#1 Matthew Phillips
Matthew Phillips made the opening night roster and 100 percent deserved it. It was a question as to whether he would start the season in the lineup Friday night and not a healthy scratch. But on Friday the team made the paper transaction of sending Aliaksei Protas to the Hershey Bears allowing both Phillips and Anthony Mantha to play on the fourth line.
Now Protas is back with the Caps and both him and Phillips in the lineup while Anthony Mantha is the healthy scratch. Phillips will play once again on the third line alongside Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano.
On Friday the 13th against the Penguins, it marked Phillips’ Capitals debut as he logged 11:21 minutes of ice time and registering one shot on goal.
Tonight has the potential to be a revenge game for Phillips. He is a Calgary native who spent seven years in the Flames organization but only had three games in the NHL with them under his belt.
That included two games with the Flames last season. He was a sixth round pick with the Flames at 166th overall back in 2016. He shined with their AHL affiliate the Calgary Wranglers last season as he recorded 76 points in 66 games with 36 goals and 40 assists.