#CapsBolts Skate Shavings: Back Home, Sort Of

After concluding their longest road trip of the season, a four-game, weeklong journey through the middle of the continent, the Caps are back home just long enough to do some laundry and host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. Washington will head right back out on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Florida to face the Panthers.

New Arrival - Defenseman Michal Kempny is the newest member of the Capitals. He arrived in town late on Monday, hours after the Caps obtained him from Chicago in exchange for a third-round choice in the 2018 NHL Draft. He will wear sweater No. 6 for the Capitals.

Kempny suited up for Washington's optional morning skate on Tuesday ahead of the game against Tampa Bay, but he will not make his debut in a Caps sweater tonight. That Caps debut will occur on Thursday in Florida, as it makes little sense to throw him into the lineup against the Lightning less than 24 hours after his arrival in town and without benefit of a practice or a non-optional morning skate.

"We spent the whole day with him getting familiar with some terminology, how we play, and he got to know his teammates," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "He got life in order from a Capitals standpoint, and then he's going to watch the game tonight using that information that was given to him, and we'll help him along so he can have some success going forward."

The 27-year-old blueliner has only 81 games worth of NHL experience spread over two seasons, but he is a veteran of six seasons of pro hockey in his native Czech Republic plus another season playing in Russia's KHL. Kempny signed with the Blackhawks in the summer of 2016, and after playing 50 games with them last season, he inked a one-year contract extension last summer.

"I thought that I was going to get more space on the ice and more ice time, but I didn't play more than half of the games. Now I am here, and I'm really glad that I am here. Washington is an amazing city and a great organization, and I hope I will get a chance to access myself on the ice more than in Chicago."

Kempny sat out 13 straight games with the Hawks earlier this season, but he has not gone more than three games without being in the lineup since mid-December. While plus/minus is certainly a flawed statistic, Kempny was leading Chicago in that category with a plus-13 in just 31 games at the time of the trade.

"It's a good thing for me," he says, of the deal that brings him to the District. "It's a new opportunity for me and I appreciate it."

Having lost three defensemen - Karl Alzner, Nate Schmidt and Kevin Shattenkirk - over the summer without replacing any of them organizationally, the Caps have been a bit bereft of blueline depth this season. The addition of Kempny helps somewhat in that regard, but the quest is ongoing. The NHL's trade deadline is 3 p.m. Eastern time on Monday.

"I think I'm a good skater," says Kempny. "[I make a] good first pass, and I will try my best."

Chorney Waived - In the wake of the addition of Kempny, Washington waived blueliner Taylor Chorney on Tuesday. The waiver period expires at noon on Wednesday, and should Chorney go unclaimed by the other 30 NHL clubs, he would be assigned to AHL Hershey.

"That was always a tough one for me," says Trotz. "I can tell you this about Taylor, Taylor is one of my favorites in the sense of you talk about a pro, a guy that brings energy, a guy that can play, competes, doesn't take a day off - all of those things. And when you have to deliver news like that first thing in the morning - he was the first at the rink almost this morning - that's always a difficult task.

"I say this with all due respect, I hope someone grabs him [off waivers], because he is a valuable asset to any team."

Popular with his teammates, Chorney had the ideal mindset and disposition for a seventh defenseman; he was always ready to play and he prepared himself diligently for his sporadic assignments, but he never sulked or complained when he was not in the lineup. In three seasons with the Capitals, he totaled three goals and 15 points in 97 games.

Powering Up - The Lightning leads the NHL with an average of 3.54 goals per game this season, and Tampa Bay's power play ranks second in the circuit with a 24.5% success rate on the season.

Recently, the Bolts' power play outfit has been even hotter than its full season numbers would indicate. The Lightning has scored a power-play goal in three straight games and in eight of its last nine contests. Over that nine-game span, the Lightning is 11-for-35 (31.4%) with the extra man.

In The Nets - Braden Holtby returns to the net tonight for Washington after Philipp Grubauer earned Monday's 3-2 win over the Sabres in Buffalo. Holtby heads into Tuesday's start against Tampa Bay in extremely unfamiliar territory; he is winless in his last three starts (0-1-2), and he has surrendered at least four goals in all three of those games.

Lifetime against the Lightning, Holtby is 9-2-2 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.65 GAA and a .915 save pct.

For the Lightning, Andrei Vasilevskiy gets the net against the Capitals. The NHL's leader in wins this season with 34, Vasilevskiy is tied for third in the league with 48 starts this season. He ranks in the NHL's top 10 with a 2.34 GAA in 2017-18, but he has been reached for three or more goals in five of his last eight starts.

Lifetime against the Capitals, Vasilevskiy is 1-4-0 with a 3.58 GAA and an .892 save pct. in five appearances.

All Lined Up - Here's how we expect the Capitals and the Lightning to look when they take the ice on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena:

WASHINGTONForwards

8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson

13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 77-Oshie

10-Connolly, 20-Eller, 65-Burakovsky

18-Stephenson, 83-Beagle, 25-Smith-Pelly

Defensemen

29-Djoos, 74-Carlson

9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen

44-Orpik, 22-Bowey

Goaltenders

70-Holtby

31-Grubauer

Scratches

6-Kempny

39-Chiasson

Injured

None

TAMPA BAYForwards

37-Gourde, 91-Stamkos, 9-Johnson

17-Killorn, 21-Point, 86-Kucherov

14-Kunitz, 90-Namestnikov, 24-Callahan

89-Conacher, 13-Paquette, 73-Erne

Defensemen

77-Hedman, 6-Stralman

98-Sergachev, 5-Girardi

55-Coburn, 62-Sustr

Goaltenders

88-Vasilevskiy

70-Domingue

Scratches

29-Koekkoek

59-Dotchin

63-Peca

Injuries

18-Palat (lower body)

31-Budaj (lower body)