Capitals Re-Assign Protas To Hershey; Backstrom, Oshie Out Vs. NJD

The Washington Capitals announced a handful of roster moves prior to puck drop against the New Jersey Devils and will see some familiar faces return and others draw out.

In a somewhat surprising move, Washington re-assigned Aliaksei Protas to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The 21-year-old played in 22 games with Washington, dishing two goals and six points and skating often on the top-6.

Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie will not play due to non-COVID-related illnesses. With them out, Mike Sgarbossa has been activated from the taxi squad. Meanwhile, Daniel Sprong, Nick Jensen and Justin Schultz have been added to the active roster. The Capitals also re-assigned Lucas Johansen to the taxi squad.

READ MORE ON WHN: Capitals Launch Fort Dupont Online Merch Store

With Backstrom out, Washington will again be without their usual top-4 centers and have played in just one game with all four in the lineup.

Here are the Capitals lines for their matinee against the Devils:

#ALLCAPS lines vs. NJD:

Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Sheary-Eller-Sprong
McMichael-Sgarbossa-Leason
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway

Orlov-Carlson
Kempny-Jensen
TVR-Schultz

Samsonov between the pipes.

— Sammi Silber (@sammi_silber) January 2, 2022