Lineup thoughts for Friday

Team: 2023-24 Washington Capitals

Initial Creation Date: Oct. 26, 2023

Published: Oct. 26, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This is just thoughts, please don't kill me if you disagree

Line 1: I have been very critical of Mantha and I still am, but as they are stuck with him you might as well give him a real shot to earn minutes. But he is NOT a 4th liner, so put him in the most advantageous position possible to get him going, opposite Ovi and Stromer in the middle. If you think sticking Phillips here over him is the way I won't fight you.

Line 2: Wilson has had a very mundane start to the season offensively, but I'm not crazy about sticking him to the third line. McMichael continues to impress me. On the flip side, Kuznetsov needs to show me more, but keep him up the middle for now. But I think switching him and McMichael should be thought about at least.

Line 3: I'm still not impressed by what I've seen from Oshie so far this season, but I like him with Backstrom and Milano going back to last year.

Line 4: We still need to wait and see with Dowd, but if he's still out on Friday roll with it. I don't advocate for Phillips to start on the 4th line because of his skill set, but I want him in the lineup any way I can, and I don't want to bump Oshie down here.

D pairs:
Keep it the same with the pairings from Jersey, despite it getting a bit dicey in that second period. Like with Dowd however we'll have to see about Sandin's status, hopefully it's nothing major. If it is, draw in one of Aktell or Johansen, and promote Alexeyev to the second pair.

Dunno about powerplay and PK pairings, but for the love of Christ figure out the kill. It isn't working.