Caps Have Wednesday Date with Devils

September 29 vs. New Jersey Devils at Capital One Arena
Time:7 p.m.
TV:NBCSW
Radio: Capitals Radio 24/7, 106.7 FAN
New Jersey Devils (0-0-0)
Washington Capitals (0-0-1)

The Caps move further into the exhibition season on Wednesday night when they host Metropolitan Division rival New Jersey at Capital One Arena. Washington will face the Devils again on Monday in Newark in the fourth of their six preseason tune-ups.
On Sunday night in D.C., the Caps opened their exhibition slate with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins.
In addition to getting a look at the last two drafts worth of prospects and getting the team's veterans enough reps and game action to be ready when the season opens in two weeks, the Caps are dealing with Nicklas Backstrom's ongoing absence from training camp. Backstrom is rehabbing an ailing hip that plagued him late last season and into the playoffs.
With a "week-to-week" status and the Oct. 13 opener against the Rangers looming, every day that passes without seeing Backstrom on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex increases the likelihood that he won't be ready when the season starts, and there are many candidates to fill in while he's recovering.

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.

"We're going to just keep evaluating these guys," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "And we want them to play games, so they all can't play center every night. They do play the wing; Protas plays the wing and center and we want to see him in the middle. Pinho, same thing. He is a guy that plays both positions, and Pilon and McMichael and Lapierre as well. So there are definitely guys in the mix to show what they can do."
Protas dazzled in his preseason debut here two years ago, recording a goal and a pair of assists - including the primary helper on Tom Wilson's overtime game-winner - in a home game against Chicago on Sept. 16, 2019. The 6-foot-6 Protas has some impressive wingspan that enables him to keep defenders at bay. Protas played well in his professional debut last season, totaling 10 goals and 18 points in 58 games for Minsk of the KHL before adding two goals and seven points in 16 late-season games with AHL Hershey.
"He's looked good," says Laviolette of Protas. "He's a center man who hangs onto the puck. I'll be excited to see him play [Wednesday]."
At 19, Lapierre is the youngest and least experienced of the group, but he might also be the most skilled. He doesn't lack for determination, either.
"My goal is to get a spot in the National Hockey League," asserts Lapierre. "I know it's a tough job. I'm only 19, but if I have to go back to juniors, it will be that. If I can play in the National Hockey League it will be that, so I'll be ready for whatever situation. My job as a hockey player is to be ready each and every night and to show the coaching staff and everyone here what I'm made of. Right now, that's' my goal and we'll see what happens."
New Jersey is still in the midst of a rebuild; the Devils have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons and eight of the last nine. With five top-seven picks in the last seven drafts still on the New Jersey roster, the Devils have amassed a base of promising young talent, and they've used four of those five high picks to select forwards.
In this past summer's 2021 NHL Draft, New Jersey nabbed defenseman Luke Hughes with the fourth overall pick, doing so two years after taking his older brother Jack Hughes - a center - with the first overall pick in 2019. Each of the Devils' top two - ostensibly - centers was a first overall selection in the Draft; New Jersey took Swiss center Nico Hischier with the first overall choice in the 2017 NHL Draft.
Over the summer, the Devils made a big splash by adding defenseman Dougie Hamilton in free agency and dealing with Colorado for blueliner Ryan Graves. They also inked forward Tomas Tatar and goaltender Jonathan Bernier as free agents, improving their team around their still growing and developing core of young talent.