PNP Pod Power Play WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals have one more game to go until the holiday break, and head coach Spencer Carbery is urging his players to keep on the gas a little bit longer as they seek their fourth straight victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here's everything to know before the Saturday night showdown at Capital One Arena: WASHINGTON CAPITALS LINES Connor McMichael will return to the lineup after missing the last two games with an illness. As a result, Hendrix Lapierre will shift to the third-line wing, while Matthew Phillips will be the odd man out. Besides that, everything stays the same, as Charlie Lindgren will start with Darcy Kuemper backing up and taking a maintenance day ahead of the holidays. Here are the combinations for Saturday's game: Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Anthony Mantha Ivan Miroshnichenko-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Hendrix Lapierre Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel Martin Fehervary-John Carlson Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk Joel Edmundson-Nick Jensen Darcy Kuemper Charlie Lindgren WASHINGTON CAPITALS INJURY REPORT Milano (upper-body) skated in a non-contact jersey on Saturday and is expected to be back shortly after the break as he continues to recover. T.J. Oshie (lower-body) turned 37 on Saturday but remains off the ice and will also be returning after the break. Max Pacioretty is expected back very shortly after the break, as he's been taking part in the team's practices and engaging in full contact. Ethan Bear is not yet under contract but will officially sign with the Capitals following the break. He is currently in D.C. and skating with the hockey club as he continues his rehabilitation from offseason shoulder surgery. He's expected back sooner rather than later. Finally, Nicklas Backstrom remains on an indefinite leave of absence. His hip is not responding how he'd hoped following resurfacing surgery in June 2022, contributing to his decision to step away. However, he has been around the facility and has even skated on his own, and he has not made any decisions yet on retiring. WASHINGTON CAPITALS STORYLINES - Alex Ovechkin ended a 14-game goal drought last game with an overtime winner against Elvis Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he hopes that it's the start of something big as he continues his great chase. - John Carlson has assists in back-to-back games and is one assist away from 500 in his career. - Dylan Strome has points in six straight games. - Anthony Mantha has points in six of the last eight games and is coming off a two-goal outing against Columbus. Meanwhile, linemate Aliaksei Protas has points in back-to-back games and leads the team in 5-on-5 scoring this season (14 points at even strength). - The power play has goals in four of the last five games and has been operating at 33 percent over this recent stretch after starting the season with a less than 10 percent PP percentage. - The penalty kill has gone 23-for-24 over the last six games. - Conor Sheary will make his return to Capital One Arena for the first time since leaving in free agency. He signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the offseason after three years in D.C.
