Game #17
Caps (9-3-4, 22 points) vs. Florida Panthers (5-8-1, 11 points)
Long time, no see. These two teams met last night, a 4-1 Caps win. It was a little costly, though. Defensemen Mike Green and Jeff Schultz are both out. Green was hurt in the first period last night (upper-body injury). Schultz went out in the second (lower-body injury). Caps coach Bruce Boudreau called both “day-to-day” and said they’d be re-evaluated at practice on Tuesday. He hedged when asked if they’d be back Wednesday for the game with the Islanders.
No surprise, Alex Ovechkin will miss his third game in a row (upper-body strain). His only action in recent days was Thursday’s practice in Sunrise, Fla. The Caps have placed him on injured reserve to clear a roster spot for teammate Eric Fehr – back in the lineup after being sidelined for six games with a rib injury.
“He’s still sore so there’s no point [in playing him],” Boudreau said. “I can see him skating and then you know Alex wants to push it and all of the sudden he trips on somebody’s bad ice and goes into the corner. We’re sort of hurting ourselves at that point. Tomorrow is the day off and we’ll see how it is Monday or Tuesday.”
Caps will start Jose Theodore for the second game in a row. Tyler Sloan moves back to defense – something he had to do early in last night’s game. He will pair with Milan Jurcina. No word from the league on the status of defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, whose 5-minute major for boarding and 10-minute game misconduct last night had him on a suspension watch of sorts. So he’s good for tonight. The NHL had sent the Caps a letter prior to the season saying Morrisonn would be suspended for another infraction. They really couldn’t afford to lose him tonight with two D-men already banged up. Morrisonn will play with Tom Poti with Brian Pothier and John Erskine the final pairing.
Boudreau claimed not to know the status of forward Michael Nylander, who TSN reported earlier Saturday as going on waivers. He won’t clear officially until noon Sunday. Team officials confirmed the move, but say no trade or loan is imminent.
