Capitals at Blue Jackets

CAPITALS (21-13-6) at BLUE JACKETS (11-23-2)

Capitals projected lineup
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson -- Lars Eller -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Anthony Mantha -- Aliaksei Protas -- Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Martin Fehervary -- Alexander Alexeyev
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Joe Snively, Nic Dowd, Matt Irwin
Injured: Nicklas Backstrom (hip surgery), Tom Wilson (torn ACL), Connor Brown (torn ACL), Carl Hagelin (hip surgery), Beck Malenstyn (upper body), John Carlson (face)
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau -- Kent Johnson -- Emil Bemstrom
Gustav Nyquist -- Jack Roslovic -- Patrik Laine
Carson Meyer -- Sean Kuraly -- Mathieu Olivier
Liam Foudy -- Cole Sillinger -- Kirill Marchenko
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni -- Erik Gudbranson
Gavin Bayreuther -- Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Marcus Bjork
Injured: Jakub Voracek (concussion), Nick Blankenburg (ankle), Boone Jenner (thumb), Yegor Chinakhov (ankle), Daniil Tarasov (upper body), Eric Robinson (upper body)
Status report
Dowd, a forward, did not travel; His wife, Paige, gave birth to their second child Wednesday. ... Aube-Kubel replaces Dowd and Irwin is scratched for Alexeyev on defense. … Laine and Bemstrom swapped lines. … Meyer goes in for Robinson, who was injured during a 4-0 loss at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday; the forward is day to day, according to Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen. ... Merzlikins will start for the first time since missing eight games because of an illness. ... Peeke replaces Bjork, a defenseman, after being scratched the past two games.