Anthony Mantha appears set to be healthy scratch against Flames

The Washington Capitals hit the ice for practice on Sunday, their first session since being shut out in their Home Opener by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Capitals are determined to move past that disappointment as they prepare to host the Calgary Flames at Capital One Arena on Monday night.

Friday’s season-opening game saw a few last-minute changes to the roster due to starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper’s absence. However, those changes have now been reversed. The major news is that Aliaksei Protas has returned from his temporary move to the Hershey Bears and will immediately take his spot on the team’s fourth line as the right winger.

Protas’ return has resulted in Anthony Mantha being listed as the extra forward during Sunday’s practice. This suggests that Mantha may be healthy-scratched for the game against the Flames.

Here are the complete lines and defense pairings provided by Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir.

Mantha’s demotion follows his lacklustre performance against the Penguins. Despite playing for 11 minutes and 52 seconds, Mantha only made one shot attempt, one giveaway, and lost two faceoffs. The team’s checking line struggled during five-on-five play.

With Nic Dowd on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals experienced negative differentials in shot attempts (-17), scoring chances (-7), and high-danger chances (-4). Bringing Protas back on the line with Dowd could potentially address some of these issues, as the two have had good numbers when playing together in the past. Over the past two seasons, with Protas and Dowd on the ice during five-on-five, the Caps have achieved 53.6 percent of the shot attempts, 58.5 percent of the expected goals, 56.7 percent of the scoring chances, and 58.2 percent of the high-danger chances.

Another notable storyline among the forwards is that Matthew Phillips will have a chance for personal revenge against Calgary on Monday. Phillips was drafted by the Flames in 2016 and spent his entire career with the organization until joining the Capitals this past offseason. Despite performing well in the AHL, Phillips was rarely given an opportunity at the NHL level, playing in just three games since turning pro during the 2018-19 season.

However, Phillips has not focused on seeking vindication during his time with the Capitals. Last week, he said, “I don’t know about proving people wrong. There are also a lot of people that I’d like to say I proved right. I’m just really excited to be here and they gave me a great opportunity and put a lot of trust in me, so I’m just trying to do my best every day.”

The only other lineup change from the game against the Penguins is that Alex Alexeyev is expected to make his season debut on defense alongside Nick Jensen. Lucas Johansen filled that spot against Pittsburgh and had the least ice time among the Capitals defensemen, playing for 13 minutes and 31 seconds. Alexeyev signed a two-year extension with the Capitals in May.

Darcy Kuemper, who recently became a dad, returned to his regular goaltending duties. Kuemper missed the season opener due to the birth of his first child, and Charlie Lindgren served as the backup goalie in his absence. Lindgren faced 35 shots and made 31 saves in the loss.

Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB