Wednesday was an off day for the Washington Capitals after they grabbed their first win of the preseason Tuesday night, but it’s no time for the front office to kick back.
The Capitals assigned eight more players to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, bringing down the big-league roster to 31 players.
The team has until Oct. 2, the day before the regular season begins, to name its final 23-man roster.
Forwards Juuso Ikonen, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Garrett Pilon were sent to Hershey, along with blueliners Connor Hobbs, Lucas Johansen and Colby Williams. Forward Michael Sgarbossa and defenseman Tyler Lewington were placed on waivers and will be loaned to Hershey if they clear.
That leaves Washington with 19 forwards, eight defensemen and four goaltenders with two preseason contests remaining — Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes and Sunday against the St. Louis Blues, both at home.
Some notable survivors of the latest round of reassignments include forwards Riley Barber, Liam O’Brien and Sergei Shumakov and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler.
The Capitals return to the ice Thursday at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, where coach Todd Reirden is expected to give an update about defenseman Michal Kempny’s upper-body injury that caused him to leave Tuesday’s 4-0 win over St. Louis.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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