Capitals Notebook: Latest Lines, Notes As Team Skates In Vancouver

The Washington Capitals didn’t start their longest road trip of the season off on the right foot, as they dropped a 5-1 decision to the New Jersey Devils that looked a lot worse on paper. Still, there is work to do and plenty of room for improvement, and that was the main focus at Monday’s practice in British Columbia as the team prepares for Bruce Boudreau’s Vancouver Canucks.

Washington got right back at it on Monday, and with every point crucial with a quarter of the campaign already said and done, head coach Peter Laviolette elected to keep the lines in tact with the team having captured back-to-back wins prior to Saturday’s loss to the Devils.

Here are what the lines looked like, per The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell.

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Conor Sheary

Sonny Milano-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie

Marcus Johansson-Lars Eller-Anthony Mantha

Aliaksei Protas-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway

Erik Gustafsson-John Carlson

Martin Fehervary-Nick Jensen

Matt Irwin-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Darcy Kuemper

Charlie Lindgren

Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Alex Alexeyev remain extras for Washington.

Dmitry Orlov didn’t travel with the Capitals to open the road trip, but it was said that the door remains open to him joining the team at some point in the upcoming road swing. Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson are also not on the trip.

READ MORE ON WHN: What’s Wrong With Anthony Mantha & How Can Washington Capitals Fix It?

Washington is in for a tough matchup with Vancouver, who has won three straight games after a dreadful start to the season. The Capitals sit just four points out of a Wild Card spot, but will need to find consistency and also get help from the rest of the East in getting back up the standings. It appeared that the team was ready for a turning point after winning back-to-back games at home prior to the road trip, and they also outplayed New Jersey despite the loss. So, Tuesday will be a big test.