Capitals Game Day: Hagelin, Orlov Exit Protocol, Oshie Update vs. Canucks

Coming off a strong win on Long Island less than 24 hours ago, the Washington Capitals are looking to keep the momentum going against the Vancouver Canucks in a Sunday matinee — and they got some good news ahead of puck drop.

Carl Hagelin and Dmitry Orlov are both out of COVID-19 protocol, per head coach Peter Laviolette. However, it’s unclear whether or not they will play on Sunday. The same goes for T.J. Oshie, who left Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury. Conor Sheary remains on COVID-19 protocol along with assistant coach Blaine Forsythe. Sheary was a late scratch after his test results on Saturday.

READ MORE ON WHN: How The Capitals Got Back On Track On Long Island

Meanwhile, Ilya Samsonov will take over the crease after Vitek Vanecek tamed the Islanders with a 23-save shutout on Saturday.

Here are what the lines looked like to start against New York:

Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie*

Aliaksei Protas-Nickals Backstrom-Tom Wilson

Brett Leason-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway

Connor McMichael-Lars Eller-Daniel Sprong

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Trevor van Riemsdyk-Nick Jensen

Matt Irwin-Justin Schultz

If Hagelin and Orlov return, I’d expect Hagelin to go back to his usual spot on the third line in place of Brett Leason, and I’d expect Orlov to take over for TVR and Irwin to draw out.

This will be the first time Washington plays Vancouver this season. It is also the first time the Capitals will see former head coach Bruce Boudreau behind the bench for the Canucks, who have lost three straight.