Maple Leafs projected lineup
Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Denis Malgin -- John Tavares -- Mitch Marner
Alex Kerfoot -- David Kampf -- Pierre Engvall
Zach Aston-Reese -- Pontus Holmberg -- Joey Anderson
Mark Giordano -- Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin -- Timothy Liljegren
TJ Brodie -- Conor Timmins
Ilya Samsonov
Matt Murray
Scratched: Wayne Simmonds, Mac Hollowell
Injured: Jordie Benn (upper body), Jake Muzzin (neck), Calle Jarnkrok (groin), Morgan Rielly (lower body), Carl Dahlstrom (shoulder), Nicholas Robertson (shoulder), Victor Mete (upper body)
Capitals projected lineup
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Anthony Mantha
Marcus Johansson -- Lars Eller -- T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Trevor van Riemsdyk -- Matt Irwin
Charlie Lindgren
Hunter Shepard
Scratched:Joe Snively, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Lucas Johansen
Injured: Nicklas Backstrom (hip surgery), Tom Wilson (torn ACL), Connor Brown (torn ACL), Carl Hagelin (hip surgery), Beck Malenstyn (upper body), Darcy Kuemper (upper body), Martin Fehervary (upper body), Alexander Alexeyev (upper body)
Status report
Liljegren, who left a 3-1 loss at the New York Rangers on Thursday with an upper-body injury, took part in the Maple Leafs' morning skate Saturday and is expected to play. … Hollowell, a defenseman, was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League. … Milano, who missed a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday because of an illness, participated in the Capitals morning skate Saturday and is expected to play. … Kuemper, who left a 5-2 loss at the Calgary Flames on Dec. 3 when he was elbowed in the head by Calgary forward Tyler Toffoli, is close to returning; he could be activated and back up Lindgren. ... Backstrom, a center who had hip surgery in June and has not played this season, skated in a regular jersey for the first time.
