ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals may be without their top defenseman on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, as John Carlson will be a game-time decision due to an upper-body injury.
Carlson did not participate in Saturday’s morning skate, but per coach Spencer Carbery, his injury is not overly concerning, and the team will re-evaluate and see where he’s at for Saturday’s contest.
Trevor van Riemsdyk and Dylan McIlrath, along with Sonny Milano, stayed on for extra work, so if Carlson’s good to go, D.C. will run the same lineup as the last two games.
If Carlson does not play, Ryan Leonard will move to the top power play unit, while Aliaksei Protas will take his place on PP2.
Logan Thompson will get the start against New Jersey, who is without Jack Hughes after he injured his hand at a team dinner.
As for the line combinations, Carbery is sticking with what he ended the game against the Florida Panthers with. Justin Sourdif will remain on the top-6 alongside Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson, while Connor McMichael will center Hendrix Lapierre and Ryan Leonard.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Capital One Arena.
Here are the full projected combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas-Justin Sourdif-Tom Wilson
Hendrix Lapierre-Connor McMichael-Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Ethen Frank
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson*/Trevor van Riemsdyk
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin-Declan Chisholm
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
* – Game-time decision
PP1: Ovechkin, Chychrun, Strome, Wilson, Leonard*
PP2: Sandin, Beauvillier, McMichael, Protas, Frank
* – Leonard on PP1 if Carlson is unavailable
