The Washington Capitals host the Vancouver Canucks tonight at Capital One Arena. For more on how to watch plus betting odds click here.
The Capitals held a morning skate today. Evgeny Kuznetsov was not on the ice due to a maintenance day. He will be a game time decision tonight.
Connor McMichael was in at second line center in Kuznetsov’s place. Otherwise there were no changes to the lines on Saturday, per Sammi Silber of Washington Hockey Now:
Ovechkin-Strome-Brown
Mantha-McMichael-Oshie
Johansson-Eller-Protas
Sheary-Dowd-Hathaway
Fehervary-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Gustafsson-TVR
Darcy Kuemper will get the start in goal after making 21 saves the other night for his first Capitals win. Here are the top 3 players to watch tonight:
#3 John Carlson
John Carlson is due for a goal. Last season he reached the 70 point mark for the third time in his last four seasons with 17 goals and 54 assists.
Carlson became the 18th defenseman in NHL history and one of two active defensemen to record three 70 point seasons. In addition, his 17 goes set a career high for goals in a season becoming one of nine defensemen in franchise history to reach the mark. Since the 2017-18 season, Carlson ranks first in the NHL in points among defenseman with 328. That is a 24 point lead over the second closest defenseman which is Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators.