The Washington Capitals will face off against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night in the second leg of their five-game road trip out west. When the Capitals take the ice at Rogers Place, they could do so with several roster regulars returning from injury.
Head coach Spencer Carbery met with the media after his team’s optional morning skate on Wednesday and shared updates on Tom Wilson, Nic Dowd, and Martin Fehervary. All three players did not play against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday and Carbery says they will be game-time decisions against the Oilers.
“We’ll make sure that everything is good this afternoon and then make a decision tonight,” Carbery said. “We’ve got some guys potentially coming back in the lineup tonight.”
Dowd has not played since February 20 after taking a hit in the head from Timo Meier in a game against the New Jersey Devils. In his absence, Mike Sgarbossa has primarily deputized as the team’s fourth-line center between Beck Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
Fehervary left early in the Capitals’ 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on February 17 after falling awkwardly behind the net. The team has been walking a tightrope with the Slovak defender out of action, playing with just six healthy defensemen since they dealt away Joel Edmundson at the trade deadline.
While Dowd and Fehervary suffered clear injuries during games and were hurt around the same time last month, Wilson’s situation is more recent and more mysterious as he was able to finish his last game against the Chicago Blackhawks. All that is known about the big winger’s ailment is that it is upper-body in nature and was enough to keep him out of just his second game this season.
“[Wilson] will be game-time as well,” Carbery said. “Just making sure that he’s completely comfortable injury-wise and able to suit up.”
The only definite lineup change will be Darcy Kuemper jumping into net in place of Charlie Lindgren. Lindgren has started the team’s last six games and posted near back-to-back shutouts against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Blackhawks during that stretch.
“Chuckie has been outstanding, it’s been well-documented,” Carbery said. “As a product, Darcy hasn’t been playing as much as he would like but that’s a product of how well Chuckie was playing. Darcy now gets an opportunity to come in and play in a huge hockey game for our team on the road against a great team and a good opportunity for him to step up big for our group.”
The Oilers currently sit second in the Pacific Division and have won six of their last 10 games. They have been off for a handful of days after making light work of the Penguins on Sunday in a 4-0 shutout victory.