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Washington Capitals head to Chicago to begin second half of preseason

By Michael Marzzacco

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 20: Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) looks down prior to a game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks on January 20, 2019, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 20: Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) looks down prior to a game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks on January 20, 2019, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals continue their preseason tonight in Chicago.

The Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks meet for the second time in nine days. The very next night they’ll continue their midwestern tour with a contest against the St. Louis Blues that occurs six days before these teams open the season. The Capitals close out the preseason Sunday in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The training camp roster has been trimmed to 30 skaters, 19 forwards and 11 defensemen after making two rounds of roster cuts. They made one more adjustment on Wednesday morning loaning defenseman Alex Alexeyev to Hershey. With a concussion that he suffered in the rookie tournament, he never got a chance to compete for a roster spot in training camp.

You’ll see a mostly varsity lineup tonight. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Nic Dowd, Travis Boyd, Lars Eller, Carl Hagelin, Garnet Hathaway, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Jakub Vrana, Tom Wilson, Richard Panik, Brendan Leipsic are among the forwards making the trip and on the defense you’ll see John Carlson, Jonas Siegenthaler and Radko Gudas.

Lars Eller will be making his preseason debut after a minor upper-body injury sidelined him from game action last week. T.J. Oshie left the ice after Tuesday’s practice for precautionary reasons but it was nothing series and he’s in the lineup tonight. Michal Kempny continues to recover from his hamstring injury and has practiced on the ice in a light blue non-contact jersey.

Here’s how the Capitals will line up for tonight’s game:

Forwards
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Eller-Oshie
Leipsic-Dowd-Hagelin
O’Brien-Stephenson-Panik
Defense
Siegenthaler-Carlson
Johansen-Williams
Fehervary-Lewington
Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

The top nine is stacked but the coaches eyes will be on the fourth line, specifically on Chandler Stephenson as he looks to earn a roster spot in the lineup. He’ll be centering that line next to Liam O’Brien and Richard Panik.

Anytime your role is a fourth liner and a team signs not one but TWO capable free agents who could fit that role, it automatically puts you on the bubble. Chandler Stephenson knows it and so does head coach Todd Reirden.

Braden Holtby will be making his preseason debut as he embarks on his biggest season to date. A chance at a decent payday this summer is at stake but the question is will Washington be able to afford him.

Next. 2019 predictions for Nick Jensen. dark

On the other side you’ll see plenty of stars including Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. If the last meeting was any indication, this game should be entertaining despite it still being the preseason.

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