The Capitals rewarded Lapierre with ice time alongside Ovechkin at Thursday's practice.
After a day off and time to reflect on a disappointing 8-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, the Washington Capitals got back to work on Thursday and got a different look up front, too.
Hendrix Lapierre earned a big-time promotion as he continues to impress in his latest NHL call-up, moving to the top line to play with the likes of Alex Ovechkin. Tom Wilson did not practice due to personal reasons, so call-up Ivan Miroshnichenko was on Ovechkin's opposite wing as the placeholder.
Meanwhile, Dylan Strome went to operate with Max Pacioretty and Sonny Milano, who appears to be over the illness that held him out for the last two games. The "McProMo" trio stuck together, and Mike Sgarbossa shifted down to the fourth line to center Beck Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel while Pierrick Dubé was the odd man out.
On the blue line, Nick Jensen, who missed the last two games due to a day-to-day lower-body injury, skated with Joel Edmundson.
Here are what the lines looked like, per Monumental Sports Network's Tarik El-Bashir.
Alex Ovechkin-Hendrix Lapierre-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Max Pacioretty-Dylan Strome-Sonny Milano
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson
Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk/Ethan Bear
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
The Capitals are back in action on Friday in a critical Metropolitan Division showdown with the Philadelphia Flyers. This game carries significant weight in the playoff race, with D.C. just six points behind Philadelphia for third and, in turn, a playoff spot.