A few quick notes from the start of practice here at Kettler:
* Alex Ovechkin is not practicing, and Eric Fehr is taking his place on the top line.
SEE RELATED:
* Boyd Kane is not on the ice, which could mean he’s been sent to Hershey. [UPDATE]: He’s been sent to Hershey.
* Tyler Sloan is practicing at forward in Kane’s place, which would be an interesting wrinkle.
Here’s the lines:
Fehr-Backstrom-Semin
Laich-Morrison-Knuble
Laing-Steckel-Clark
Sloan-Gordon-Bradley-Nylander
* A couple of other things from last night …
1) Semyon Varlamov, as has been pointed out by a reader (and now by Japers Rink) did not give up three goals in a period against the Penguins in Game 7. But he did give up four in less than 20 minutes (I forgot that goal No. 5 was on Theodore).
2) The Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin troika combined for two points in the 27-plus minutes when Chris Pronger was on the ice. They combined for six points when he wasn’t on the ice. Considering that Oveckin-Backstrom combined for a score directly off a Pronger turnover but the Flyers won the game, we will call this showdown a draw.