NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues as the Washington Capitals host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday Night Hockey at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch that game online by clicking here.
The Golden Knights continue their five-game road trip Wednesday without the services of Paul Stastny. The center suffered a lower-body injury Monday in Buffalo and will miss at least the next three games. He’ll be re-evaluated after that, said head coach Gerard Gallant.
Cody Eakin, who’s yet to play this season, will enter the lineup vs. the Capitals.
While the hype around this game will be that it’s a Stanley Cup Final rematch, the Golden Knights aren’t looking into the past.
“One thing is that we have to stop talking about last year,” said forward Jonathan Marchessault. “It’s a new year now. Last year is over. It’s a new team.”
The Capitals, meanwhile, have had an interesting start to their Cup defense, winning their opener 7-0 over the Boston Bruins and then dropping a 7-6 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins the following night. Washington’s franchise record for goals through the first three games of a season is 17, set in 1988-89. The NHL record for most goals through the first three games of a season is 27, set by the Toronto Arenas in the League’s inaugural season of 1917-18; the modern-era record (since 1943-44) is 25, set by the Montreal Canadiens in 1975-76.
As Eakin returns for Vegas, Michal Kempny is expected to make his season debut for the Capitals after suffering a concussion during the preseason. Dmitrij Jaskin is also expected in for Washington after being claimed on waivers from the St. Louis Blues.
What: Vegas Golden Knights at Washington Capitals
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.
When: Wednesday, October 10th, 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Golden Knights-Capitals stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Jonathan Marchessault - William Karlsson - Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty - Erik Haula - Tomas Nosek
Ryan Carpenter - Cody Eakin - Oscar Lindberg
William Carrier - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Ryan Reaves
Shea Theodore - Deryk Engelland
Brayden McNabb - Colin Miller
Jon Merrill - Nick Holden
Starting goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury
[WATCH LIVE - 8 P.M. ET - NBCSN]
CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Brett Connolly
Jakub Vrana - Nicklas Backstrom - T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky - Lars Eller - Chandler Stephenson
Dmitrij Jaskin - Nic Dowd - Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov - Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny - John Carlson
Brooks Orpik - Christian Djoos
Starting goalie: Braden Holtby