Capitals Game Day: Lines, Who To Watch & What To Know vs. Stars

After a couple of practices back home following a dominant 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday, the Washington Capitals are back out on the road for a three-game swing, which kicks off Thursday against the Dallas Stars.

Washington (4-3-0) ranks fourth in the Metropolitan Division and is in for a tough contest against Dallas (4-2-1). The Capitals seem to be on somewhat of a more ideal track than they were on to start the season, as they are starting to generate offense and maintain momentum for longer than one period. However, there’s still a matter of putting together a full 60-minute effort. Meanwhile, the Stars are looking to bounce back after suffering their first two regulation losses of the season to the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins on Monday and Tuesday.

When it comes to lines, Washington isn’t fixing what’s broken. At their morning skate in Dallas, the Capitals stuck with the same lines they had against New Jersey and maintained last practice:

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

Darcy Kuemper was the first one off the ice, per The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell. He will likely get the net for his sixth start of the season. Charlie Lindgren, who stood tall and stopped 38 of 41 shots (.927 save percentage) for his first win of the season on Monday, will back up. Connor McMichael, Joe Snively and Matt Irwin are the scratches.

READ MORE ON WHN: Washington Capitals Have No Plans To Send Connor McMichael To Hershey Bears

When it comes to players to watch, look out for Aliaksei Protas. The 21-year-old has become more noticeable over the last few games following a bit of a lull after a stellar preseason. He also got on the scoresheet for the first time this season with a multi-point outing against the Devils, and he appears to have some good chemistry with Anthony Mantha and Lars Eller, who has four points in his last four games.

Also look out for Dylan Strome, who had two assists in the win over New Jersey and leads the club in power-play points to open the season. Alex Ovechkin, of course, is always a player to watch, and after his third goal of the season on Monday, expect him to continue to push forward. And to close out that first line, watch for Conor Sheary; he picked up his first career shorthanded goal on Monday and leads the team in goals this season (4).

On the Stars’ side of the matchup, Wyatt Johnston’s been making noise. The 19-year-old has goals in back-to-back games and points in three of his last four games. Also watch for the usual suspects in Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, who are tied for the team lead in scoring (7). Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment are also threats, as is Jamie Benn. Jake Oettinger is also likely to get the start, which will make things harder for Washington’s offense as he’s been a force to be reckoned with.