Nicklas Backstrom skated and took full reps with Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble on the top unit. He was not wearing a splint on his reportedly broken thumb, and said following the skate that it is not bothering him very much at all. After practice, Bruce Boudreau confirmed that his top pivot play tomorrow. The other lines were set as follows: Laich-Perreault-Semin, Chimera-Gordon-Hendricks, and King-Bradley-Steckel. Marcus Johansson was also wearing a top-line practice jersey, but he is likely to return to his usual second or third line role tomorrow night, which would bump DJ King out of the lineup. Eric Fehr did not join his teammates on the ice for full practice, but did skate beforehand with the Caps strength and conditioning coach. Despite this, Boudreau called him "a week or two away."
Mike Green did not skate this morning, as he is sick at home with the same virus that sidelined Matt Hendricks Monday. However, Boudreau expects him to play tomorrow "unless he gets worse." Tom Poti did not skate either with his lower-body injury, and is supposed to skate tomorrow, but there is no current timetable for his return to active duty. The other five healthy defensemen were joined on the ice by Capitals D prospect and Hershey Bear Dmitri Orlov, who just signed a contract with the Bears after the conclusion of the KHL season. He is stuck in the US due to Visa issues while his teammates are in Canada for two games. The Caps invited him to skate so he could stay fresh and to prevent him from "losing his marbles," according to Boudreau. Nice gesture.
That's all for now. Check back later.
Info from Katie Carrera and Sky Kerstein was used in this post.
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