At long last, the Washington Capitals have good news in-terms of their overall team health. As the Capitals prepare to take on the Nashville Predators in their first-game back since the NHL paused, they have activated star players, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, and Tom Wilson. The four stars look poised to make their return the lineup tonight, Oshie didn’t participate in the last full-team practice but he did participate in this morning’s optional morning skate so his status remains to be seen. As Peter Laviolette would surely tell you, the Capitals are working things through in their locker room.
#Caps activate Nicklas Backstrom (COVID protocol), Evgeny Kuznetsov (COVID protocol), TJ Oshie (COVID protocol) and Tom Wilson (IR). In addition, #Caps recall Alex Alexeyev and Brett Leason from the taxi squad and assign Michael Sgarbossa to the taxi squad.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) December 29, 2021
The Capitals also recalled Alex Alexeyev and Brett Leason from the taxi squad and were able to assign Michael Sgarbossa to the taxi squad which means he cleared waivers.
The team is surely excited to get four of their top six players back in the lineup, but anytime that you can say four of your top six is returning to the lineup, you know things haven’t gone exactly as you had anticipated. Going forward, the Capitals, and the rest of the league, should have an easier time keeping their players in the lineup.
This news comes on the heels of reports that the NHL has loosened it’s COVID protocols to remain inline with current CDC recommendations.
This will hopefully allow the Capitals to field their full lineup for the first time all season as the team’s defensive unit has 3 of their starting 6 players currently in COVID protocol.