Game 6(X) Preview: Capital Day

There’s kind of a weird mirror going on here – these teams played less than a week ago, but these are very much not the same Capitals the Jackets beat in OT on Wednesday.

0-2-1 on the pre-season so far, the Capitals seem to be in some serious struggles until you consider that tonight is their first pre-season home game. In three games where they put up a prospect heavy roster against teams likely showing off a good deal of their top talent for the home fans, suddenly that record doesn’t look so strange.

Speaking of, the Capitals are stacking their roster deep – this is going to be a big challenge for the road squad.

The Derick Brassard at wing experiment continues tonight, while we get to see a bit more of how Cam Atkinson plays on Antoine Vermette‘s wing. That’s a line I’m actually very interested in – it’ll be exciting to see what they can do, particularly if Washington’s defense can be opened up to give the playmaking Brassard some space to work with Atkinson’s wicked speed.

The defense is going to be worth watching tonight as well – with four of the six d-men dressed for this game fighting for one, possibly two slots (John Moore is expected to make the trip, but be scratched according to Portzline)

Curtis Sanford will go in net, with Dainton backing him up – and if Sanford gets lit up like he did in the ‘Peg, I wouldn’t be shocked if Dainton is given the chance to prove himself once again.

Keep an eye on both Giroux and Joudrey tonight – as former members of the Capitals organization I’m sure they’ll both be looking to prove something to their former team.

Lineups for tonight after the jump:

Washington Capitals