Washington Capitals: Breaking down first preseason game against the Bruins

We’ve made it. The offseason is over and the preseason is here and soon enough the games will count. The Washington Capitals get their first exhibition test tonight against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. and we’ve got all the pregame information for you.

Before we break down this matchup, let’s take a look at what the roster will look like for this game:

Forwards
Daniel Sprong
Lars Eller
Garnet Hathaway
Connor McMichael
Hendrix Lapierre
Garrett Pilon
Tom Wilson
Beck Malenstyn
Brett Leason
Brian Pinho
Riley Sutter
Conor Sheary
Kale Kessy
Joe Snively

Defensemen
Justin Schultz
Michal Kempny
Dmitry Orlov
Dylan McIlrath
Martin Fehervary
Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Has

Goaltenders
Pheonix Copley
Vitek Vanecek

This lineup features a lot of youth plus the return of Michal Kempny. It will be interesting to see what the defensive pairs look like tonight for this tilt with Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Martin Fehervary in there too.

The roster also features players that are trying to make it onto the opening night roster. Connor McMichael is expected to center the second line. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 24 last season against the Buffalo Sabres. He was the Caps first round choice at 25th overall in 2019.

Making his Caps debut will be 2020 first round pick Hendrix Lapierre. It is the 19 year old’s first training camp with the team and his first taste of Caps action. The Caps traded up for Lapierre selecting him 22nd overall.

McMichael was able to play an AHL season last year thanks to the pandemic. Usually players aren’t AHL eligible until age 20 but they made an exception to the rule. McMichael spoke to Mike Vogel of WashingtonCaps.com about the opportunity ahead:

"“I was fortunate enough to get a game [with the Caps] last year, and then obviously able to play in Hershey a year earlier. I think it benefited me a lot, and it’s made me feel more comfortable in this camp with the same goal of trying to crack the lineup.”"

McMichael would have very likely begun this season in Hershey but now with an injury to Nicklas Backstrom it presents an opportunity for him to crack the lineup. McMichael led the Bears last season with 14 goals and 27 points. He also led the AHL with eight game winning goals.

Puck drop is at 5 p.m. and you can catch the game on NBC Sports Washington locally or nationally on NHL Network. You can hear it on Caps Radio 24/7 as well as 106.7 The Fan.