Connolly picked up his first point of the season last night but will come out of the lineup on Friday. Lukas Reichel was recalled from the AHL and will replace him in the lineup.
Connolly has been a healthy scratch for the last two games but will replace Philipp Kurashev in the lineup on Monday. Connolly has failed to register a point in seven games this season.
Connolly played in three straight games but will be replaced by Josiah Slavin, who was called up from the AHL after the All-Star break. Connolly has not registered a point in seven games this season.
Connolly missed three games while in COVID-19 protocol but will be available for Friday's game vs. the Wild. It's unclear whether or not he will be in the lineup or not.
Connolly is a 10-year NHL veteran with 527 career games played and 194 points (101G / 93A) with the Lightning. Capitals, Bruins, Panthers, and Blackhawks. He skated on the Blackhawks' fourth line in Monday's practice and will likely make his season debut on Wednesday.
After drawing into the lineup on Tuesday, Connolly goes to the taxi squad with Eetu Luostarinen coming back the other way.
Connolly returned to Panthers practice on Monday and head coach Joel Quenneville said that “it looks like he’s going to be more than ready for opening night.” Connolly is set to play a top-6 role with his new team, skating on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Mike Hoffman. That should set him up for a career-high in ice-time and should allow him to be at least a 20-20 player again in 2020.
Alex Chiasson will replace Connolly in the Capitals lineup tonight vs. the Hurricanes but it is not a knock on Connolly’s game according to head coach Barry Trotz. “[He] has been playing fine” but Trotz is just trying to keep everyone involved—Chiasson sat on Tuesday.
Connolly set a new career-high in goals in his first season with the Capitals, scoring 15 goals with eight assists (23 points) in 66 games. Connolly always has strong underlying numbers, but rarely sees enough ice-time to be a big factor offensively.