Our Year – A year ago last night – April 16, 2024 – in Philadelphia, the Capitals concluded their 2023-24 regular season slate, needing a win over the Flyers to earn the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Tonight, on the opposite side of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, the Caps will conclude their 2024-25 regular season with what amounts to a preseason game for the postseason. Tonight’s game doesn’t mean anything for the Caps, who punched their ticket to the postseason several games back. And it doesn’t mean anything for the Penguins, either.
Pittsburgh is missing out on the postseason for a third straight season, the first time since a four-year drought that began in 2001-02 and extended through the ’05-06 season, the first in the NHL for Pens’ captain Sidney Crosby.
The Caps are dealing with some illness and other issue among the ranks as they finish up the regular season and get ready for Game 1 of the playoffs on Monday against Montreal at Capital One Arena.
“[Alex Ovechkin] is going to play, and all of our forward group,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “We’ve got some things going on in the back end, so that will be a work in progress with some guys working through some bumps and bruises and that. And so I can't tell you exactly what the back end will look like, but all of our forwards will play.”
Carbery did offer brief updates on ailing goaltender Logan Thompson (upper body) and injured forward Aliaksei Protas (lower body).
“Thompson skated today, so that’s another step in the right direction,” says Carbery. “Pro is progressing. He is not on the ice yet, but he is still progressing.”
Asked what it would take for Thompson to show that he is ready to get back in the crease, Carbery reminded us all that it’s mid-April and the Stanely Cup playoffs are just ahead on the horizon.
“I'll be honest with you,” he says. “After today, you will not get much from me on the injury front. “And I can't really give you anything, other than he'll just continue to progress and you'll see him practicing and one day, all of a sudden, he will be in the lineup and in warm up, and we'll see where it goes from there.”
In The Nets – Clay Stevenson will make his NHL debut on Thursday night in Pittsburgh for the Capitals.
“It's the dream since you're a young kid,” says a smiling Stevenson, “And it’s been a longer road for me, not exactly straightforward. And I couldn’t be happier to do it with this group, for sure.”
Carbery loves these moments; you can see it on his face and hear it in his voice.
“One of the best parts of the job of being a head coach at any level is being able to deliver that type of news,” says Carbery. “I remember back in the East Coast League, telling a player that he was getting called up to the American League, and same thing in the AHL, and being able to tell a player that he is going to play his first NHL game.
“There's no feeling like it, to see his face and just how hard he's worked his entire life for this moment is pretty special. So, yeah, it’s great. Great for him to be able to get his first start tonight, and I’m looking forward to watching him.”
Signed by the Caps as a free agent on March 28, 2022 after his freshman season at Dartmouth, Stevenson turned pro in 2022-23, posting a 19-12-4 record for ECHL South Carolina with three shutouts, a 2.54 GAA and a .916 save pct. He also earned three starts with AHL Hershey that season, winning them all while posting a 1.96 GAA and a .924 save pct.
He has spent each of the last two seasons with Hershey, splitting time with Hunter Shepard and earning a Calder Cup championship ring with the Bears last season, when he went 24-10-2 with seven shutouts, a 2.06 GAA and a .922 save pct. in 36 appearances.
At the time of his recall from Hershey earlier this week, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Stevenson had rolled up an 18-8-4 mark with two shutouts, a 2.94 GAA and an .888 save pct. He had won three of his previous four starts at the time of his recall.
Now, at the end of his third pro season, the 26-year-old Stevenson ascends to The Show for the first time.
“Ever since I got to Dartmouth, I’ve just been trying to develop my game into more of that pro style. These past three seasons, I feel like I’ve put in a lot of work just to transition to the higher caliber of players, the higher caliber of shots, and the playmaking, decision making, and just getting a little bit smarter in the crease and playing a little bit more of a cerebral kind of game, I guess.”
“I think all those aspects have helped me be able to feel comfortable in this moment and feel ready.”
For the Penguins, we are expecting Alex Nedeljkovic to make the start tonight. He will be making his 35th start (38th appearance) of the season, and he enters the game with a 13-15-5 mark, one shutout, a 3.16 GAA and an .894 save pct. on the season.
Lifetime against Washington, Nedeljkovic is 1-2-0 in four appearances (two starts) with a 3.18 GAA and an .864 save pct.
All Lined Up – As mentioned earlier, the Caps' lineup is in a state of flux for tonight, and the injury-riddled Pens are likely to use an 11-forward, 7-defenseman lineup:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 17-Strome, 72-Beauvillier
24-McMichael, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
88-Mangiapane, 20-Eller, 9-Leonard
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 16-Raddysh
Defensemen
38-Sandin, 74-Carlson
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
27-Alexeyev, 52-McIlrath
Goaltenders
33-Stevenson
79-Lindgren
Extras
53-Frank
Out/Injured
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (hip)
21-Protas (lower body)
48-Thompson (upper body)
77-Oshie (back)
PITTSBURGH
Forwards
41-Koivunen, 87-Crosby, 17-Rust
43-Heinen, 71-Malkin, 67-Rakell
19-Dewar, 15-Koppanen, 53-Tomasino
73-Joseph,11-Ponomarev, 48-Puustinen
Defensemen
24-Grzelcyk, 65-Karlsson
5-Shea, 20-Timmins
27-Graves, 23-Kolyachonok
82-Kral
Goaltenders
35-Jarry
39-Nedeljkovic
Extras
None
Out/Injured
2-McGroarty (lower body)
13-Hayes (undisclosed)
14-Imama (upper body)
18-Novak (lower body)
46-Lizotte (lower body)
55-Acciari (undisclosed)
58-Letang (upper body)
73-Joseph (upper body)
83-Nieto (undisclosed)
