Yahoo Sports Capitals vs. Blue Jackets Preview: Line Combinations, Stats, Storylines To Watch
After a four-day break, the Washington Capitals are back on the road and set to return to game action as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.m. ET at Nationwide Arena.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
After a strong back-to-back showing up in Canada last week, the Capitals are sticking with what worked, and aren't expected to make any lineup changes, as Tom Wilson (broken sinus bone) is good to go and will play through his injury.
Charlie Lindgren will get the start in net as Washington's goaltending rotation continues.
Here are the projected combinations:
Aliaksei Protas-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Taylor Raddysh
Hendrix Lapierre-Lars Eller-Andrew Mangiapane
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Rasmus Sandin-Matt Roy
Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson
Injured: Alex Ovechkin (broken left fibula), Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back)
Washington Capitals Stats
- Tom Wilson has eight points in his last seven games.
- Connor McMichael has points in four of his last five games, with seven points over that span.
- Jakob Chychrun has points in three of his last five outings.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Pierre-Luc Dubois is another top name to watch as he returns to his old stomping grounds. He has points in three of his last four outings, with five points in that span, and continues to be an impact player for D.C. on the top-6. In seven career games against the Blue Jackets, Dubois has five points.
- Dylan Strome ranks 15th in the league in points, and after finding twine in Montreal, looks hungry to get back to his high-scoring ways from the start of the year.
- Keep an eye on Rasmus Sandin, who leads the league in goals above replacement.
