Matt Niskanen
"I'm going to miss it just because it's one of the old buildings. I have a thing for the old buildings; those are my favorite to play in. It has great ice and there is always a good atmosphere. My first year in the league [with Dallas], we played a conference final there and the place was rocking. They've had great teams there for a long time, and it's always been a fun place to play."
On the lively boards at The Joe:
"I think we're all familiar with what can happen. We're not as used to it as they are, obviously, but missed shots can turn into opportunities on the other end. It's one of those things where if you've been in the league, you know about it and you know what can happen and you're ready for it. You've just got to be aware of it."
John Carlson
"When you think of the arena, it's cool. But just think of all the players that you've kind of idolized at one point or another that they've had over the years. When you see all the stuff on the walls and in the rafters, you know it's a special place and a lot of history happened there. It's cool to look back on, and it stinks that it won't be there anymore."
Braden Holtby (beat Wings 5-3 on 3/19/12 in his first game at the Joe; suffered some cramping late in the game because of the heat in the building)
"The air conditioning isn't quite how it is in a lot of places. But when you go to that place, it's amazing. I love that they kept it fairly traditional throughout the years. You go in there and you feel the history. You feel like you've been part of the NHL for a lot of years, just being a small part of it. I'm lucky to have played in it; I say it all the time. It's one of those buildings you go into and you feel honored to play in the NHL."
On the lively boards at The Joe:
"Obviously the boards there are lively. They were the first building to do it, and a lot of the other buildings have kind of caught up and done that, so it's not as big of a shock anymore. But it feels smaller for some reason. The game is quick and it's compact. You always know when you're playing at the Joe, because it's fast-paced hockey. I've always liked playing there."
Road Warriors - Saturday's game starts a stretch in which Washington will play five of its next six games on the road. The Caps started February by playing five of six at Verizon Center, and they're 6-0 thus far this month.
Washington has pulled at least a point from eight of its last 10 road contests, going 7-2-1 over that span.
In The Nets - Holtby takes aim on his 30th win of the season on Saturday at the Joe. He is 8-2-0 with a shutout, a 1.87 GAA and a .930 save pct. lifetime against the Red Wings.
For the Wings, we expect to see Petr Mrazek in the nets, but we're not positive of that. Mrazek is 1-3-1 with a shutout, a 2.26 GAA and a .920 save pct. during his career against Washington.
All Lined Up - Without benefit of a morning skate, we're not sure how the Wings will look on Saturday, but here's how we expect the Capitals to look when they take to the ice at the Joe on Saturday afternoon, and a guess at how the Wings may look:
WASHINGTONForwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
90-Johansson, 92-Kuznetsov, 14-Williams
10-Connolly, 20-Eller, 82-Sanford
26-Winnik, 83-Beagle, 43-Wilson
Defensemen
27-Alzner, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik, 88-Schmidt
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
31-Grubauer
Injuries
65-Burakovsky (hand)
Scratches
4-Chorney
13-Vrana
DETROITForwards
21-Tatar, 40-Zetterberg, 39-Mantha
72-Athanasiou, 51-Nielsen, 62-Vanek
71-Larkin, 43-Helm, 8-Abdelkader
41-Glendening, 15-Sheahan, 29-Ott
Defensemen
65-DeKeyser, 25-Green
2-Smith, 61-Ouellet
55-Kronwall, 3-Jensen
Goaltenders
34-Mrazek
31-Coreau
Injuries
35-Howard (sprained MCL)
52-Ericsson (wrist)
93-Franzen (concussion-like symptoms)
97-Vitale (concussion)
Scratches
48-Sproul