The Washington Capitals held their final practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex ahead of Saturday’s season-opening matchup against the New Jersey Devils. Washington’s roster is set, and all that’s left to do is drop the first puck at Capital One Arena.
Head coach Spencer Carbery confirmed post-skate that the lineup he has put together over the past few weeks will be on the ice against New Jersey.
“That’s the way we’ll start,” he said.
Projected lines
The only non-solidified lineup decision coming into the game is on the left wing of the team’s third line. Sonny Milano and Jakub Vrana have split reps at the position over the last several practices. However, on Thursday, Carbery indicated that Milano would get the first shot at locking down the role.
“Sonny has a lot of credibility with our coaching staff, with this team,” Carbery said Thursday. “He had a solid year. I think it tailed off a little bit in the playoffs for him, but, I mean, it tailed off for a lot of guys in the playoffs for us.
“He’s got some credibility with us. So whether he had a great preseason or he’s easing his way back into it, there’s a confidence level that when the puck drops for real that, he’ll put his best on display.”
Carbery also revealed that Charlie Lindgren will get the nod as the starter against the Devils. Logan Thompson, Lindgren’s backup, returned to practice on Friday after missing a few practices due to personal/family reasons. Lindgren started the team’s final preseason game against the Boston Bruins and pitched a 17-save shutout.
The 30-year-old netminder will hope his first start this year goes better than his first last year. Lindgren took a 4-0 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins to open last season before winning five of his next six starts.
When the puck drops against the Devils, the Capitals will be the second-to-last NHL team to get their 2024-25 campaign underway. Washington will be playing a Devils team that is already three games into their season, which Carbery says presents both a challenge and perhaps a benefit due to his team getting some extra rest.
“It helps definitely to get in the swing of things and play games, but you also have to understand they’ve been over to Europe, back, traveled,” Carbery said Friday. “They had three or four days in between from the second game because they played back-to-back over in Europe and flew back.
“I don’t read too much into it. There’s a benefit, but they’ve got some travel. What I do know is that your first game out – the jitters, the excitement, the calmness in your game, the reads, the puck touches. We’ll need to be very diligent with our start because they’re going to be very comfortable. We’re going to need to make sure we are able to get those jitters out very, very quickly.”
Saturday night’s game represents a turning of the page for the Capitals. They’re projected to have nine skaters dressed against the Devils, who did not play in last season’s opener against Pittsburgh.
Seven of those players are brand new to the organization, arriving over the offseason via trade or free agency. While that could mean the team has some early chemistry issues, Carbery is still amped up to get his first look at what he and the front office have put together.
“There’s a little bit of an unknown, which I think leads to an anticipation and excitement because we do have so many new parts to our group that we haven’t seen at all,” Carbery said. “Preseason, you get a little bit of an idea, but it’s not the regular season, so there’s a little bit of an unknown for us as coaches seeing what we have here and what it looks like in a real game.
“I’m excited to see that. I feel good about where we’re at. I like our group. I’ve liked our Training Camp. I feel like we’ve gotten a lot of productive work accomplished, and now it’s just a matter of putting it together and seeing what that looks like in a regular season game.”
Puck drop against the Devils is slated for 7 pm inside Capital One Arena. New Jersey comes into the game with a 2-1 record, losing for the first time this season to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. The Capitals had the Devils’ number last year, winning the season series three games to one. Washington out-scored New Jersey 19-14 in those four games, scoring six goals in two of the wins.
