The Capitals' defensive corps continues to be decimated by injuries as both John Erskine and Tom Poti have been listed as "day-to day" with upper-body injuries.
In a corresponding move, the Capitals recalled defenseman Cameron Schilling and placed Erskine on injured reserve. The hope is that Erskine will be ready by Sunday, according to the team. Schilling will make his NHL debut Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Yesterday, we had a day off in Hershey and went to lunch and got the call right after lunch," the 24-year-old Schilling said. "Obviously, it's a dream come true to come up here to the NHL and get a game in, so I'm just gonna try to enjoy it as much as I can, but stay focused and try to play my game."
Among Washington's projected defensive corps this evening, three of the six -- Schilling, Tomas Kundratek and Steven Oleksy -- were with the AHL Hershey Bears when the NHL season started Jan. 19.
Meanwhile, Mike Green and Brooks Laich, both of whom are suffering from groin injuries, participated in the morning skate. Neither will play Tuesday and both are "a ways away" from returning to action as Green put it. Green hasn't played since Feb. 27, while Laich has yet to play this season.
Braden Holtby will start against Carolina. He has started 13 of the last 14 games, but was pulled in the second period of the Capitals' 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers Sunday.
Your projected lineup for the evening:
Marcus Johansson - Mike Ribeiro - Alex Ovechkin
Eric Fehr - Nicklas Backstrom - Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera - Matt Hendricks - Joel Ward
Wojtek Wolski - Jay Beagle - Mathieu Perreault
Karl Alzner - Tomas Kundratek
Jeff Schultz - John Carlson
Cameron Schilling - Steven Oleksy
Braden Holtby
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