Washington Capitals: Michal Kempny returns tonight

There is one player on the Washington Capitals that fans couldn’t wait to see back on the ice and that the defense will welcome back with open arms: Michal Kempny.

Michal Kempny injured his hamstring in a mid-March contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was that injury that shook up the entire Washington Capitals blueline and it affected them negatively throughout the homestretch and in the playoffs when they squandered a 3-2 series lead to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Kempny was usually paired with John Carlson in the past but today at morning skate he was on the third paring next to Radko Gudas. Kempny then confirmed to the media that he’ll play tonight against the New York Rangers.

I think it’s a good spot for Kempny in the lineup next to Gudas. They can be an effective combo plus third line minutes will help get Kempny readapted to the speed of the game. It’s much different compared to practice and the Caps did a good job not rushing their defenseman back into the lineup right away.

Kempny told Samantha Pell of The Washington Post (subscription required):

“Yeah I’m playing tonight, it’s been a long time and I’m very excited. Ready to go … especially from the beginning of the rehab, small steps make me happy. I think it’s part of rehab and all the bad is behind me and I’m just focusing now and today’s game.”

Kempny was practicing throughout training camp in a light blue non-contact jersey before getting the thumbs up from training staff the morning of opening night on Oct. 2.

The Capitals additionally placed Richard Panik on long term injured reserve and brought up center Travis Boyd and young 19-year old defenseman Martin Fehervary from Hershey. Panik was involved in a collision with Jonas Siegenthaler. The latter was still paired with John Carlson on the top pairing  at morning skate. Siegenthaler is also a game-time decision tonight, per Mike Vogel of WashingtonCaps.com.

Kempny’s healing couldn’t have come at a better time. The Capitals missed his presence in some tough losses especially on Monday night against the Colorado Avalanche. With the city supercharged with the Nationals in the World Series and the Mystics winning the WNBA Finals (and of course, still on cloud nine from the Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup), the Caps helped jolt the crowd more with a big win over the Maple Leafs.

Now it’s another Metropolitan Division foe coming into town on a Friday night and now Caps fans can finally anticipate Kempny’s return to action.