captain Ovechkin going on the injured reserve and set to miss the next 4-6 weeks with a broken left fibula.
Ovechkin, meanwhile, was at the morning skate, watching the practice from the bench and in good spirits as he cheered on his teammates. He did not have anything on his leg, but did present with a bit of a limp. The 39-year-old also attended the Washington Wizards game on Friday.
With Miroshnichenko drawing in, Jakub Vrana will draw out of the lineup as the healthy scratch while Hendrix Lapierre remains in after a number of healthy scratch. Carbery wants Vrana to work on his game without the puck and said that he liked what he saw from Lapierre on Thursday, though there's still some rust to shake off.
Here are the lines:
Aliaksei Protas-Dylan Strome-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Connor McMichael-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane-Lars Eller-Hendrix Lapierre
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Taylor Raddysh
Jakob Chychrun-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Charlie Lindgren will get the start against New Jersey as the gaoltending rotation continues.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.