The Caps are in Western Canada to begin their first road trip of the 2015-2016 season. It all starts with the Calgary Flames. The Flames were a surprise in the playoffs last year but are 1-4-0 to start the season. Here is the lineup for the Caps tonight.
Forwards:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Johansson-Backstrom-Williams
Chimera-Beagle-Wilson
Laich-Stephenson-Burakovsky
Defense and Goalies:
Orpik-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Chorney-Orlov
Holtby
Grubauer
Other Notes:
*Braden Holtby will start the road trip tonight. However, it does seem to me that this week we will see backup Phillipp Grubauer get a start.
*Nick Backstrom looked very good in his first game back from injury on Saturday, we will see if he can continue that tonight or if he was running on excitement.
*Barry Trotz has liked the play of the third line of Jay Beagle,Jason Chimera, and Tom Wilson. So, much so that when Nick Backstrom came back Andre Burakovsky dropped down to the fourth line.
*Taylor Chorney has done well enough to stay in the lineup, he has been solid. I still would like to see the third defense pair play a little better than what they did in the first four games. However, I do see a steady rise in their play with each game.
*Michael Latta appears to be a healthy scratch again tonight. Next time he gets in the lineup it will be very important for him to make a difference.
*I would also like to see more from Brooks Laich, he has always been solid in the defensive zone but his offense has been suffering lately. I'm not sure if it's how he is playing or how Barry Trotz wants him to play.
*I really like how Marcus Johansson has played recently, he is playing with speed and has done well in puck battle the last couple of games.
*Overall I think it is important to hit the Flames while they are down. With Johnny Gaudreau and a number of good young forwards, and veteran Kari Ramo in net they have a good team. However, the Caps need to be aggressive and play a solid game tonight.
Gametime 9:00 p.m on CSN
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