Aaron Doster — Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/005690e9-9d6c-46a3-a30c-9c1bfc29a8b5.jpeg] Aaron Doster — Imagn Images WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals roster sits at 33 players going into the final two games of the preseason. Louie Belpedio, Graeme Clarke, Henrik Rybinski and Bogdan Trineyev all cleared waivers on Thursday and were assigned to the AHL's Hershey Bears [http://thehockeynews.com/ahl]. Meanwhile, David Gucciardi was also loaned to Hershey. The roster competition remains close going into the final days of training camp, with coach Spencer Carbery noting that the race for vacancies remains relatively close. “I’ll be dead honest with you there’s not a lot of separation,” Carbery said of the race for a roster spot, adding, “There’s some little things inside of individual players’ games that put them over the top.” Up front, Sonny Milano and Hendrix Lapierre appear to be locks, while Andrew Cristall, Ivan Miroshnichenko Ethen Frank and Sheldon Rempal remain in the throes of the race. Meanwhile, Ilya Protas and Eriks Mateiko remain up to get some extra looks down the stretch before heading to Hershey. On the blue line, Vincent Iorio and Dylan McIlrath are in a battle for that final spot, with Declan Chisholm having a strong camp to cement his role. Ryan Chesley and Leon Muggli are also still with the big club. It's also a waiting game for Clay Stevenson, as the Capitals fear that he may not clear waivers but cannot carry three goaltenders to open the season. Washington has two preseason games left and must submit its opening night roster by 5 p.m. on Monday. Opening night is on Wednesday against the Boston Bruins [http://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins].
