MAPLE LEAFS (9-6-2) at CAPITALS (10-4-0)
7:30 p.m. ET; MNMT, SN, TVAS
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Matthew Knies -- Max Domi -- Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Alex Steeves -- Pontus Holmberg -- Connor Dewar
Steven Lorentz -- David Kampf -- Ryan Reaves
Morgan Rielly -- Jani Hakanpaa
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Chris Tanev
Jake McCabe -- Conor Timmins
Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Philippe Myers, Nicholas Robertson, Simon Benoit
Injured: Auston Matthews (upper body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Dakota Mermis (upper body)
Capitals projected lineup
Aliaksei Protas -- Dylan Strome -- Alex Ovechkin
Connor McMichael -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane -- Hendrix Lapierre -- Jakub Vrana
Brandon Duhaime -- Nic Dowd -- Taylor Raddysh
Martin Fehervary -- John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin -- Matt Roy
Alexander Alexeyev -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Dylan McIlrath, Lars Eller
Injured: Jakob Chychrun (upper body), Sonny Milano (upper body)
Status report
Matthews is questionable to return; the center has missed four games. ... The Maple Leafs did not hold a morning skate Wednesday following a 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. … Hakanpaa, a defenseman who has not played this season because of a lower-body injury, will return after being activated from long-term injured reserve Wednesday; he skated on the first pair with Rielly at practice Monday. ... Eller was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday for a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a fifth-round pick (originally from Chicago) in the 2025 NHL Draft; the forward is not expected to play. … Thompson becomes the first Capitals goalie to make consecutive starts this season. … Forward Michael Sgarbossa was loaned to Hershey of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.
