Caps Turn Around and Head to Montreal

A night after opening their preseason slate with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Verizon Center, the Caps take to the road for the first of their four away preseason contests. Washington travels north to Montreal to take on the Canadiens on Tuesday night at Bell Centre.

Goaltenders Vitek Vanecek and Drew MacIntyre combined to limit the Hurricanes to two goals on 28 shots in Monday's game, and the duo will make the journey to Canada to mind the twine for Tuesday's game against the Canadiens as well.

Playing alongside veteran Brooks Orpik in Monday's game, rookie defenseman Madison Bowey played 21:44 and scored Washington's lone goal of the contest on a third-period power play.

"Every time you get to play with him," says Bowey of Orpik, "it's pretty easy. He makes my job real easy. All I had to do was just go out there and make the simple play and really just play my game. I think playing with Brooks really gave me an opportunity to do that and I thought it went well tonight."

Bowey will be in the lineup for the Caps again on Tuesday, but this time he is expected to skate with Taylor Chorney. Chorney served as the partner for 18-year-old Lucas Johansen on Monday against Carolina as the latter made his NHL preseason debut.

In his first season of pro hockey with AHL Hershey last season, Bowey put up four goals and 29 points despite rarely seeing extra-man time. Although he has shown offensive ability dating back to his days with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, Bowey knows playing a consistently solid game in his own end of the ice is what's going to get him to the NHL and keep him in the NHL.

"Every time you can contribute offensively, I think it goes a long way," says Bowey. "But I think my role if I want to make this team is just making sure I can play simple and solid every game. I was really happy with my defensive play [Monday] and it makes it a lot easier playing with Brooks Orpik. I the long run, I thought it was a good full 60 [minutes] for both of us and hopefully I can just keep on going from here."

In addition to both goaltenders, Bowey and Chorney, forwards Jakub Vrana and Nathan Walker will both be seeing action for the second time in as many nights when the Caps take on the Canadiens.

Skating on a line with Jay Beagle and Tom Wilson, Walker made his presence felt with six hits - most of any skater on either side - in 13:18 of action in Monday's game.

"He added a lot of life," says Reirden of Walker. "He definitely frustrated some of the opposition. He's got to bring a ton of speed and energy, and I thought he had a real strong game for us as well."

Now in his fourth training camp with the Capitals, Walker is coming into 2016-17 on the heels of his best season as a pro. He totaled 17 goals and 41 points with AHL Hershey in 2015-16.

Having been through a few training camps and having seen previous preseason action has helped Walker get to where he is now. The 22-year-old is heading into the final season of his entry level contract, and he is on the cusp of becoming the first Australian to play in the NHL.

"I think so, yeah," says Walker. "I think just having a little bit more experience, I kind of know what to expect. It definitely helped me out there, I think."

For the Canadiens, Tuesday's game marks their second home preseason game in as many nights. Montreal hosted New Jersey on Monday at Bell Centre, suffering a 3-2 setback to the Devils.

Washington's lineup for Tuesday's game against the Canadiens includes a pair of players who saw action with the Habs. Right wing Christian Thomas played in 25 games for Montreal over the last three seasons, including five in 2015-16. Traded to Arizona last December, he signed with Washington as a free agent on July 1.

Defenseman Darren Dietz also signed with the Caps on July. He made his NHL debut with Montreal last season, skating in 13 games with the Habs.

Caps Lineup for Tuesday in Montreal

Forwards

90-Johansson, 82-Sanford, 65-Burakovsky

79-Walker, 83-Beagle, 39-Thomas

13-Vrana, 72-Boyd, 10-Connolly

87-O'Brien, 23-Sill, 76-Mitchell

Defensemen

27-Alzner, 36-Hobbs

4-Chorney, 22-Bowey

29-Djoos, 46-Dietz

Goaltenders

41-Vanecek

84-MacIntyre