Washington Capitals: Top 3 positional battles this preseason

1 of 3

Vitek Vanecek, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Capitals are well underway into their preseason schedule and they enter their third contest tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. We’ve seen many players impress despite the Caps not getting a win in their first two games. Some cuts have been made and the opening night roster is beginning to crystallize but there are still some positional battles that are up for grabs.

We won’t see some of these players tonight but they will be talked about anyway. It is these three spots that will determine the direction of the team this season. Let’s look at the top 3 position battles.

Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

#3 Ilya Samsonov vs. Vitek Vanecek for the opening night starting goaltender spot

Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek are expected to be the goaltending duo this season but who gets the nod for opening night. Samsonov will get the start in Philadelphia tonight against the Flyers which will be his second audition after playing in the third period on Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils.

Samsonov is 24 while Vanecek is 25 so they’re among the youngest players on the team and expected to be the youngest average NHL goaltending duo this season. Both have over 35 games of NHL experience with Samsonov playing in 45 games while Vanecek plays in 37 games.

Home/Editorials