Capitals hockey returns with preseason match against Sabres
Sunday is a big day for Washington and Buffalo fans. There’s two games that the fanbases will be watching with anticipation. Of course in this one we are talking about the Washington Capitals preseason opener against the Buffalo Sabres.
Here’s who will be suiting up for the Capitals, per the team:
Forwards
Alexander Suzdalev
Sonny Milano
Dylan Strome
Aliaksei Protas
Hendrix Lapierre
Anthony Mantha
Matthew Phillips
Henrik Rybinski
Riley Suter
Ryan Hofer
Bogdan Trineyev
Jake Karabela
Nicolas Aube Kubel
Defensemen
Vincent Iorio
Dylan McIlrath
Alex Alexeyev
Jon McDonald
Martin Fehervary
Lucas Johansen
Trevor van Riemsdyk
Nick Lievermann
Goaltenders
Hunter Shepard
Clay Stevenson
There are a few players I’m looking forward to watching. On the forwards side there’s Anthony Mantha and Hendrix Lapierre. The former lost weight and looked good at training camp and is eager to show off his hard work in a game. He’ll have to wait until it counts to really pad the stat sheet but a good game in a preseason opener is a good start.
As for Lapierre, he looks to make the opening night roster. He was a key contributor to the Hershey Bears Calder Cup run over the spring.
Another key contributor to the Bears I’m looking forward to seeing is Hunter Shepard. The Caps goaltending is pretty much set with Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren. But if something were to happen to either player to get hurt, Shepard showed during that Cup run that he can handle anything.
On defense I’m intrigued to see Lucas Johansen or Vincent Iorio try to give Alex Alexeyev or others trying to make the roster a run for their money.
Must Read. For Anthony Mantha A Good Start To The Season Is Critical. light
The puck drops at 2 p.m. If you live outside of the DMV area you can catch the game nationally on NHL Network. If you’re local note that NBC Sports Washington is now Monumental Sports Network. Different look but the same channel number. Joe B and Locker are ready to rock it in the booth.