At the Rink: Capitals at Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Two debuts and the long-awaited return of an injured goaltender will mark the game between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Left wing Curtis Glencross will play his first game with the Capitals (34-20-10) after the Calgary Flames on Sunday traded him for second- and third-round picks in the 2015 NHL Draft.

For the Blue Jackets, defenseman Justin Falk will be in the lineup after he and a 2015 fifth-round pick were acquired Monday in a trade with the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Jordan Leopold.

Also for Columbus, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (16-15-2, 2.85 goals against average and .913 save percentage) will play for the first time in 18 games since sustaining a groin injury Jan. 21.

The Blue Jackets (26-32-4) have lost six straight.

Falk, who made his NHL debut with the Wild in Columbus on March 19, 2010, has one goal and 16 assists in 142 career games. He broke into the League when Columbus coach Todd Richards was the Wild’s coach.

“I’m a steady, strong, consistent defender,” Falk said. “I trust my skating and my stick to shut guys down. I’ve had a few games in this League and a few games under Todd so I hope to go out there and get settled early and have some fun.”

The Blue Jackets will be playing for the first time since defenseman James Wisniewski and a 2015 third-round pick were traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday for forwards Rene Bourque and William Karlsson and a second-round choice in 2015.

Bourque and Karlsson were assigned to Springfield of the American Hockey League.

Wisniewski in 56 games had eight goals and 21 points. Seven of the goals were on the power play and Richards said centers Alexander Wennberg and Mark Letestu could move to the point when the Blue Jackets have the man advantage to replace Wisniewski.

Meanwhile, Glencross, who played for the Blue Jackets from 2006-07, is being put on the second line alongside center Evgeny Kuznetsov and Troy Brouwer. Glencross has 268 points (130 goals, 138 assists) in 489 career NHL games. He had nine goals and 28 points in 53 games for the Flames this season.

Capitals coach Barry Trotz said he thinks Glencross can elevate Kuznetsov’s play.

“Curtis gives him a skill guy but also gives him that sort of grit on the wing,” Trotz said. “(Kuznetsov) is a playmaker. Curtis goes to the net and has a really good shot. Brouwer does the same thing. We’ll see how it works out.”

Trotz said he isn’t worried that Glencross has had only one practice with the Capitals.

“System-wise guys catch onto that fairly quickly. That’s somewhat overblown,” Trotz said. “Everybody has a lot of the same plays but terminology, when I call a certain play or a certain type of forecheck or draw play or whatever it may be, in Calgary it might be called something different.”

Here are the projected lineups:

CAPITALS

Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Marcus Johansson

Curtis Glencross – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Troy Brouwer

Jason Chimera – Eric Fehr – Joel Ward

Brooks Laich – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson

Brooks Orpik – John Carlson

Karl Alzner – Matt Niskanen

Tim Gleason – Mike Green

Braden Holtby

Justin Peters

Scratched: Michael Latta

Injured: Dmitry Orlov (wrist), John Erskine (neck surgery)

BLUE JACKETS

Nick Foligno - Ryan Johansen - Cam Atkinson

Scott Hartnell – Artem Anisimov - David Clarkson

Brian Gibbons - Alexander Wennberg - Marko Dano

Corey Tropp - Mark Letestu - Jared Boll

Jack Johnson - David Savard

Fedor Tyutin – Justin Falk

Cody Goloubef - Dalton Prout

Sergei Bobrovsky

Curtis McElhinney

Injured: Jack Skille (shoulder), Boone Jenner (stress fracture in back), Jeremy Morin (heart), Ryan Murray (high ankle sprain), Matt Calvert (concussion), Brandon Dubinsky (concussion), Kevin Connauton (lower body)

Status report: Dubinsky and Calvert each sustained a concussion Thursday. Dubinsky is further along in his recovery, Richards said. … Washington rookie forward Andre Burakovsky (nine goals and 21 points in 48 games) was sent to Hershey of the AHL to get more minutes. “I know he’ll be back with us,” Trotz said. “He’s too good of a player and been too productive for us for him to be sitting (with the Capitals).”

Who’s hot: Ovechkin has eight goals in his past nine games, and had two goals and an assist Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He leads the League this season with 41 goals, and is tied for the League-lead with 65 points, along with Backstrom. … Johansen had a goal and an assist Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins after being held without a point in his previous six games.