WASHINGTON — After falling 4-1 in their preseason opener Monday night at New Jersey, the Capitals are north of the border Wednesday night taking on Montreal. You can listen to the game online at and www.federalnewsradio.com or www.capsradio247.com.
Below are three storylines worth monitoring:
Top-line audition:
Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom have seemingly been joined at the hip for the last decade, with Backstrom assisting on more than 46 percent of Ovechkin’s goals since 2007-08.
But head coach Barry Trotz said this week that Ovechkin will skate alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov to start the season with a yet-to-be-determined right winger rounding out the trio. Backstrom will begin the year on a line with T.J. Oshie and, most likely, Andre Burakovsky.
Ovechkin and Kuznetsov will make their preseason debuts tonight in Montreal, where they will be joined on the top line by Jakub Vrana.
Vrana, 21, is among several Capitals prospects looking for full-time work in the NHL. The first-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft had three goals and six points in 21 games with the Capitals last season, spread over multiple recalls from AHL Hershey. He remains a work in progress with defensive shortcomings.
The offseason departure of 20-goal scorers Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson leaves the Capitals with a few holes among their top-six forwards and on the power play. That means Vrana will be given every shot to make the team out of camp. Playing alongside Ovechkin and Kuznetsov tonight in Montreal is a legitimate audition.
Smith-Pelly makes Capitals debut:
Besides Vrana, other roster hopefuls in the Capitals lineup worth watching tonight include Devante Smith-Pelly, Chandler Stephenson and Madison Bowey.
Smith-Pelly, 25, signed a free agent deal with the Capitals in July, soon after he was bought out by the New Jersey Devils. Smith-Pelly was held to just four goals and nine points in 53 games with the Devils last season, but he played through a knee injury that finally required season-ending surgery in March.
The Capitals are Smith-Pelly’s fourth team in as many seasons – a run that also includes stints in Anaheim and Montreal.
“You get only so many kicks at the can,” said general manager Brian MacLellan. “When a new organization takes an interest in you, I think you perk up and try to prove them right.”
Stephenson is the only Capitals player in tonight’s lineup who also played the preseason opener Monday in New Jersey. While he’ll play center tonight in Montreal, Trotz said that he plans to use Stephenson as a winger as the preseason continues. With Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Lars Eller and Jay Beagle locked in as the top-four centers, Stephenson’s best chance at cracking the lineup is likely as a fourth-line winger.
Connolly & Wilson suiting up:
Brett Connolly and Tom Wilson will also make their preseason debuts tonight, skating alongside prospect Garrett Pilon.
Both Connolly and Wilson are being counted on to pick up the slack for a forward group that lost 60 goals from last year’s lineup with the departures of Williams, Johansson and Daniel Winnik.
“We’ve got to get more production out of Tom Wilson,” Trotz said. “We’re going to need some more goals out of him. He’s got to get into double digits this year. I think that’s real key.”
Wilson had seven goals and 19 points in 82 games last season, but played some of the best hockey of his career in the Capitals’ first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Toronto native had the overtime winner in Game 1 and scored twice at the Air Canada Centre in Game 4.
Connolly had 15 goals and 23 points in 66 games last season, while playing 10 minutes, 41 seconds per game. Connolly’s career-high 15 tallies were the most by any NHL player who averaged fewer than 11 minutes a night. The 25-year-old is confident that with more playing time, he can have a breakthrough season.
“My goal is to score at least 20 [goals] and help the team win,” Connolly said. “That’s a very realistic goal for myself coming into the season with a little more ice time. I’ll play, I’m assuming every game, so it’s a good challenge and a good opportunity and hopefully I can take advantage of it.”
Below is how the Capitals are expected to lineup against the Canadiens (veterans indicated in bold)
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Jakub Vrana
Wayne Simpson – Chandler Stephenson – Devante Smith-Pelly
Brett Connolly – Garrett Pilon – Tom Wilson
Zach Sill – John Albert – Anthony Peluso
Brooks Orpik – Connor Hobbs
Jyrki Jokipakka – Madison Bowey
Jonas Siegenthaler – Colby Williams
Philipp Grubauer
Pheonix Copely
