The Washington Capitals will be making a change at forward against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.
After missing the past four games with an upper-body injury, Ethen Frank will return to action. Frank was activated off injured reserve ahead of the game and will replace Sonny Milano in the team’s lineup.
“Milano will come out, and then we’ve got to make some roster [moves], sort of flipping some things this afternoon,” head coach Spencer Carbery said after the club’s morning skate.
Frank was injured in Washington’s 1-0 loss to the Dallas Stars on October 28, sent to the locker room after colliding with Stars forward Mikko Rantanen. The Capitals then placed Frank on IR two days later, and he returned to practice for the first time earlier this week.
In three games for the Capitals this season, Frank has recorded one assist and averaged 11:18 of ice time per game. He has also played three games for the AHL’s Hershey Bears, scoring twice.
Milano comes out of the lineup after skating 9:21 of ice time against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. He had been skating on the left wing of the Capitals’ third line with Hendrix Lapierre and Ryan Leonard. In eight games this season, Milano has scored just one goal.
Logan Thompson will be back in net for the Capitals, making his 10th start of the campaign. Through nine appearances, Thompson is 6-3 with a 1.45 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. In his career against the Lightning, he’s 1-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage.
The Lightning come into the game on the back of a 6-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. They are 7-5-2 overall this season, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Capitals on October 14.