In The Nets - Braden Holtby gets the net today for Washington, two days after making 23 stops in a 2-0 loss to the Islanders on Friday night in D.C. With three games in four nights between now and the start of the Caps' All-Star break/bye week, expect to see Holtby get one more start after today before he heads to San Jose to represent the Capitals and the Metropolitan Division in the 2019 NHL All-Star Game next weekend.
Lifetime against the Blackhawks, Holtby is 8-3-0 with a shutout, a 2.61 GAA and a .922 save pct.
Collin Delia gets the net for the Blackhawks today. He has been playing in some tough luck; despite a .914 save pct. in his last six appearances, he has an 0-2-3 record and a 3.37 GAA over that span. On the season, Delia is 3-2-3 with a 2.75 GAA and a .929 save pct.
All Lined Up - Here's how we expect the Capitals and the Blackhawks to look when they meet on Sunday morning at United Center:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
13-Vrana, 20-Eller, 43-Wilson
23-Jaskin, 92-Kuznetsov, 10-Connolly
65-Burakovsky, 72-Boyd, 25-Smith-Pelly
Defensemen
6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik, 34-Siegenthaler
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
1-Copley
Injuries
29-Djoos (lower body)
Scratches
18-Stephenson
22-Bowey
26-Dowd
CHICAGO
Forwards
20-Saad, 19-Toews, 12-DeBrincat
91-Caggiula, 17-Strome, 88-Kane
40-Hayden, 15-Anisimov, 24-Kahun
14-Kunitz, 16-Kruger, 64-Kampf
Defensemen
2-Keith, 7-Seabrook
56-Gustafsson, 28-Jokiharju
63-Dahlstrom, 5-Murphy
Goaltenders
60-Delia
30-Ward
Injuries
11-Perlini (concussion)
42-Forsling (upper body)
50-Crawford (concussion)
Scratches
68-Koekkoek