Meet your (almost) 2011-12 Washington Capitals. We don’t have official lines, but the Caps will throw out an almost-full regular lineup Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres at Verizon Center.
“Other than a couple guys, it’s pretty well the lineup that we’re going to go with,” coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Veteran right wing Mike Knuble will get the night off, Boudreau confirmed, as will healthy scratches Mattias Sjogren, D.J. King and Dmitry Orlov.
Mathieu Perreault (banged up) won’t play. Neither will Michal Neuvirth (tightness) or John Erskine (shoulder – still not cleared for contact.)
Tomas Vokoun will start in goal and should play the whole game, as Boudreau said Braden Holtby would be the back-up.
Projected roster with expected lines:
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Marcus Johansson – Troy Brouwer
Brooks Laich – Nicklas Backstrom – Alexander Semin
Jason Chimera – Cody Eakin – Joel Ward
Matt Hendricks – Jeff Halpern – Jay Beagle
Defensemen
Karl Alzner – John Carlson
Jeff Schultz – Mike Green
Roman Hamrlik – Dennis Wideman
Goalies
Tomas Vokoun
Braden Holtby
