Sammi’s Daily: Capitals Lineup Questions, Game Day, Trade Talk

The Washington Capitals are out west to kick off a three-game road swing, which kicks off with a showdown against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena at 9 p.m. ET. As the team braces for the Desert, head coach Peter Laviolette also continues to ponder lineup decisions.

In other news, trade talk continues to brew and more NHL teams continue to face questions, see milestones and continue their respective playoff pushes.

Here are all the latest headlines and notes from D.C. and across the league:

Washington Capitals

– Nic Dowd provided an update on his injury and opened up about what happened on 106.7 FM. (WHN)

– With Dowd out, Washington is dealing with more lineup tweaks, and here's what the players had to say about the changing combos. (WHN)

– One of the changes sees Lars Eller draw back into the mix for the Capitals, as would have been the case regardless of Dowd's status as Laviolette praised his play and said the decision to bench him had nothing to do with his performance. (WHN)

– Dowd was injured in the opening minutes of Monday's 4-3 comeback win over the New York Islanders, which saw Alex Ovechkin ignite the spark with a huge hit on Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Pageau was made available for the first time since and ripped the captain for the hit, and he didn't appreciate Ovechkin's check in on him later in the game, either. (WHN)

NHL

– Ivan Provorov's boycott of Pride Night is still receiving mixed reviews. Philadelphia Flyers (PHN)

– Pittsburgh suffered a costly 5-4 overtime loss on Wednesday, and Mike Sullivan wasn't thrilled with the nine penalties against his club. Pittsburgh Penguins (PHN)

– Cale Makar is out for the Avalanche with injury as the team continues to deal with a myriad of ailments. Colorado Avalanche (CHN)

– Pageau also said Ovechkin hit him in the head. New York Islanders (NYIHN)

– What will the NHL Trade Deadliine look for the Red Wings, especially with Jakub Vrana still working his way back? Detroit Red Wings (DHN)

Top Shelf Takes

– Vrana scored his first pro goal since his return from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and continues to make strides, and just seeing him find twine is inspiring in itself. It's been a long road for "V," and hopefully this jumpstarts the winger on the road back.

– Going into Arizona, it'll be interesting to see if Mantha is a healthy scratch again or if Aliaksei Protas, who joined the team for the road swing, will draw in.

– If Mantha is in fact scratched, is it time to wonder about his Capitals future?

– The Stadium Series is now less than a month away… jerseys any day now?