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Opening Night Lines + Goalie Tandem Settled

January 12, 2021, 9:38 PM ET [2 Comments]
Brian Sickles
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Hello Hockey Fam!

I hope everyone is doing well and is just as excited as I am for hockey to start back up this week! I just got back from a vacation at the Grand Canyon and man was it awesome. I wore my Caps gear on Bright Angel Trail and got a couple shout-outs which was pretty cool!

I know I have not been posting as much as I normally do lately. Between spending time with my loved ones and my full-time job ramping up, it has been challenging to set aside time where I feel I can put forth honest thought-provoking Caps material. I take pride in the research I do, and I try to be unique in my takes while staying as objective as possible. It is a delicate balance. My blog isn’t perfect, and nor do I expect it to be. Even if it is a slow process, my goal is to grow this blog over time. I appreciate all comments and engagement so thank you to anyone who has ever read or even commented on a previous post. Seriously, it means a lot to me.

Moving forward, I will be posting an article after every single game this season. Unless an emergency comes up, you can expect to see a Caps post every morning after a game by 9am EST. That is my promise to you. Let's hope I don’t let you down week one haha. You can also get blog updates on my official hockeybuzz twitter account @HB_Capitals

With that being said let’s jump into some quick news and notes:

The Capitals opening night roster appears to be set. Tarik El-Bashir from The Athletic has reported the Capitals lines in the final day of camp to be as follows:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie
Vrana-Kunzetsov-Wilson
Panik-Eller-Sprong
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway
Sheary (presumable healthy scratch I guess)?

Orlov-Carlson
Dillon-Schultz
Chara-Jensen
Sigenthaler-TVR

Samsonov
Vanecek!!!!

Here is Tarik’s tweet:



My takeaways:

Well this is different. There are a number a players who are shuffled around relative to where they played for a majority of last season. Considering how the last two seasons have ended, maybe this shift is exactly what the boys need. If these lines hold true for the first game, I will be very interested to see how the lines flow.

a. Oshie on the first line and Backstrom back at 1st line center
b. Wilson on the 2nd line
c. Sprong on the third line with Panik and Eller. Offense baby!
d. Sheary not making opening night lineup?
e. Siegenthaler and TVR as the 4th defensive pairing. Fehervary not on the NHL roster
f. Vanecek making top two for goalies with Craig Anderson presumably will be on the Taxi Squad

The Capitals cut six players from camp and placed nine other on waivers. The players placed are waivers were as follows:

Daniel Carr
Zach Fucale
Shane Gersich
Lucas Johansen
Paul LaDue
Cam Schilling
Michael Sgarbossa
Phillipe Maillet
Pheonix Copley

It is being reported that Gersich, Johansen, LaDue, Schilling, Sgarbossa, Maillet have all cleared waivers and are heading to Hersey. I have not seen or read anything on Copley, Carr, or Fucale yet.

I also have to assume that since Martin Fehervary isn’t even on the roster, he will be strongly considered for the Taxi squad, but he may be better off developing in Hersey another year. With eight defensemen in front of him, why sit on the sidelines on the Taxi squad all season when he can get experience with the Bears?

I am so freaking excited to see our goalies play this season. I expect Samsonov to start the first game against Buffalo on Thursday and Vanecek to start the following night against Buffalo on the back to back. Let’s go baby!

Thoughts on the tentative opening night lines?

As always, thanks for reading and LET’S GO CAPS! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

-Brian Sickles
Twitter: @HB_Capitals
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