T.J. Oshie Misses Morning Skate, Nic Dowd Returns, Martin Fehervary Skates In Non-Context Jersey: Notes From Capitals Monday Morning Skate

The Washington Capitals returned to MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Monday morning for final preparations for the Detroit Red Wings. The two teams do battle tonight at Capital One Arena, with puck drop set for just after 7PM. MORNING SKATE The … Continue reading →

Sportsman Sportsman
Dec 19, 2022 - 09:51
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T.J. Oshie Misses Morning Skate, Nic Dowd Returns, Martin Fehervary Skates In Non-Context Jersey: Notes From Capitals Monday Morning Skate


The Washington Capitals returned to MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Monday morning for final preparations for the Detroit Red Wings. The two teams do battle tonight at Capital One Arena, with puck drop set for just after 7PM.

MORNING SKATE

The forward lines and defensive pairs at morning skate on Monday, courtesy of Tom Gulitti/NHL.com:

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano— Evgeny Kuznetsov — Anthony Mantha
Marcus Johansson — Lars Eller — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Aliaksei Protas — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Erik Gustafsson — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper

Extras: Lucas Johansen, Joe Snively

Capitals PP1: Carlson, Ovechkin, Strome (in Oshie spot), Kuznetsov, Johansson

PP2: Gustafsson, Orlov, Sheary, Mantha, Milano.

T.J. Oshie (upper body) did not participate in the team’s morning skate. He was injured in the second period of Saturday night’s game against the Maple Leafs and did not return.

Nic Dowd (lower body) returned to the Capitals morning skate today after missing game Saturday. T.J. Oshie (upper body) did not participate this morning.

Martin Fehervary (upper body) was on the ice for Caps’ morning skate in a non-contact jersey. It was the first time he has skated with the team since his injury.

Nicklas Backstrom continues to skate in regular (full-contact) jersey. Tom Wilson also continues to skate in non-contact jersey.

Alex Alexeyev returned to skate in non-contact jersey.

Capitals will wait to see how Kuemper makes it through the morning skate to see if he can back up and then could potentially send down Zach Fucale and Hunter Shepard (depending upon Shepard’s health).

Update: Darcy Kuemper has been cleared to return from IR and will back up Charlie Lindgren tonight, per head coach Peter Laviolette. Nic Dowd is a game-time decision.

ROCK CITY

The Washington Capitals host the Detroit Red Wings for the second of three meetings between the two teams during the regular season. Detroit defeated Washington in the first one by a score of 3-1 at Little Caesers Arena on November 3 but Washington is 16-3-3 against them since the 2011-12 season.

Action from Capital One Arena can be seen on NBC Sports Washington in-market or ESPN+ out-of-market. [Preview here.]

SONNY DAYS

Sonny Milano recorded three assists on Saturday vs. Toronto, marking his second career three-assist game (also Dec. 1, 2021 vs. Vegas as a member of the Anaheim Ducks). Since making his Capitals debut on Nov. 5 versus Arizona, Milano has recorded 14 points (3g, 11a) in 20 games played.

Milano’s 11 assists rank tied for second on the Capitals during that span (Evgeny Kuznetsov: 14; Dylan Strome: 11; Alex Ovechkin: 11), while his 14 points rank tied for fifth. In addition, Milano has recorded three multi-point games with Washington, all of which have come in Capitals’ wins. Milano’s 2.52 points per 60 minutes at five-on-five this season also leads the Capitals. Milano is five points shy of 100 career points (39g, 56a). [More here.]

STAT OF THE DAY – BETTER THAN EXPECTED

Today’s stat of the day revisits is the Capitals’ expected goals differential (xGF – xGA). As we noted back on December 10 (here), the Capitals differential has been steadily improving since a season low on November 13.

The Capitals differential continues to improve, from a monthly low of -3.14 to +1.00 for the season. That’s an impressive improvement that is a reflection of the Capitals won-loss record in the month of December.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Both Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre scored in the Hershey Bears 5-2 victory over the Lehigh Vally Phantoms last night. First, Lapierre ended a five-game points drought with a power play goal.

Then in the third period, Connor McMichael made an eye-popping play to give the Bears a 4-3 lead.

Ivan Miroshnichenko played in his 4th KHL game today. He recorded 3 shots and 3 hits in just 6:18 of ice time. He is definitely making the most of his ice time.

By Jon Sorensen

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