Capitals Camp: Center Competition Rolls On, McMichael On Wing, ‘Taxi Squad’

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals were back on the ice for training camp, and their regulars were on the ice while some of the fringe roster players skated ahead of the main practice.

At the main skate, the regulars saw the lines change up a bit and focused a lot on offense and rushes on the ice. The combinations saw Lars Eller jump to the top-6, according to the jersey colors, while Connor McMichael was on the wing with Dylan Strome working as the 3C. However, it’s possible these could have flipped, since jersey colors are not always indicators of the lines.

Per head coach Peter Laviolette, that second-line center job is still very much open. The team is also continuing to evaluate the combinations going forward with nine days to go until the start of the regular season. Washington opens the 2022-23 campaign on Oct. 12, as the Capitals take on the Boston Bruins at home.

Here were the lines:

Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Connor Brown

Marcus Johansson-Lars Eller-T.J. Oshie

Connor McMichael-Dylan Strome-Anthony Mantha

Conor Sheary-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov-Nick Jensen

Erik Gustafsson-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Lucas Johansen-Matt Irwin

Darcy Kuemper

Charlie Lindgren

Aliaksei Protas, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Brett Leason, Joe Snively and Henrik Borgstrom were on the ice for an earlier morning skate and some extra work. Kody Clark was not on the ice.

Laviolette said that the practices were split because he wanted to get work in with the regulars while also looking at specifics for those players that could make it and weren’t NHLers all last season.

READ MORE ON WHN: Takeaways, Competitions To Watch & Who’s Under Pressure After Washington Capitals Cuts 

This was Washington’s first practice following a series of cuts on Sunday. The Capitals placed six on waivers and also loaned Hendrix Lapierre and Vincent Iorio to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

There are 31 skaters remaining at camp, but technically, there are 28 with Nicklas Backstrom, Carl Hagelin and Tom Wilson on the shelf.