After losing back-to-back home games to allow the Tampa Bay Lightning to tie the Eastern Conference Final series at two games apiece, the Washington Capitals are making a lineup change for Game 5 on Saturday night.
Alex Chiasson will be returning to the lineup while Andre Burakovsky will be a healthy scratch.
Burakovsky missed a significant chunk of the playoffs in the earlier rounds due to injury and returned for the start of this series against the Lightning. He has yet to make an impact.
In his four games this series he has yet to record a point, has just two shots on goal, and has played less than nine minutes in each of the past two games. He had an especially tough game in Game 4 on Thursday night.
The 22-year-old Burakovsky is one of the Capitals’ best young players, finishing the regular season with 12 goals and 13 assists in 56 games.
On Saturday Capitals coach Barry Trotz said “it is a now business” and that the lineup they are putting on the ice is the best one to help them win Game 5.
Chiasson appeared in the Capitals’ first 15 playoff games before sitting in Game 4. He has one goal and one assist in the playoffs after finishing the regular season with nine goals and nine assists in 61 games.
MORE:
• Conference Finals schedule, TV info
• NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.