Washington Capitals Stick to Same lines, with One Minor Swap for Game 3

After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Washington Capitals are sticking to what’s worked.

There’s expected to be just one change in the Washington Capitals forward ranks and none on defense after back-to-back home wins. Washington will look to take a stranglehold on the series in Game 3 in Carolina and take command of the series for good.

Jakub Vrana and Carl Hagelin have switched places once again, and Vrana will take the second line minutes between he and Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie. Hagelin will skate with Lars Eller and Brett Connolly, as he did in the regular season.

Oh, and the Hot Lap is back, everyone.

Also per Isabelle Khurshudyan, the lineups are what they were towards the end of Game 2 in Washington on Saturday.

If you’ll recall, Vrana and Hagelin swapped places near the end of Game 2. Hagelin’s stint on the second line was likely a plan to get the Kuznetsov line to be a more dominant defensive pairing, but when those plans didn’t work out as advertised, coach Todd Reirden went back to what worked in the regular season.

Forwards

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson

Vrana-Kuznetsov-Oshie

Hagelin-Eller-Connolly

Burakovsky-Dowd-Stephenson

Defense

Carlson-Jensen

Orlov-Niskanen

Orpik-Djoos

Line to Watch: 

The Second Line

With Vrana back up skating with Kuznetsov and Oshie, the trio that skated toward the end of the regular season will be back together once again.

In 92 minutes of ice time, the three posted slightly below 50 percent possession numbers (48.57) but were 2-2 in actual goals scored. They shot just 4.76 percent as a line together, so expect that number to rise significantly if they’re given some time together.

The flip side of that, is that the second line is not a good defensive line in the slightest. Their High-Danger Chances percentage was at 34.29, and their expected Goals Allowed (xGA) was 3.65 — to put it plainly, they’re going to be a high-event line.

With the Hurricanes at home, they’ll have last change. Pay attention early on to see how they line-match (if they do at all) against a line that is prone to giving up great scoring chances, but is one of the most talented lines in the Eastern Conference.

Tonight’s a big one. A Capitals win puts them squarely in the driver’s seat with a chance to win the series this Thursday. A loss, and we’ve got a tight series. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.