Chris Clark is going on the trip, and he said he would like to try to play at some point. He didn't want to commit to which game, but said he will see how he feels tomorrow morning in Nashville. Olie Kolzig said Cristobal Huet, who did not practice today, will start against the Predators and he will be in net against Chicago the next day. Kolzig appeared to hurt himself at the very end of practice, but said afterward he didn't think it was serious.

The Caps are leaving in a couple of hours for a six-game road trip, which is really a pair of three-game swings with a break at home in between. General manager George McPhee expressed some disappointment that those in charge of scheduling events at Verizon Center are forcing both the Caps and the Wizards to spend the next two weeks on the road because of the NCAA tournament subregional this week and the circus the next week. The Wizards do have one home game on Sunday, but it is in the middle of seven road contests.

This isn't the first time the Caps have had a trip like this near the end of the season, and they have been pretty successful in them. Two years ago Washington went 3-1-3 when forced out town by the circus in late March. They also had success on long trips in 2002-03 (3-2-1), 2001-02 (5-3) and 2000-01 (5-0-1). Tomorrow's game is the one in hand against Carolina, which is five points up in the Southeast Division standings. The Caps are also two points back of the Flyers for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia is home for the next three (Atlanta, the Rangers and the Islanders).

-- Corey Masisak