Youth will be front and center as the Capitals open the preseason

The Washington Capitals were given little time to ease into the preseason. Just three days after training camp opened Thursday, the Capitals begin their six-game preseason schedule at 3 p.m. Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena in the first of four games in six days.

Washington plays at Boston on Tuesday and at New Jersey on Wednesday before hosting Columbus on Friday to conclude a busy week. The coaching staff has a plan to balance each player's workload — different groups will travel to the road games — but the compressed schedule creates a chaotic few days.

"I think us as coaches, we'd always love a little bit more time to implement some of the things that we'd like to see," Coach Spencer Carbery said Friday. "But at the same time, you understand that they want to get games going. And ultimately, to evaluate, we need to see game action. We try to be as smart as we can with how much information we give and how much [the message is to] just go out there and play and show what you're capable of doing."

Washington and Philadelphia are expected to put young lineups on the ice Sunday, as is typical at the start of the preseason. At Saturday's practice, the game group for the Capitals featured 2024 draft picks Terik Parascak, Leon Muggli and Eriks Mateiko as well as would-be rookies Andrew Cristall, Cam Allen and Henrik Rybinski.

Mike Sgarbossa was expected to center Parascak and Sonny Milano in Sunday's game, but he left practice after taking a puck to the face. Carbery didn't have an update on Sgarbossa's status other than to say he required repairs. Sgarbossa is on the roster for the game, but Riley Sutter was added to the group and may take Sgarbossa's place on the ice.

The other lines should remain the same, with Hendrix Lapierre centering Jakub Vrana and Ethen Frank, Rybinski centering Cristall and Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Mateiko between Alex Limoges and Taylor Raddysh.

On defense, Alex Alexeyev and Ethan Bear formed the most experienced pair. Muggli was teamed with Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Allen skated with Hardy Haman Aktell. Muggli, an 18-year-old second-round pick from Switzerland who will be the youngest player on the ice for the Capitals on Sunday, grinned when asked about playing with van Riemsdyk.

"He's a great guy. He's helped me out a lot," Muggli said. "Showing me how it's going, talking to me. Great, great example for me. He's been in the league for a long time."

Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson are the goalies listed on the game roster.

With just three days of practice before Sunday's game and the majority of the lineup new to the NHL or new to the Capitals, Carbery's expectations for his players are simple.

"Just implement a little of what we've talked about," he said. "See some of the structure stuff, see what guys it comes naturally to and are able to incorporate it into their game right away. Competitiveness is an easy one. Pace to our game is another one that I'll talk about."

Because the Capitals have installed only the basics of their structure, Carbery also hopes to see his players find opportunities to show off their best attributes. No one expects Parascak, an 18-year-old with just one year of junior hockey under his belt, to be a difference-maker on every shift. But if he can find a moment or two to unleash the wrist shot that made him Washington's pick at No. 17 , that's what Carbery wants to see.

"It's important because you can sometimes get in these moments as a young player — whether it's your first NHL exhibition game or you've played two or three — you can become paralyzed by: 'Am I in the right spot? Am I doing the right thing with my linemates?' That, I don't want," Carbery said. "Each one of these guys is here for a reason and competing for a spot on our team for a reason."

Parascak will get an up-close look at what it takes to play in the NHL ahead of his expected return to Prince George of the Western Hockey League. But the first time a player puts on his NHL team's jersey and takes the ice in the big barn is special nonetheless. Parascak's parents and sister will be on hand for the moment.

"It's been a super cool experience, getting to kind of skate with the big guys," he said. "It's been an unbelievable experience. ... Just kind of dreaming of being in an NHL rink, putting on an NHL jersey — it would be super special."