The Caps play the Devils this afternoon at Capital One Arena. Puck drops at a little after 1:00pm. Each team has a record of 4-3 and has 8 standings points. The Caps are third in the Metro Division ahead of the fourth-place Devils because the Caps have two more wins in regulation.
The Caps will be without center Pierre-Luc Dubois for a fourth straight game as he is battling an illness. Justin Sourdif is also down with an illness, so the Caps called up Johnny Brodzinski from Hershey to take Sourdif’s spot at the center position. Brodzinski has been playing very well in the AHL and is second on the Bears with 5 points. Brodzinski has played in 264 NHL games, so the veteran should (hopefully) slide right into the lineup and not miss a beat.
On a positive note, defenseman Matt Roy participated in a full practice yesterday. Head coach Spencer Carbery was unsure if Roy would take the ice for today’s game but wasn’t worried about it either way.
"“I think the [defense] corps has been one of the bright spots of our team and season thus far…[and] the ability of our [defense] corps missing such an important piece to still put together some good, solid performances.” "Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery
https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/caps-host-devils-in-saturday-matinee
The Capitals training staff isn’t going to take any chances and rush Roy back too soon. They need him healthy. With the Justin Holl and Timothy Liljegren stepping up in Roy’s absence, it makes Carbery’s job easier.
Alex Ovechkin is again on a line with Ilya Protas and Ivan Miroshnichenko. Those three played well together against the Canadiens two nights ago. Miro scored and Ovi and Protas had the assists. Ovi looked pretty good against Montreal. I’m not sure why so many people are worried about Ovechkin’s slow start. He’s always been a streaky player. Perhaps at 41 years-old, he may just need to take a little bit longer to get warmed up. He never scored fewer than 31 goals or 64 points in a full NHL season. I have learned over the past 21 years not to bet against Alexander the Great.
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