Malenstyn Will Draw In For Snively, McMichael Scratched Again

The Washington Capitals are looking to continue turning things around after a 3-3 start to the 2022-23 campaign as they face the New Jersey Devils, and they will have some more lineup changes.

One of the more noticeable tweaks to the lines at the morning skate, per The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell, was the addition of Beck Malenstyn, who draw in and make his season debut. The 6-3, 200-pound prospect was recalled from the AHL’s Hershey Bears to add an extra forward with Connor Brown out long-term. Now, he will replace Joe Snively, who will come back out of the lineup. Meanwhile, Connor McMichael will sit for the sixth time in seven games this season.

In 12 games up with the big club last season, Malenstyn dished his first NHL goal and also led the team in hits during his tenure with 34. He also had seven blocks and two takeaways while averaging 9:03 minutes per game. The 24-year-old also played 65 games with the Bears last season, picking up 10 goals and six assists. This offseason, Malenstyn inked a two-year extension to remain with the team. That two-way deal becomes a one-way deal next season.

Malenstyn will skate on the fourth line with Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway.

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Here were the full combinations, per Pell:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Conor Sheary

Marcus Johansson-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie

Aliaksei Protas-Lars Eller-Anthony Mantha

Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway

Dmitry Orlov-John Carlson

Martin Fehervary-Nick Jensen

Erik Gustafsson-Trevor van Riemsdyk

At this point, it appears that Hershey may be in the near future for McMichael. The 21-year-old skated roughly eight minutes in his season debut against the Ottawa Senators and wasn’t too noticeable, with the exception of his first NHL fight that wasn’t much of a scrap.