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Capitals vs. Golden Knights Preview: Line Combos, Stats, Storylines to Watch
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Capitals vs. Golden Knights Preview: Line Combos, Stats, Storylines to Watch

The Washington Capitals started their West Coast road trip on the right foot on Friday with a convincing 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, and they’ll look to carry that momentum into Vegas when they face the Golden Knights on Sunday.

Here’s everything you need to know before the puck drops at T-Mobile Arena at 8 PM ET.

Washington Capitals line combinations

The Capitals will have the same lineup as the previous game, although Brandon Duhaime will make a game-time decision after getting hurt while blocking a Cale Makar blast on Friday. If he doesn’t play, Hendrix Lapierre will take his place.

Logan Thompson will get the start as Washington’s goaltending rotation continues; it’s the first time Thompson will be back in Vegas since the trade.

These are the line combinations:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Aliaksei Protas

Connor McMichael-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson

Andrew Mangiapane-Lars Eller-Jakub Vrana

Brandon Duhaime*-Nic Dowd-Taylor Raddysh

Jakob Chychrun-John Carlson

Martin Fehervary-Matt Roy

Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren

*Decision during the match

Injured: Sonny Milano (upper body, IR), Nicklas Backstrom (hip, LTIR), TJ Oshie (back, LTIR)

Washington Capitals Stats

– Connor McMichael has points in five straight games and eight of his last nine overall.

– Rasmus Sandin is on a four-game losing streak, as is Alex Ovechkin.

– Dylan Strome has found the scoresheet in all but two games this season.

– Tom Wilson has points in three of his last four outings.

-The Capitals’ power play has scored in two of the last three games.

Washington Capitals Storylines

– Watch out for Connor McMichael. The 23-year-old was red hot at DC and is also entering the scene as one of the NHL’s rising stars. He leads the Capitals with 12 goals and leads the league in 5-on-5 games (11), and he is on pace for 97 points this season.

Related: Connor McMichael is not only unlocking his full potential with the Capitals, but he’s among the NHL’s best players this season. Here’s how

– Alex Ovechkin will try to increase his goal total and find his way again. He has five goals in 12 career games against Vegas.

– Logan Thompson said that while it will be different returning and… well, not a Golden Knight, he’s treating Sunday like it’s “just another game.” We spoke 1-on-1 about his homecoming:

Related: Logan Thompson ready for emotional homecoming as Capitals visit Golden Knights: ‘It’s going to be a little different’

– The Capitals defense did a great job shutting down the Avalanche’s top stars on Friday and will look to do the same against Mark Stone, Jack Eichel and other top Vegas stars. Washington also boasts the fourth-best PK in the league (85.7 percent).