Semin, Green, Poti could return tonight vs. Boston
The health woes that have plagued the Capitals almost since the season began may finally be abating.
Forward Alex Semin and defensemen Tom Poti and Mike Green all participated fully in Tuesday’s practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Their return would come not a moment too soon as the Caps prepare for their home game at 7 tonight against the Boston Bruins, the Eastern Conference’s top team.
But Caps coach Bruce Boudreau still listed Semin (upper back), Green (shoulder) and Poti (groin) as questionable pending today’s morning skate. The trio has missed 12, 10 and six games respectively.
“Any time you miss games it’s a bad feeling,” said Poti, who suffered his injury Nov. 26 against Atlanta. “You’re not happy, miserable walking around. I’ve just been trying to work hard to get back.”
The Bruins (19-4-4) are the surprise of the NHL so far with an Eastern Conference-best 42 points. Boston has won five in a row, including Monday’s 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay, and has lost just twice in its last 20 games.
The two teams split four entertaining contests last season, including three in March as the playoff race entered the stretch run. But the Bruins would probably like to forget their last visit to Verizon Center on Mar. 3 – an embarrassing 10-2 shellacking on national television.
“Other than that [10-2] game I thought they were the toughest team to play against in the whole league last year,” said Boudreau.
Boston has continued where it left off at the end of last season, pushing Montreal, the No. 1 seed, to seven games in a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. Center Marc Savard has a team-high 32 points. Center Phil Kessel, a third-year pro, has 17 goals, just two short of his career high. Right wing Blake Wheeler has nine goals – second in the NHL among rookies – and bruising left wing Milan Lucic, a 20-year-old already known as one of the NHL’s fiercest hitters, is blossoming into a star.
“Boston has three really well balanced lines that can score,” Boudreau said. “And they’re big and they’re tough. We haven’t played against them yet. But they’ve got that Bruin work ethic that Boston is famous for and they’ve got everybody playing on all cylinders.”
Caps left wing Alex Ovechkin (team-high 14 goals) sat out practice, but will play tonight Defenseman Tyler Sloan (heel) practiced and appears ready to go. But even if Sloan returns along with Semin, Green and Poti that still doesn’t mean the Caps are anywhere near full strength.
Neither forward Sergei Fedorov (ankle) nor defenseman John Erskine (concussion) practiced on Tuesday and both are out tonight. Forward Eric Fehr (shoulder) skated for about 10 minutes before leaving the ice. He is doubtful. Defenseman Jeff Schultz (broken finger) is on the long-term injured reserve list for at least another three weeks. Forward Chris Clark (forearm stress fracture) is on long-term injured reserve at least another two weeks.
“It’s been interesting because there’s been a lot of guys that came up [from AHL Hershey] – and whether it’s their first time playing or not they’ve all developed well and they’ve all done a good job,” said Green, who suffered his bruised shoulder on Nov. 19 in Anaheim. “But I think once we get our regular guys back that have been here since the start we’ll go on a bit of a run.”
