Capitals Change Up Lines, McMichael Appears To Be Scratch Vs. Sharks

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals made some changes to the forward lines as they look to find a spark, and it appears Connor McMichael is the odd man out against the San Jose Sharks.

At the team’s morning skate on Wednesday, Washington reunited the top line of Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson. Daniel Sprong also drew back in after sitting out the last three games as a healthy scratch, joining the second line with Nicklas Backstrom and Conor Sheary.

McMichael, meanwhile, slotted out and skated with the extras, and appears to be a healthy scratch. The 21-year-old has two assists in his last four games and skated just 6:55 minutes on Monday and 5:50 on Saturday against Ottawa. The last time he was a scratch was on Jan. 7 against the St. Louis Blues. When he drew back in on Jan. 8 against Minnesota, he scored.

READ MORE ON WHN: Capitals Reportedly Looking Into Marc-Andre Fleury

The defensive pairings stayed the same, while Nick Jensen also made a return to the ice. He skated in a blue non-contact jersey and did not take part in line rushes. However, it was an encouraging sign for the team, which has him listed as week-to-week.

Here are what the lines looked like at the morning skate:

Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson

Conor Sheary-Nicklas Backstrom-Daniel Sprong

Aliaksei Protas-Lars Eller-Garnet Hathaway

Carl Hagelin-Nic Dowd-Brett Leason

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov-Justin Schultz

Michal Kempny-Trevor van Riemsdyk

All three Capitals goalies are on the ice. It’s unclear who will start, but Vitek Vanecek has been strong over his last five outings, posting a .929 save percentage and 2.00 GAA, along with one shutout.