Updating last night's post, Keith Aucoin has been sent down to Hershey of the AHL along with Andrew Gordon. Gordon tweeted that he was being sent down at about 1 AM, and at that time, the Caps had not yet released an official notice that these two players were being returned to the AHL. My apologies for that mishap.
The Capitals were in fact on the ice for practice today, just not at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Instead, the Capitals took their exploits outside at the Chevy Chase Club, a country club located on Connecticut Avenue in, you guessed it, Chevy Chase, Maryland. This practice is becoming something of a tradition, now occurring in three consecutive years. Among the forwards, everyone skated, which means that Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perrault are feeling better. Both of those rookie centermen missed last night's game with various injuries. Johansson was centering the 3rd line between Eric Fehr and Jason Chimera, and Perreault was back with the 2nd line between Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich. This seems to indicate that they will be healthy enough for the Winter Classic this weekend.
Off the blue line, Tom Poti and Tyler Sloan both skated as well as they recover from injuries. Sloan has not played in over two weeks and is on IR, while Poti is considered day-to-day with a new injury besides the face one he suffered against the Penguins a week ago. No word on their availability for the festivities this weekend.
And about those festivities - the weather forecast for Pittsburgh is deteriorating by the hour, with rain and warm temperatures forecast for Jan. 1. The rain would render the playing surface unplayable in several ways, including the generation of fog, a bumpy ice sheet, and even flooding. The NHL plans to try and bump the game backwards as long as it can before calling it off for the day, and we could see a start as late as 8 in the evening. If the game cannot be played on Jan. 1, it will be played on Jan. 2nd at noon. The forecast for Sunday is much more favorable, with temperatures in the low 30s and sun expected, perfect for a hockey game.
That's all for now. Check back later.
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