SUNRISE, Fla. | The Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers so soundly Saturday night that coach Adam Oates is going with the same lineup for Tuesday night’s rematch as in the 5-0 victory.
That means Braden Holtby in goal after his 27-save shutout. And the same lines and pairings without forward Marcus Johansson, who did not make the trip to Florida.
Forward Brooks Laich (groin) did not skate Tuesday morning at BB&T Center, though he did do some off-ice workouts. Oates had no update on Laich when asked after the morning skate.
Every healthy player was on the ice for the skate. Defensemen Roman Hamrlik and Tom Poti are expected to be the scratches. Poti has been dealing with an upper-body injury suffered Feb. 5 vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Alex Kovalev will return to the Panthers’ lineup after a two-game absence. He’ll replace Jerred Smithson. Scott Clemmensen starts in goal for Florida.
Here are the lines and pairings:
Jason Chimera - Mike Ribeiro - Alex Ovechkin
Wojtek Wolski - Nicklas Backstrom - Troy Brouwer
Eric Fehr - Mathieu Perreault - Joel Ward
Matt Hendricks - Jay Beagle - Joey Crabb
Karl Alzner - Mike Green
John Erskine - John Carlson
Jeff Schultz - Tomas Kundratek
