The Capitals are looking to snap a five-game losing skid.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals got a positive sign on Sunday, as T.J. Oshie was the first one on the ice and took part in morning skate as a full participant. However, he will remain out of the mix as Washington looks to snap a five-game losing skid against the Ottawa Senators.
Head coach Spencer Carbery said Oshie will not play against Ottawa, but that him skating was a positive sign as he continues his recovery. This will be the fourth straight game that Oshie has missed.
"A positive step," Carbery said.
Meanwhile, Charlie Lindgren will get the start once again against Ottawa as Washington looks to reclaim third in the Metropolitan Division and get back in the playoff picture.
Hendrix Lapierre said that the Capitals are confident they can snap their skid and get back in a playoff spot but that they have to rally around one another with six games left on the regular season circuit.
"It's just about coming out hard, keeping it simple, just playing our game. We know we haven't played to our identity in the last couple of games and things haven't gone according to plan, so we just gotta work really hard and be there for each other," Lapierre said. "I don't think it's a matter of like X's and O's and all that stuff, I think it's just a matter of managing the score a little better and being there for each other and just working really hard.
"It's crazy, especially right now. It's usually pretty tight," he added. "It's usually pretty tight, but it's a race between five or six teams."
The lineup is expected to look the same as it did back on Friday, a game where D.C. again struggled to generate a lot on the forecheck and was outshot 45-16. Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Vincent Iorio took the scratches' skate with Oshie.
Here are the projected lines:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Mike Sgarbossa-Connor McMichael-Aliaksei Protas
Max Pacioretty-Hendrix Lapierre-Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Ivan Miroshnichneko
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Puck drop is at 6 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.