Timothy Liljegren is expected to play for the Washington Capitals against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night after missing Monday morning’s practice for maintenance. The defenseman was likely to line up again with Martin Fehervary as Washington hosted a team that has made life hard on opponents all season.
The timing matters because the Capitals entered the game with only six defensemen on the active roster after Dylan McIlrath was sent to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. That leaves little room for error if one of the regulars has to come out, which makes Liljegren’s availability more than a routine lineup note.
It also gives Washington a chance to steady a defense that has been in flux. Rasmus Sandin skated with his teammates again on Tuesday morning after ACL surgery, but he stayed out with the scratches after the morning skate on November 3, 2026, so the Capitals were still managing their blue line around the players they could count on that night.
Spencer Carbery named Logan Thompson the starter and Charlie Lindgren the backup against Dallas, with Remi Poirier set as the healthy scratch in net for the Capitals. Thompson has handled the Stars well in his career, going 1-3-1 with a 2.03 goals-against average and a.928 save percentage against them, and Washington needed that stability against a Dallas team that was fourth in the Central Division with an 8-5-1 record through 14 games.
Carbery said the Stars were “one of the stingiest teams defensively,” and said they make opponents work while taking away time and space. That test came at a useful moment for Washington, which had lost three of its four cross-conference games and was looking to bounce back after losing to the Minnesota Wild in its previous game.
Dallas arrived in DC for its first game since beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Halloween, and it did so after three straight home games and a road profile that has been more dangerous than its home one. Glen Gulutzan said the Stars “don’t squeeze as much on the road,” and noted that they were more fluid away from home, a pattern backed by their scoring splits from last season.
The Capitals were expected to shake up their lineup, but the changes were not fully spelled out before puck drop. What was clear was the part that mattered most: Liljegren was in line to go, Washington was short on defensemen, and the margin for a clean night against one of the league’s tougher teams looked thin from the start.
