📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
The Washington Capitals didn’t have much going for them at five-on-five against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. At the mid-way point of the game, the Caps were down 4-0, so head coach Spencer Carbery threw his forward lines into the blender.
The most notable of Carbery’s changes saw Alex Ovechkin split from his usual top-line linemates, Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier, and instead skated with Ivan Miroshnichenko and Connor McMichael.
Capitals lines to end 12/20 game against Red Wings
Ovechkin
McMichael
Miroshnichenko
After the game, Carbery explained that he was “just looking to get a different look and see what we’ll try for tomorrow, combination-wise.”
Miroshnichenko ended up playing 10:49 of ice time in the loss, recording two shots on goal, three shot attempts, and two hits. In the 2:33 of five-on-five ice time that he played with Ovechkin and McMichael, the Capitals posted positive differentials in shot attempts (+4), scoring chances (+2), and high-danger chances (+1).
The switch in lines comes as Ovechkin is without a goal in the last seven games and without a point in the last three. The Great 8’s usual centerman, Strome, has just three points in all of December, and his assist against the Red Wings was his first point after a five-game drought.
The Capitals and Red Wings will match up again in Detroit on Sunday. The matinee matchup is set for a 1:00 pm puck drop at Little Caesars Arena.