Capitals vs. Panthers Preview: Line Combinations, Stats, Storylines to Watch
The Washington Capitals are in the Sunshine State for the next bit, as they take their annual mentors' trip down south. For their first game, they're in for quite a challenge, as they look to shake off their first back-to-back losses of the year against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.m. at Amerant Bank Arena.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
With just three goals in their last two games and the need for more offense with captain Alex Ovechkin sidelined, head coach Spencer Carbery made some major shakeups to the lines — though he wouldn't commit to them for Monday.
The personnel will remain the same as it was last game, with Ivan Miroshnichenko in for Jakub Vrana. Logan Thompson will start in net.
Here are the 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
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Washington Capitals Stats
- Connor McMichael scored his 13th goal of the season last game and sits fourth in the league in goals. The 23-year-old has 20 points in 20 games.
- Rasmus Sandin has points in seven of his last nine games.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Washington's offense got a big boost from its mentors' trip last season, as a win against the Boston Bruins fueled a playoff push that helped D.C. clinch a spot come spring. Look for it to provide a similar spark this time around.
- Watch for Tom Wilson. The 30-year-old is hungry for more scoring after cooling off a bit from his hot start to the season, and should work well on that top line.
- Dylan Strome's also gone a couple of games without a point, so watch for him, too.
- Taylor Raddysh to the top-6 is an interesting move, but the forward has actually been one of the Capitals' strongest drivers on offense analytically at 5-on-5. So, keep an eye on him.
- The Capitals have power-play goals in four of the last five outings.
