Tom Wilson will not play in Game 6 as Capitals look to stave off elimination originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Capitals forward Tom Wilson will not play Friday in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoff series against the Florida Panthers, coach Peter Laviolette confirmed.
Wilson was on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex before the team’s 10:30am morning skate going through skating drills, but did not participate in the team’s official practice.
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Wilson was injured in Game 1 against the Panthers shortly after scoring the series' first goal and has not played since with a lower-body injury. Washington has called him day-to-day since then.
Absent Wilson again, the Capitals changed up their lines a bit and moved Conor Sheary to the top line to skate with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Anthony Mantha will skate with Connor McMichael and Lars Eller on the third line. Listen and Subscribe
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If the Capitals lose at home Friday night, they’ll be eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season (coverage begins on NBC Sports Washington at 6:30 p.m.) If they win, Game 7 will be on Sunday in Florida.
"It's pretty simple," defenseman John Carlson said. "We've had a lot of good moments so far in this series and I think that we know what it takes on our good efforts and our good wins and all that. Focus on that and have the confidence that I know we do have, and try to learn from our mistakes, move past it and have a good effort tonight."
Here were the team’s lines at morning skate ahead of Game 6:
Forwards:
Ovechkin — Kuznetsov — Sheary
Johansson — Backstrom — Oshie
McMichael — Eller — Mantha
Larsson — Dowd — Hathaway
Defense:
Fehervary — Carlson
Orlov — Jensen
van Riemsdyk — Schultz
All first-round games of Capitals vs. Panthers will be available regionally on NBC Sports Washington and streamed live on the MyTeams app.
