The Capitals will welcome back a pair of forwards tonight as they continue their push for a playoff spot against Buffalo. NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports (Twitter links) that Aliaksei Protas and Ethen Frank are set to return to the lineup. They’re set to take the place of Ivan Miroshnichenko and David Kampf, who will be healthy scratches.
Protas had missed the past two games with an upper-body injury. While he’s not scoring at the same rate as last year when he had 30 goals and 36 assists in 76 games, the 25-year-old has still been one of Washington’s top scorers with 23 goals and 24 assists through 70 appearances. Frank, meanwhile, was waived by the Capitals in training camp but was recalled soon after and has been a regular since then, notching 12 goals and 12 assists in 64 games, earning a two-year extension for his efforts. He had been out for nearly two weeks with a lower-body injury.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov joined the team on the ice at the end of today’s morning skate, relays team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). The netminder was ruled as likely out for the rest of the year after undergoing hip surgery in late December to fix a problem he had been battling through. At this point, it stands to reason that Kochetkov has a long way to go still before being cleared to return but getting back on the ice already suggests he has a chance to get back at some point in the postseason. The 26-year-old has played in just nine games this season with Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen shouldering the rest of the goaltending load.
- It appears that the Blue Jackets will get a key winger back tonight. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that Mason Marchment was a full participant in the morning skate on the top line, suggesting that he’ll return after missing Thursday’s game due to an undisclosed injury. The 30-year-old has been a key contributor since being acquired early in the year from Seattle, notching 14 goals and 13 assists in just 33 games since then. Officially, he’s listed as a game-time decision.