The Capitals will see some significant changes to the lineup on Long Island.
The Washington Capitals will be back in action against the New York Islanders on Friday at UBS Arena, and though Max Pacioretty and Ethan Bear are close to being ready, their season debuts will have to wait.
Neither Pacioretty nor Bear will play tonight, head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters in New York, via The Hockey News colleague Stefen Rosner. It is still possible, though, that both could make their debuts when the team returns home on Saturday for the second game of a back-to-back at home against the Nashville Predators.
There are some big lineup changes that will be on display tonight, though. Washington shook up its top two lines, moving Connor McMichael up to work with Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson while placing Dylan Strome between Aliaksei Protas and Anthony Mantha.
For head coach Spencer Carbery, breaking up the "McProMo" line wasn't easy, but it's a necessary move to try and spark some 5-on-5 offense.
Meanwhile, Matthew Phillips will get another look and chance to show what he can do at the NHL level, as he'll slot in for Ivan Miroshnichenko on the third line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Hendrix Lapierre.
Phillips is one name at risk of being placed on waivers as the team prepares to make space for the eventual return of several injured names up front, including Pacioretty, T.J. Oshie and Sonny Milano. So, he'll get another shot to show what he can do at the NHL level.
The fourth line will stay intact, along with the defensive pairs.
Here are the full expected combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Connor McMichael-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Dylan Strome-Anthony Mantha
Hendrix Lapierre-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Matthew Phillips
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen
First, Charlie Lindgren will return between the pipes after Darcy Kuemper got the start on Wednesday against the New York Rangers. Kuemper is expected to play against Nashville on Saturday.
Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. ET at UBS Arena.