Game 30: 37-17-9-3 (PTS-W-L-OT)
Tuesday December 11, 2018 Detroit Red Wings @ Washington Capitals
Place: Capitol One Arena
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSWA, NBCSN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
NHL.COM for Live Box Score
Last Game: Sat December 8 Capitals Won 4-0 against Blue Jackets
Next Game: Fri December 14, 7:30pm ET Capitals @ Hurricanes
 8-Ovechkin | 19-Bäckström | 77-Oshie |
| 13-Vrana | 92-Kuznetsov | 10-Connolly |
| 18-Stephenson | 20-Eller | 25-Smith-Pelly |
| 23-Jaskin | 26-Dowd | 72-Boyd |
| 6-Kempny | 74-Carlson |
| 9-Orlov | 2-Niskanen |
| 29-Djoos | 22-Bowey |
|
| 70-Holtby (starter) |
| 1-Copley |
-- SCRATCH -- | 65-Burakovsky |
| 34-Siegenthaler |
| 43-Wilson. (upper body, day-to-day) |
-- INJURED RESERVE -- | 44-Orpik (Knee Surgery, 3-5 weeks before return) |
| |
-- 1st Powerplay Unit -- | 92-Kuznetsov | 19-Bäckström | 77-Oshie |
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit -- | 13-Vrana | 20-Eller | 10-Connolly |
Referees: Justin St. Pierre (#12), TJ Luxmore (#21)
Linesmen: Andrew Smith (#51), Tim Nowak (#77)
Red Wings LINEUP Gustav Nyquist -- Dylan Larkin -- Justin Abdelkader
Thomas Vanek -- Frans Nielsen -- Andreas Athanasiou
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Luke Glendening -- Michael Rasmussen
Christoffer Ehn -- Jacob de la Rose -- Martin Frk
Niklas Kronwall -- Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson -- Nick Jensen
Trevor Daley -- Dennis Cholowski
Jimmy Howard (Starter)
Jonathan Bernier
Scratched: Wade Megan, Luke Witkowski
Injured: Evgeny Svechnikov (knee surgery), Darren Helm (upper body), Anthony Mantha (hand), Danny DeKeyser (hand)
1st Period03:39 PP GOAL, assists 74-Carlson & 92-Kuznetsov 1-0 WSH
10:50 GOAL 72-Boyd, assists 26-Dowd & 23-Jaskin 2-0 WSH
12:59 GOAL 8-Ovechkin, assists 19-Bäckström & 6-Kempny 3-0 WSH
2nd Period09:05 GOAL 8-Ovechkin, assists 74-Carlson & 19-Bäckström 4-0 WSH
10:06 PP GOAL 77-Oshie, assists 19-Bäckström & 92-Kuznetsov 5-0 WSH
3rd Period01:03 Wings GOAL Larkin, assists Nyquist & Jensen 5-1 WSH
09:33 GOAL 8-Ovechkin, assists 29-Djoos & 19-Bäckström 6-1 WSH
16:42 Wings GOAL Nyquist, assist Abdelkader 6-2 WSH
FINAL: 6-2 WSH
By Isabelle Khurshudyan December 11 at 12:01 PM
T.J. Oshie expected to play against Detroit Red Wings
T.J. Oshie has missed the past 11 games with the fifth concussion of his career. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
When T.J. Oshie arrived to the Washington Capitals' practice facility on Tuesday morning, a welcome sight greeted him: his number was listed on the board, an indication he’ll be in the lineup for the first time in a month. Oshie has missed the past 11 games with a concussion, and the team won’t be easing him back into action against the Red Wings, plugging him onto a top line with center Nicklas Backstrom and captain Alex Ovechkin. Oshie will also resume his place on the top power play.
“I think the more you get out there, the more you get involved, the quicker things come back and the quicker you feel like you’re back to normal,” Oshie said. “Obviously playing with two world-class players, I’m sure if I need it, they’ll drag me along out there. But it’s going to be more important for me to get into some forechecks, some battles and get that physicality and that speed of the game back.”
Coach Todd Reirden said Oshie is a “game-time decision," but barring a setback ahead of the game, all signs point to Oshie making his return. He’d scored nine goals with five assists in 18 games before getting hurt, and with this being Oshie’s fifth concussion, he knows it could take him some time to feel like himself on the ice. Coming back from a concussion around this time last season, Oshie went 33 games with just one goal.
[The Capitals wanted more offense from the fourth line. They’re starting to get it.]
“It’s just keeping things simple,” Oshie said. “I think typically I try to give it to those other two guys anyways and go get open. It’s a simple game. It’s getting your feet under you. Hopefully I get hit early, and that usually gets you into the game. ... This [concussion] just kind of lingered for a while. But I’ve been good now for about a week and a half. This is the longest one I’ve sat out. I wanted to play last week. We were pretty careful about it, and the guys that were in the lineup did an outstanding job of allowing them to give me that rest.”
The Capitals haven’t had their full lineup all season, but they’re on track to have their forward corps healthy by the weekend. Right wing Tom Wilson, who has a concussion, skated without contact Tuesday morning, and he could join the team for a full, contact practice on Wednesday. That could have him ready to play by Washington’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Defenseman Brooks Orpik, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee three weeks ago, hasn’t started skating yet and could miss another one to three weeks.
With Oshie back in the lineup, 23-year-old winger Andre Burakovsky will be a healthy scratch on Tuesday night after he’d played the past two games on a first line with Ovechkin and Backstrom. Burakovsky has five goals with three assists in 29 games, and this is his first scratch this season.
“I just felt like going into tonight’s game that other players had taken more advantage of the opportunity than he had recently,” Reirden said. “For me, it’s a rewards/earned ice time situation where there’s a lot of competition. What happens is when players get opportunities and they play well, then it creates competition. Some have to win, some have to lose in that competition. Right now, that’s what we’ve chosen to go with. Now, Andre is still a very young player, huge upside. Skill level is really exceptional. This is just where we’re at today and that can change day by day.”
