A big question mark for the Washington Capitals is their lineup tonight.
Both head coaches for the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, Todd Reirden and Barry Trotz, have been secretive to the media when it comes to the lineup of the game that night. One thing that is no secret is the Caps are missing the impact from Nicklas Backstrom, who injured himself in Game 1 and hasn’t been in the series since.
Backstrom took a blindsided hit from Anders Lee that kept him off the ice in the second and third period after barely finishing the first. He’s been practicing with the team, particularly the black aces, since the hit and has been a game time decision for the last three games.
Tonight is no different as Backstrom participated in the morning skate and Todd Reirden said he was a game time decision. Martin Fehervary meanwhile wasn’t on the ice for morning skate and will not play tonight. We won’t know until warmups whether Backstrom will be in the lineup and that will depend on whether he does take the ice with the team.
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The Caps won the other night to extend their season with shots of Backstrom sitting in the stands wearing a mask. They moved Lars Eller to the second line and in Games 3 and 4 used Brian Pinho to center the third line.
Pinho played in four shifts in Game 4 for a total of 3:22. Evgeny Kuznetsov meanwhile played the most among forwards with 22:42 minutes of ice time.
In an article from Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription required) he talked about the impact of missing Backstrom. Backstrom is worth 2.0 wins and adds just under two percent to the Caps win probability. He also has the best expected goals rate among the top six forwards at 51.5 percent.
Backstrom’s absence also impacts the second line. T.J. Oshie and Jakub Vrana’s expected goals dipped to 27 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Eller, while slotted into his new role, has an expected goal rate of 39 percent.
Backstrom has 36 career playoff goals and a franchise record 71 playoff assists in 127 playoff games. Backstrom scored five goals in the playoffs last season and has left a leadership impact in the locker room that’s missing.
“He has a huge impact in our room. How he goes about his day, the confidence that he gives our team. He’s a huge part of our leadership group, even despite not being on the ice he’s still been able to be around. It’s not the same as being able to be on the ice, but I definitely have utilized him in that respect, to just be around so when he does come back, he is a part of it and he is ready to go and we are excited to have him back whenever that is,” said Reirden.
Whether Backstrom is available tonight or not, the Caps look for a win to keep their season alive.