Capitals announce roster for opening night vs. Rangers originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Capitals announced its opening night roster on Tuesday, one day before the puck is set to drop against Metro Division rival New York Rangers (coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Washington).
Peter Laviolette's squad is beginning the year with 15 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, however forward Nicklas Backstrom is starting the season on the long-term injury list.
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Captain Alex Ovechkin, who suffered a lower-body injury last Friday during Washington's preseason finale, is on the roster but his status for Wednesday's game is still up in the air.
It's also worth pointing out that forward Hendrix Lapierre, Washington's first-round pick in the 2020 Entry Draft, is on the team's opening roster after an outstanding showing in training camp.
Here's the full opening night roster...
Forwards: Alex Ovechkin, Daniel Sprong, Nicklas Backstrom (LTIL), Garnet Hathaway, Connor McMichael, Nic Dowd, Hendrix Lapierre, Anthony Mantha, Tom Wilson, Beck Malenstyn, Carl Hagelin, Conor Sheary, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov
Defensemen: Justin Shultz, Nick Jensen, Dmitry Orlov, Martin Fehervary, Matt Irwin, Trevor van Riemsdyk, John Carlson
Goaltenders: Ilya Samsonov, Vitek Vanecek
Coverage of Capitals-Rangers begins Wednesday at 6:30 p.m on NBC Sports Washington with Capitals Pregame Live. Tune in immediately following the game for Capitals Postgame Live.
