Both Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre - the Caps' two most recent first-round draft selections - are in the mix, but so are a few others. McMichael and Lapierre both showed well in Sunday's opener against Boston, and both are expected to be in the lineup again on Wednesday against the Devils.
McMichael and Lapierre both saw power play duty in the opener, and Lapierre notched a pair of assists in his first ever exhibition outing. McMichael fared much better in the face-off circle (8-of-15, 53%) while Lapierre won only two of 11 draws (18%). McMichael was the 25th overall pick in 2019 and had the benefit of playing professionally last season while Lapierre was chosen 22nd overall in 2020, but he has seen limited action over the last two seasons because of injuries and the pandemic.
"Obviously it's tough," says Lapierre. "As a hockey player, you want to play a lot of games, you want to be with your teammates, and you want to battle each and every night. There were a lot of years that were tough, especially the last two. Right now, I got through it and I'm ready to play as much as I can; I'm ready to play some games and I'm ready to help my team win.
"I got through it, and right now everything is good, so I won't look at the past."
Additionally, the Cap have several candidates from previous drafts vying for what Washington hopes is a very temporary opening in the middle of the ice. Garrett Pilon (third round, 2016), Brian Pinho (sixth round, 2013) and Aliaksei Protas (third round, 2019) are all centers as well, and they're all in the running for the vacancy.
"When you see an opportunity like this, you really have to take advantage of that," says Pilon. "As a player, it's coming into these games with the mentality to really show off your skills set."
Pilon and Pinho also played in the exhibition opener against Boston, with both skating on the wing in that game. Pilon supplied the game-tying goal with a well-placed backhander early in the third, and Pinho was part of a Caps' penalty killing corps that limited the Bruins to just two shots on net in four power play opportunities spanning 6 minutes and 16 seconds.