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Ovechkin Questionable For Tonight; Green, Laich Out |
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Alex Ovechkin aggravated an upper body injury during practice Tuesday and left the ice early. The Caps are saying he "tweaked" something that has been bothering him lately.
Ovechkin will make the trip to New York for tonights game against the Islanders, but he is questionable. The Caps probably won't risk playing him if it's something that could get worse.
“I’m hoping he’ll be in the lineup,” said Barry Trotz. “I’m pretty sure Ovi should be ready to go. If he can’t we’ll have to make some decisions there.”
Trotz lined up rookie Andre Burakovsky to play alongside Backstrom and Tom Wilson on the first line, and Evgeny Kuznetsov centered Johansson and Brouwer. Whether or not those combinations stick is the question, but Ovechkin's health could be a good thing for both Burakovsky and Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov has been "stuck" on the 4th line all season, and would definitely benefit from playing with more talented players instead of grinding it out with Latta, Brown and O'Brien.
If Ovechkin doesn't play tonight, it will also be interesting to see how the team does without the captain especially with two very promising offensive players.
Brooks Laich and Mike Green are also out for tonight.
Laich is still suffering from a shoulder injury that has kept him out of the 16 of the last 17 games for the Caps. Laich admits he came back too early against Chicago when he re-aggravated the injury.
“I believe I can play in a hockey game, but I need to be absolutely certain I can play the next game,” Laich said. “Certainly it’s getting very close.”
Green will miss tonight due to an upper body injury most likely from a hit he took in the last game. Green has had an injury-prone career already, and hopefully this isn't long-term - especially if the Caps plan to shop him at all.
Jack Hillen will take Green's place alongside Nate Schmidt.
More to come...
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