Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes

 The Caps have returned from the West Coast with a 2-1-1 record one one of their longest trips of the season. Despite the winning record Barry Trotz was not pleased with the way the team is playing. That shows in tonight's lineup. Here it is based on the morning skate at Kettler this morning.

Forwards:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Beagle
Burakovsky-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Chimera-Johansson-Williams
Winnik-Richards-Wilson

Defense and Goalies:

Alzner-Niskanen
Opik-Orlov
Schmidt-Chorney

Holtby
Grubauer


Other Notes:

*Jay Beagle will move to the top line to try to give them a bit of a spark. Beagle hasn't been on the top I believe since Adam Oates was the coach.

*T.J Oshie will be bumped down the the second line to play with the young skilled forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky.

*With that Justin Williams will be on the 3rd line to try to bring some production to that line. I think he will fit in well with Jojo and Chimmer.

*Tom Wilson has not produced lately so he is on the 4th line with Richards and Winnik who have played well together since Winnik was traded to the Caps.

*The Hurricanes are still on the outside of the playoffs but have remained pesky and have played hard down the stretch. This won't be a easy game.

*Overall we have all been talking about the way the Caps are playing in the first period, it won't get better until they fix it. Hopefully the line changes will give the team a little spark. Sometimes the first home game after a road trip is hard. With this team it shouldn't be an excuse.

*Braden Holtby has also not played as well lately but he got to rest on Saturday. So, hopefully he is refreshed tonight and play well.

*If the Caps play the way they should they should win this game, but if they play down to their level then it could be a tough night. We will see if they can get going early.


Gametime 7:00 p.m on CSN