The Washington Capitals take on the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena tonight. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others.
CAPITALS (20-13-5) at PANTHERS (20-15-2)
7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MNMT, TVAS
Capitals projected lineup
Connor McMichael — Justin Sourdif — Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Ryan Leonard — Nic Dowd — Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime — Hendrix Lapierre — Anthony Beauvillier
Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun — Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin — Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Dylan McIlrath, Declan Chisholm, Sonny Milano
Injured: Pierre-Luc Dubois (lower body)
Status report
The Capitals are expected to use the same lineup from a 4-3 overtime win at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Latest for THW:
- Capitals Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Ovechkin, Chychrun and More
- DeBoer’s Message to Berube, Stamkos Hesitation, Tkachuk Return & More NHL Rumours
- NHL Morning Recap – December 28, 2025
Panthers projected lineup
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe — Sam Bennett — Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich — Evan Rodrigues — A.J. Greer
Luke Kunin — Jack Studnicka — Jesper Boqvist
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis — Jeff Petry
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Donovan Sebrango, Noah Gregor
Injured: Aleksander Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Cole Schwindt (arm)
Status report
Tkachuk, a forward, practiced with the Panthers for the first time this season on Sunday. He participated in the morning skate but is not ready to make his season debut.
Latest for THW:
- Panthers Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Winter Classic, Marchand and More
- DeBoer’s Message to Berube, Stamkos Hesitation, Tkachuk Return & More NHL Rumours
- NHL Morning Recap – December 28, 2025
