Predators at Capitals

PREDATORS (19-10-1) at CAPITALS (18-6-7)

Predators projected lineup
Filip Forsberg -- Mikael Granlund -- Matt Duchene
Eeli Tolvanen -- Ryan Johansen -- Luke Kunin
Tanner Jeannot -- Yakov Trenin -- Mathieu Olivier
Nick Cousins -- Philip Tomasino --
Michael McCarron
Ben Harpur -- Dante Fabbro
Mattias Ekholm -- Alexandre Carrier
Mark Borowiecki -- Matt Benning
Juuse Saros
David Rittich
Scratched: None
Injured: None
COVID-19 protocol: Tommy Novak, Colton Sissons, Roman Josi
Capitals projected lineup
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Conor Sheary -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael -- Lars Eller -- Garnet Hathaway
Carl Hagelin -- Nic Dowd -- Brett Leason
Dmitry Orlov -- John Carlson
Michal Kempny -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Alexander Alexeyev
-- Matt Irwin
Ilya Samsonov
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: T.J. Oshie
Injured: Anthony Mantha (shoulder)
COVID-19 protocol: Daniel Sprong, Justin Schultz, Nick Jensen, Dennis Cholowski, Martin Fehervary, Vitek Vanecek
Status report
Duchene is expected to return after missing four games because of an upper-body injury. … Granlund, Cousins, Tomasino, Harpur and Johansen were removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol. … The Capitals held an optional morning skate. … Wilson is expected to return after missing four games because of an upper-body injury. … Backstrom and Kuznetsov were removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol Monday. Oshie exited the protocol Wednesday and skated for the first time. The forward is not expected to play. … Kempny, Copley, Alexeyev, and Leason were recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League. Alexeyev could make his NHL debut.