The Washington Capitals have a big game at home tonight. One that could possibly make or break their season. It’s the end of February and March is on the horizon. Soon there will be the trade deadline and the final push for the playoffs. It won’t be easy tonight though.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off a 10-7 win over the Detroit Red Wings making tonight’s game a big test for the Caps against one of the best teams in the Atlantic Division. While the Caps have won three straight against the Maple Leafs, all streaks can come to an end such as their five game winning streak in Philadelphia.
The Caps held a morning skate today. Dmitry Orlov missed morning skate due to personal reasons. Justin Schultz was on the ice and they will see where he’s at from there. He’s a game time decision. Schultz played in the New York Rangers game after coming back from an upper body injury then missed Saturday’s game with an injury.
Capitals Coach Peter Laviolette said Ilya Samsonov will get the start tonight in goal and he expects Orlov to play. The forward lines were interesting as Daniel Sprong was back in the lineup while Joe Snively was out. On the defense, Matt Irwin filed in for Orlov.
Here are the lines via Samantha Pell of The Washington Post:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Sheary-Backstrom-Oshie
McMichael-Eller-Sprong
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway
Fehervary-Carlson
Irwin-Jensen
Kempny-TvR
"It all comes down to effort, to work ethic. And taking pride in having our barn a place where other teams don't want to come and play."@TJOshie77 joins Rinkside Update to talk slowing down the recent struggles at home.#CapsLeafs | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/dE5V3soi7L
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 28, 2022
Things got interesting towards the end of the skate. Sprong remained on the ice working with the scratches. Anthony Mantha also practiced for the first time in a red full contact jersey. After having shoulder surgery in November, this was the first time he was cleared for contact.
The Capitals need to string together some consistent wins sooner rather than later. No better start than at home against a high flying Toronto Maple Leafs offense. It’ll be a test for the Caps offense as well as Samsonov. It’s up to them if they can pass it.