The Capitals will also honor John Carlson for hitting 1,000 NHL games as they look to snap a five-game losing skid.
WASHINGTON — It's do or die at this point in the season for the Washington Capitals, who control their own destiny with six games remaining on the regular season circuit. And on Sunday, they'll look to snap a five-game losing skid and reclaim a playoff spot against the Ottawa Senators.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 6 p.m. at Capital One Arena, where the team will also honor John Carlson for reaching 1,000 NHL games.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals will keep the same lineup as they had on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes, with one change as Charlie Lindgren will start after getting the night off in Raleigh.
T.J. Oshie took part in the full morning skate, but he remains out with an upper-body injury.
Here are the projected line combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Mike Sgarbossa-Connor McMichael-Aliaksei Protas
Max Pacioretty-Hendrix Lapierre-Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Ivan Miroshnichneko
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- T.J. Oshie will miss his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury. He did take a positive step forward in his recovery, though, as he was the first one on for morning skate and also stayed on for extra work.
- Nicklas Backstrom is still away from the team indefinitely after stepping away with his hip not responding as he'd hoped following hip resurfacing surgery in June 2022.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin has three goals in his last two games and is one goal away from passing Mike Gartner for the most 30-goal seasons in NHL history.
- Dylan Strome has points in three of his last four games and 13 points in his last 10 games.
- John Carlson has points in three of his last four games and 10 points in his last 11 games. He will be honored for hitting 1,000 games in a pregame ceremony before puck drop.
- Hendrix Lapierre has points in four of his last six games.
Washington Capitals Playoff Implications
With a win, Washington can leapfrog the Detroit Red Wings for the second Wild Card spot in the west and pull one point behind the New York Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division.
Right now, D.C. has a 33.2 percent chance of making the postseason, per MoneyPuck.
How To Watch Capitals vs. Lightning
The game will be live on Monumental Sports Network.
Fans can also tune in on Caps Radio 24/7 and 106.7 FM The Fan.