BALLSTON, Va. - One day before their first road game of the season, the Washington Capitals practiced at Kettler Capitals Iceplex as they prepare to face the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday at Consol Energy Center. All players participated with the notable exception being Michal Neuvirth. After practice, head coach Bruce Boudreau said that Neuvirth has a lower-body injury and is listed as "day-to-day."
"He might be there tomorrow," Boudreau said. "We'll see, but right now we're taking it cautiously and he's day-to-day."
Boudreau said that a decision on whether or not the Caps will need to call up a replacement is unknown at this time, but he did say that the injury plaguing Neuvirth is not related to the one that caused him to sit out during the preseason.
Despite Neuvirth's absence, Boudreau did not completely rule him out for Thursday's game, admitting that if Neuvirth does in fact skate during Thursday's morning skate, there is a "good chance that he'll play."
On a lighter note, Neuvirth's replacement during practice was Sergey Kocharov, the Caps' Director of Media Relations.
Meanwhile, the forward lines had a different look to them, especially the top two lines, where Troy Brouwer and Mike Knuble switched places:
Ovechkin - Backstrom - Brouwer
Semin - Johansson - Knuble
Chimera - Laich - Ward - King
Hendricks - Halpern - Beagle - Perreault