Capitals Insider

It appears more news broke while I was at 35,000 feet this afternoon. According to Bob McKenzie's twitter page - and now confirmed by a Caps official - Michael Nylander has been placed on waivers.

Mark Giannotto checking in from a mostly empty Kettler Capitals Iceplex this morning...

A groggy Bruce Boudreau just spoke with the media after arriving back into town from Florida at 2 a.m. First and foremost on his mind were the injuries suffered by defensemen Mike Green (upper body) and Jeff Schultz (lower body) during last night's 4-1 victory over Florida. Both Green and Schultz will be "game-time decisions" tonight in the second game of a home-and-home with the Panthers, but as Tarik mentioned in a previous post, both were seen walking gingerly to the team bus in Florida yesterday.

In the meantime, the Caps have some contingency plans in place should neither be able to suit up. Like he did in last night's 4-1 victory, Tyler Sloan would move back to defense. If Green and Schultz are available, Sloan would remain on the fourth line alongside Chris Clark and Mathieu Perreault. Defenseman John Erskine, who was a scratch last night, will also play tonight. And rather than give Michael Nylander his first game action of the season, the Caps are planning to activate Eric Fehr (ribs) and put Alex Ovechkin on injured reserve, retroactive to when he originally strained his shoulder last Sunday against Columbus.

A few quick updates: The Caps have placed Alex Ovechkin, who is still nursing a strain near his left shoulder, on injured reserve to make room for Eric Fehr on the roster. Ovechkin could, however, still return Wednesday against the Isles.

Mike Green and Jeff Schultz, who both left last night's game with injuries, will be game-time decisions tonight against Florida at Verizon Center.

Also, Shaone Morrisonn seems to have avoided a suspension for boarding Kenndal McArdle late in the third period against the Panthers. Coach Bruce Boudreau said that Morrisonn was put on probation at the end of last season and couldn't receive a major penalty in the Capitals' first 15 or 20 games -- he wasn't sure which -- but the league hasn't taken any disciplinary action yet.

More to come in a bit from Mark Giannotto, who's stepping in for Tarik today (who's currently changing planes in Atlanta).

The Caps snapped a three-game losing streak with a thorough 4-1 win tonight over the Panthers. But the story, once again, was the loss of key players to injury.

Already without Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Jeff Schultz went down with upper- and lower-body injuries, respectively. Both are questionable for tomorrow's rematch between the Southeast Division rivals at Verizon Center.

Something else to keep an eye on is the status of defenseman Shaone Morrisonn. It's unclear whether he'll be suspended, but Coach Bruce Boudreau was obviously concerned that he might not be able to suit up tomorrow.

If I hear anything tonight, I'll post an update. But I'm hearing word might not come down from the league until tomorrow morning.

Anyway, check out my gamer here and come back for some notes and quotes from a weird night in South Florida.

Mike Green suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. He told me on the way to the team bus that he hopes to play Saturday, but won't know whether he'll be able to until tomorrow morning.

Jeff Schultz sustained a lower-body injury in the second period and also did not return. He was spotted limping out of the visitors' dressing room here at BankAtlantic Center, and his status for Saturday is also unclear.

Finally, Coach Bruce Boudreau was concerned that defenseman Shaone Morrisonn might face a suspension for boarding Kenndal McArdle late in the third period. Morrisonn received five minutes and a game misconduct, but Boudreau revealed that Morrisonn was put on probation at the end of last season and couldn't receive a major penalty in the Capitals' first 15 or 20 games. Boudreau couldn't remember which it was, but obviously that will be key. Morrisonn said he was not aware of the situation.

I'll have a little more later.

The Caps just lost another defenseman.

Jeff Schultz has also suffered an injury and has left the bench, joining Mike Green in the visitors' dressing room here at BankAtlantic Center. The team says he may return.

Tyler Sloan, meantime, has been switched back to defense.

Defenseman Mike Green suffered an injury in the first period. He may return, the team says. I'll have an update as soon as more info is available.

Jose Theodore will start in goal tonight as the Caps attempt to snap a three game losing streak at BankAtlantic Center. Tomas Vokoun will get the nod for Florida, which has won three straight.

Alex Ovechkin won't suit up and is expected to miss Saturday's rematch, as well. The Caps are 1-4-0 without him all-time and 0-3-0, with only three goals, in those last three games.

The rest of the Caps' lineup should look like this:

Forwards
Fleischmann-Backstrom-Semin
Laich-Morrison-Knuble
Laing-Steckel-Bradley
Sloan-Perreault-Clark
Scratch: Ovechkin (strain near shoulder), Fehr (ribs), Gordon (back)

Defense
Morrisonn-Green
Poti-Jurcina
Schultz-Pothier
Scratch: Erskine (healthy)

Goalies
Theodore
Varlamov

I'll have more after the game.

Based on the morning skate, it looks like Jose Theodore will get the nod in net tonight at BankAtlantic Center against the suddenly surging Panthers. There will also be a change on the Caps' blue line, with John Erskine coming out and Brian Pothier going back in.

"He had three weeks off," Coach Bruce Boudreau said of Erskine. "I'm sure he's not 100-percent. Players want to play so bad, they fib a little bit about how good they feel."

After returning to practice Thursday, Alex Ovechkin did not take the pre-game skate at BankAtlantic Center this morning. That doesn't necessarily mean he's had a setback, but when asked how he's feeling today, he said only, "Same."

Ovechkin is expected to miss at least the next two games with a strain near his left shoulder.

"It's getting better every day," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "But [in terms] of percentages or degrees, I don't know. He might be one percent better. It's going to take time. He wants to play, but if he takes a major hit on it, and he's not 100-percent, he could be behind the eight ball for three weeks or four weeks. We don't want that."

In their first game without Ovechkin on Wednesday, a 3-2 loss in New Jersey, the Caps did little to dispel the notion that they are significantly limited minus their two-time MVP.

That was still bugging Boudreau this morning.

"That's why I was so mad," Boudreau said. "I'm not really back to where I should be. I usually recover from a win or loss pretty good. But this is the golden opportunity for a group of guys -- Alex gets all the publicity, and rightfully so -- to stand up and be the team they can believe they can be without him."

"Pittsburgh didn't lose a beat when they lost [Sidney] Crosby for six weeks, or [Evgeni] Malkin or [Sergei] Gonchar," Boudreau added. "If we think we're a good team, we have to be able to win without [Ovechkin]. One player can't be the defining point of a team. They have to realize that instead of feeling sorry for themselves."