Caps lines remain same with Wilson out again for Game 5 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
SUNRISE, Fla. — Tom Wilson (lower-body injury) will be out for Game 5 of the Capitals' first round Stanley Cup playoff series vs. the Florida Panthers, coach Peter Laviolette confirmed Wednesday. It is the fourth game in a row Wilson will miss this series.
Wilson is with the team in Florida, but was not present at the team’s morning skate. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm on NBC Sports Washington.
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“It’s great to have him around, it’s great to see him working,” Laviolette said. “He’s still day-to-day.”
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Absent Wilson, the Capitals kept their lines the same as from Games 3 and 4. In net, they’ll turn to Ilya Samsonov once again to be the starter.
In two starts and three games, Samsonov has a save percentage of .949 and a goals against average of 1.66. In relief of Vitek Vanecek, who started Games 1 and 2, he’s been exactly what the Capitals have needed in net against the league’s best offense.
“He’s done a good job from the time that he came in in the third period (of Game 2) and played,” Laviolette said. “That was our worst period, so we needed our goaltender to be really sharp, and he was really good. Put him in the net to start the next game and I think he’s been on point since then.”
Here were the Capitals’ lines at morning skate:
Forwards
Ovechkin — Kuznetsov — Oshie
Johansson — Backstrom — Mantha
McMichael — Eller — Sheary
Larsson — Dowd — Hathaway
Defense
Fehervary — Carlson
Orlov — Jensen
TVR — Schultz
All first-round games of Capitals vs. Panthers will be available regionally on NBC Sports Washington and streamed live on the MyTeams app.
