BALLSTON, Va. - The shorthanded Washington Capitals prepared for their first meeting with the Boston Bruins during their morning skate at Kettler Capitals Iceplex Tuesday. The Caps will be without Alex Ovechkin, who was suspended for three games Monday, but he was on the ice with his teammates Tuesday.
Washington, already without Nicklas Backstrom (head injury) and Mike Green {abdominal surgery}, will be incredibly undermanned against the defending Stanley Cup champions, who enter Tuesday leading the Eastern Conference with 64 points.
The Caps did not perform line rushes Tuesday, but did seem to have a contingency plan Monday before Ovechkin was suspended:
Marcus Johansson - Mathieu Perreault - Alexander Semin
Matt Hendricks - Brooks Laich - Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera - Jeff Halpern - Mike Knuble
Jay Beagle - Cody Eakin - Joel Ward
Tomas Vokoun left the ice first and will start against the Bruins. Vokoun is 5-9-3 with a 2.59 GAA and .930 SV% lifetime against Boston.
The only player missing from the morning skate was Jeff Schultz, who is out with an illness, according to a team spokesman.