Capitals Game Day: Ovechkin & Miroshnichenko In, Blue Line Battle Begins vs. Red Wings, Lines, Names To Watch, Quotes

Capitals Game Day: Ovechkin, Miroshnichenko In, Blue Line Battle Begins Against Red Wings, Lines & Names To Watch

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom will be back in game action on Thursday, while Ivan Miroshnichenko and Andrew Cristall will get their first taste of pro hockey as the Washington Capitals face the Detroit Red Wings in their second game of the preseason.

Here's everything to know ahead of puck drop:

Here are the projected combinations for Thursday's tilt:

Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Ivan Miroshnichenko

Connor McMichael-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson

Joe Snively-Nic Dowd-T.J. Oshie

Andrew Cristall-Mike Sgarbossa-Pierrick Dube

Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson

Hardy Haman Aktell-Alex Alexeyev

Lucas Johansen-Vincent Iorio

Charlie Lindgren

Charlie Lindgren will start and play the whole game as head coach Spencer Carbery looks to get him back into the rhythm of things with the season around the corner. Alexander Suzdalev, Nick Leivermann and Logan Day are the healthy scratches.

Miroshnichenko is the biggest name to keep an eye on against Detroit. The 19-year-old, who has impressed during camp so far and is still adjusting to life in North America, will skate on the top line with Backstrom and Ovechkin, who has served as his main mentor so far.

READ MORE ON WHN: Ovechkin Goes 1-on-1 About Mentoring Ivan Miroshnichenko & Taking Young Capitals Star Under His Wing

Carbery told Miroshnichenko he expects him to compete hard at both ends of the rinks, and the Russian is also looking to win a roster spot after a stellar campaign overseas with the KHL's Avangard Omsk following his return from Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Ovechkin and Backstrom will also be back on a line together in game action for the first time in a long time, and Washington will not only get to see how Ovechkin looks as he prepares to continue his "GR8 Chase" of Wayne Gretzky, but the team will also get a chance to evaluate where Backstrom's at following a full summer of training.

Cristall will also have the opportunity to make his mark in a game after being one of the most impressive young prospects to open training camp. Also, look for Connor McMichael to make the most of his opportunity on the top-6 with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson, and expect offseason signee Pierrick Dube to make some noise as he looks to make himself stand out as camp continues.

Beyond that, the blue line will be the biggest storyline for Thursday. Joel Edmundson will miss the next 4-6 weeks following surgery to repair a fractured hand, and it opens the door for a young blueliner to step up and win that vacant spot on the third pairing alongside Trevor van Riemsdyk.

Hardy Haman Aktell will skate with Alex Alexeyev, and Lucas Johansen will work with Vincent Iorio as all four d-men look to show that they have what it takes to start the season up in D.C.

Carbery on Miroshnichenko: "I told him in my most elementary English as I possibly could, 'Systems? Don't care. Structure? Don't care.' I don't want him overthinking it. I don't want him thinking he's in the wrong spot, 'where should I be, what I should do?' I want to see him go out and compete his butt off and work all over the ice," Carbery said, adding, "I wanna see him skate, compete, play with a ton of pace, play with a ton of urgency up and down at both ends of the ice."

Johansen on his chances at a roster spot: "It's been seven pro years now. I've had a lot of good experience, especially last year with the playoff run there. I think my game is at a great level right now, and I just want to keep building on that and make the team."

Carbery on Cristall: "I've been impressed. I think the thing that sticks out for me is he's a young, young player, and he looks it. He's gonna grow and mature and all that stuff. I find, though, when he's out on the ice, things happen, Carbery said. "He's around the puck, good things happen, he's constantly a scoring chance... somehow it's on his stick, it ends up on someone else's stick and it's a scoring chance for. I just found it's constantly caught my eye.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.