Capitals adjust lines without Alex Ovechkin

OTTAWA | On Tuesday it looked like the Washington Capitals were preparing for life, or at least one game, without captain Alex Ovechkin. They skated in lines not leaving a space for the injured superstar, and that turned out to be right when he missed Wednesday night's game at the Ottawa Senators.

But when the Caps did line rushes in pregame warm-ups, Mike Knuble was on the left side on the top line. Being in a prominent spot is not uncommon for the 39-year-old in recent seasons, though his playing left wing in that spot is not typical.

His playing on the top line at all has not been the norm. Knuble has spent much of the season on the fourth line and was a healthy scratch for three games earlier this month.

Here's a look at the lines and defensive pairings:

Mike Knuble - Brooks Laich - Troy Brouwer

Matt Hendricks - Mathieu Perreault - Alexander Semin

Jason Chimera - Marcus Johansson - Keith Aucoin

Jay Beagle - Jeff Halpern - Joel Ward

Dennis Wideman - Dmitry Orlov

Jeff Schultz - Mike Green

Karl Alzner - John Carlson

Tomas Vokoun starts vs. Craig Anderson.