Washington Capitals News

After ongoing negotiations with the Buffalo Sabres that extended throughout the regular season and into the offseason, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement, leading to Tuch being part of a sign-and-trade with the Washington Capitals in exchange for a third-round pick. The 30-year-old Tuch had a solid 2025-26 season with the Sabres, scoring 66 points (33G / 33A) in 79 games. He has scored 33 or more goals in four of his last five seasons and will add a significant offensive boost to Washington's top-six.

Liljegren was acquired at the trade deadline from San Jose late for a 2026 4th round pick but only managed to appear in four total games with the Capitals. The defensemen still earned himself a two-year contract extension worth $3.25 million AAV ($6.5M total) to remain in Washington on Wednesday. The 27-year-old closed out his 2025-26 campaign with a lacklustre one goal and 11 points in 47 games played between San Jose and Washington.

Sikora was a sixth-round pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old Czech forward has spent the past three seasons playing in Czechia. He scored nine points (3G / 6A) this season in 24 games with Trinec Ocelari HC.

Niederbach was a second-round pick, 51st overall, of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 24-year-old Swedish forward has spent his career playing in the Swedish Hockey League. He scored 32 points (13G / 19A) this season in 52 games with Frolunda HC.

Tyson Kozak will draw into Buffalo's lineup in Game Three, sending Dunne to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. The 23-year-old Dunne averaged 15:49 time-on-ice, recording a +1 plus/minus and two hits through the first two games of the series.

Sandin missed the final two games of the 2025-26 regular season, which will extend into the start of the 2026-27 season as he recovers from surgery to address an ACL tear. The 26-year-old Swedish defenseman has become an integral part of Washington's defence core, playing exclusively on one of the top two pairs. He averaged 19:12 time-on-ice and scored 29 points (5G / 24A) in 73 games this season.

Sandin missed the final two games of the 2025-26 regular season, which will extend into the start of the 2026-27 season as he recovers from a leg injury. The 26-year-old Swedish defenseman has become an integral part of Washington's defence core, playing exclusively on one of the top two pairs. He averaged 19:12 time-on-ice and scored 29 points (5G / 24A) in 73 games this season.

Holl will draw in alongside Jack Finley and Jonatan Berggren as the Blues do some line shuffling ahead of their season finale on Thursday. Oskar Sundqvist, Matthew Kessel, and Jonathan Drouin will all draw out of the lineup.

Desharnais has appeared in 53 games for San Jose this season but will be one of four odd men out for Game 82 after it was announced he is a healthy scratch vs. Winnipeg. The 29-year-old closes out his first full season in San Jose, picking up a goal, seven points and 68 PIMs in 53 games played.

Taylor Raddysh will re-enter the Rangers' lineup on Wednesday, sending Brodzinski to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. The 32-year-old Brodzinski scored 16 points this season (6G / 10A) while playing a career-high 55 games.

With the Capitals missing the postseason, Protas has been reassigned to the Hershey Bears (AHL) to join them for their playoff run. The 19-year-old Protas recently made his NHL debut and was very effective, scoring four points (1G / 3A) in four games. Before that, he had 62 points (28G / 34A) in 66 games with Hershey.

With the Capitals missing the postseason, Miroshnichenko has been reassigned to the Hershey Bears (AHL) to join them for their playoff run. The 22-year-old forward has spent most of the season in Hershey, where he has 31 points (12G / 19A) in 38 games.

After appearing in his first game since March 14th in Washington's previous contest, Timothy Liljegren will head back to the press box for Washington's final game of the season on Tuesday as Dylan McIlrath returns to the lineup. Liljegren has rarely appeared for the Capitals since being acquired at the trade deadline from San Jose, with no points, two PIMs and five SOG in four games played since the trade.

Despite not appearing in the Capitals' lineup since March 3rd, Dylan McIlrath will draw back into Washington's lineup for their season finale in Columbus on Tuesday. He is expected to replace Timothy Liljegren in the lineup and will hope to pick up his first point of the season in his 13th appearances with the Capitals.

Despite having 10 points in his previous seven games, Pierre-Luc Dubois will be out for Washington's final game of the season vs. Columbus on Tuesday with an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old two-way centre missed a majority of the early season due to injury and will close out his 2025-26 campaign with five goals and 19 points in 29 games played.