Caps (2-0-0, 4 points) vs. Penguins (3-0-1, 7 points)
What – Game #3
Where – CONSOL Energy Center
When – 7 p.m.
TV – CSN HD
Radio – WFED-1500 AM
Once again we’re missing a little bit of star power for the first Caps-Penguins tilt of the season. Evgeni Malkin says he’s a game-time decision. Sidney Crosby was cleared for contact and sporting a black helmet during the team’s morning skate. First time that’s happened since his second concussion last Jan. 5 against Tampa Bay. We all remember the first at last year’s Winter Classic.
“Which is why today, even in the morning skate, [Crosby] participated on a line because he hasn’t been on a line for…a lot of the practices,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “Trying to give him those situations a little more often is something we’re going to do every chance we get. That’s why he participated on the power play this morning as well – to get some reps with the possible combinations he’d be playing [with] there.”
Michal Neuvirth did not make the trip for Washington. He is still dealing with a lower-body injury and listed as day-to-day. Braden Holtby was recalled from AHL Hershey to serve as the backup to starter Tomas Vokoun. Read our story on what should be an emotional night for Vokoun as the Penguins and Capitals honor the victims of last month’s plane crash in Russia that took the lives of 44 people, including the entire Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey club, which included Vokoun’s good friend, Josef Vasicek.
As for the healthy scratches, Boudreau said there is not set rotation among D.J. King, Jay Beagle and Mathieu Perreault – the three fighting for a final spot all things being equal. King, Perreault and injured defenseman John Erskine stayed out on the ice this morning for extra work so it appears Beagle is back in the lineup. He sat out Monday’s game vs. Tampa Bay.
“We want to win every game, so sometimes there’s better what we think is different personnel for different lineups,” Boudreau said. “And that’s what we’ll base it on. All three players if you look at Beagle, Perreault, King as three guys bring different things to the table. It’s not a rotation. It’s not anything. It’s we just look at what’s going to make us be the better team that night.”
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