April 8 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena<\/p>\n
Time: 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
TV: MNMT<\/p>\n
Radio: Team 980, 106.7 THE FAN [JIP]\/Caps Radio Network<\/p>\n
Washington Capitals (39-30-9)<\/p>\n
Toronto Maple Leafs (32-31-14)<\/p>\n
The Caps head back out on the road Wednesday night, making their lone visit to Toronto this season to take on the Maple Leafs. For the Capitals, it\u2019s their final game against an Atlantic Division foe for the 2025-26 regular season and it is also the final time they\u2019ll need to bring their passports with them; it is Washington\u2019s final trip to Canada this season.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s contest is the middle match of three straight road games for Washington, but the Caps are not on an actual three-game road trip. They returned home following Sunday night\u2019s 8-1 humbling at the hands of the Rangers in New York, and they\u2019ll return home after Wednesday\u2019s game against the Leafs before departing for Pittsburgh on Friday for their Saturday afternoon date with the Penguins in the Steel City.<\/p>\n
The Capitals had a scheduled day off after Sunday\u2019s setback in Manhattan, but the hockey operations department never rests. Washington recalled 19-year-old center Ilya Protas from AHL Hershey on Monday, and he joined the Caps for their Tuesday practice, as well as the annual team photo that was taken just ahead of practice.<\/p>\n
The younger brother of Washington forward Aliaksei, Ilya Protas was Washington\u2019s third-round pick (75th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft, and he becomes the first player from the third round of the 2024 Draft to ascend to the NHL.<\/p>\n
Three weeks ago, 19-year-old defenseman Cole Hutson \u2013 Washington\u2019s second-round pick (43rd overall) from the 2024 Draft \u2013 also debuted in the NHL. When Protas takes the ice in Toronto on Wednesday night, the Caps will become the first team to have two players beyond the first round reach the NHL from that 2024 Draft. The Caps will also have two teenagers in the lineup for the first time since 2013-14 when both Tom Wilson and Connor Carrick were in the lineup as teenagers on several occasions together, the last of which was March 26, 2014.<\/p>\n
When recalled on Monday, Protas was leading the Bears in scoring with 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) in 66 games. He ranks second among first-year AHL players in goals and third in assists. Among the entire population of AHL players, Protas ranks sixth in scoring, tied for sixth in goals, and tied for seventh in power-play goals (10).<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a couple of factors play in, the obvious one being the season that he’s having and how well he’s played of late, through this last stretch, but ultimately through the entire season, so his play,\u201d says Caps coach Spencer Carbery of the timing of the recall. \u201cAnd then the second part, I think, would be with where we’re at, and we’re still fighting and hanging on to stay in this race. I think him coming in, in this moment for our team, could potentially give us a jolt of energy to our group.\u201d<\/p>\n
At his first practice as an NHL player, Ilya Protas skated the middle of a line with brother Aliaksei on his left and with Wilson on his right.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, [I\u2019m] trying to make him as comfortable as possible and give us some balance with three lines,\u201d says Carbery of the decision to play Ilya between Aliaksei and Wilson. \u201cBalance is four, but it gives us three lines that potentially could do some things offensively for us, at 5-on-5. And so, I think the insulation and him being able to communicate with his brother, and his brother helping him through. And then also, Willie’s a really easy winger to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson is also excited at the prospect of playing with the prospect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have two brothers,\u201d says Wilson. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where seeing the bond of the brothers is a special thing, and then to be playing in the NHL together is so cool. \u2018Little Pro\u2019 is such a great kid; it\u2019s fun to have him here. If I get to play with him, it\u2019ll be a cool first game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey look so similar. Whoever I pass it to, they\u2019re basically like the same person. The twin towers, and they\u2019re obviously so good with the puck. I don\u2019t even have to pay attention to whether he is a righty or a lefty, or a big guy or a small guy; they\u2019re both so capable and great players. It\u2019s kind of weird to be playing with two guys that are basically identical. They\u2019re not twins, but they could be. It\u2019s different, but it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
As you\u2019d expect, the brothers Protas are also excited. They and their family members were over the moon on that day in late June of 2024 in Las Vegas when the Caps drafted Ilya Protas in the third round, and they were excited to share the ice for preseason NHL action the last two Septembers during Washington\u2019s training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a family group chat, so I called him there,\u201d says Ilya Protas, asked how he informed his brother of the recall. \u201cHe texted there, and I think his kid was sleeping next to him, so he couldn\u2019t really talk loud.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a couple of minutes, he responded and I told them altogether, \u2018\u2019Yeah, I got called up.\u2019 And they were happy, obviously, and our parent got a little bit emotional and are really happy for that, and just a special moment for the whole family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a little bit hard to believe it right now, looking at the side and looking at the gym,\u201d says Aliaksei Protas. \u201c[Training] camp is one thing but now seeing him have a chance to have a debut [Wednesday] maybe, it\u2019s an unbelievable feeling. I\u2019m so happy and just trying to stay focused right now a little bit, but it\u2019s the real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s game in Toronto marks the fourth time in franchise history \u2013 and the first in nearly a quarter century \u2013 the Caps have had a pair of brothers take the ice together in a Washington sweater. In October of 1992, the Caps actually had two pairs of brothers on the roster simultaneously. From Oct. 6-28, 1992, brothers Kelly and Kevin Miller suited up together for 10 games. And from Oct. 12-28, 1992, brothers Dale and Mark Hunter played seven games together.<\/p>\n
And most recently, on Oct. 16, 2001, twin brothers Chris and Peter Ferraro suited up for a single game for Washington.<\/p>\n
This time around, Carbery must deliver the preferred nomenclature when calling out line combinations from behind the Washington bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to figure out how to call lines out, and individuals,\u201d says Carbery. \u201cI had a good conversation with them. I think we\u2019re going to with \u2018Big Pro,\u2019 and \u2018Pro.\u2019 Because \u2018Little\u2019 is a mouthful when you\u2019re in the heat of the moment on the bench and you\u2019re \u2018Little what?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we\u2019ve got a lot of Pros, O\u2019s, Beaus. I\u2019ve got to make sure I\u2019m on point with pronunciation [Wednesday] night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Caps also recalled goaltender Mitchell Gibson from AHL Hershey. Charlie Lindgren did not partake in the team\u2019s Tuesday practice because of maintenance, but he did travel with the team to Toronto.<\/p>\n
After making the playoffs in each of the last nine consecutive seasons, the Leafs \u2013 along with the Florida Panthers \u2013 are bringing up the rear of the Atlantic Division going into Tuesday night\u2019s slate of NHL activity. Prior to the run ending this season, the last time Toronto made nine straight playoff appearances was back in the NHL\u2019s Original Six era, and that nine-year run included four Stanley Cup championships, including three of them in succession from 1962-64.<\/p>\n
The Leafs couldn\u2019t cobble together a winning streak of as many as four games until early January of this season, and it remains their longest winning spree of the season. Sprinkled through the season were losing streaks of five (04-1), six (0-5-1) and eight (0-6-2) in duration, and the spiral led to the recent dismissal of Toronto general manager Brad Treliving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 8 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena Time: 7:30 p.m. TV: MNMT Radio: Team 980, 106.7…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5114],"tags":[191,5,4,190,109,5222],"class_list":{"0":"post-546957","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-capitals","8":"tag-capitals","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-washington","12":"tag-washington-capitals","13":"tag-washingtoncapitals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116367847954052464","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}