Caps Get Back to Work vs. Philly
With scheduling breaks now behind them, the Capitals get geared up for 33 games in 67 nights to close 2017-18, starting Wednesday vs. Philly
With its quartet of unwieldy gaps in the schedule now in the rear view, Washington finishes up the January portion of its slate on Wednesday night when it hosts the Philadelphia Flyers. Wednesday's game is the Caps' second straight home game with Philadelphia as the opposition; the Caps suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to the Flyers at Capital One Arena on the afternoon of Jan. 21.
Washington has played one game since that loss to the Flyers, ending a three-game skid with a 4-2 road victory over the Panthers in Florida last Thursday. That game is the only one Washington has played in the last nine days.
"I think that kind of was the stop to a lot of things that were creeping into our game and a start to the new game," says Caps defenseman John Carlson. "Hopefully, that carries over the [All-Star] break, but it's not going to be easy; it seems like every game is going to feel like this next one. Everything means so much this time of year, and we've got to treat it like that."
The Caps hit the All-Star break at peak health, and if they're not well rested by now, they're never going to be.
"It was nice to have some time, no question," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "But as players and coaches, you're used to the 'always into it' [mode]. Lately it's felt more like an AHL schedule where they play one game and then they might not play for a week.
"Now this is a little bit of a grind, but it's also the fun part because everybody is ramping up their game, there are a lot more divisional games - four-pointers - and you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You get through February and the light at the end of the tunnel is right there. This is a month where a lot of good work has to happen, and hopefully you have success."
The Capitals have muddled their way through January with a respectable 5-2-2 mark thus far, with the results of Wednesday's January finale obviously pending. Beginning with Wednesday's game against the Flyers, the Caps will close out the season with 33 games in 67 nights. Over the last several seasons, Washington has been at its best on a single day's rest, and 22 of its final 33 games will be played with one day's rest.
Washington heads into the homestretch with a lead of a four points over second-place Pittsburgh in the Metro Division standings. When January started, the Caps led by a single point over New Jersey, so they've managed to expand their lead while not playing their best hockey. Now, what must they do to close out the campaign with a strong finishing kick heading into the playoffs?
"I think you'd like to get off to a good start," says Carlson, "just like at the beginning of the season. That's what everyone talks about, and it almost feels like that in a way.
"We have a pretty favorable schedule to start, in terms of the days between games and all that kind of stuff. We have every reason to start out well and to let that momentum take us."
Wednesday's game starts off a Metro-heavy stretch of scheduling, too. Four of the Caps' next five games will be against Metro foes. The lone non-divisional game in that stretch is a Sunday home matinee against Vegas, which entered the All-Star break as the best team in the Western Conference.
After this brief upcoming stretch of five games, the Caps will move back into a Western Conference- and Atlantic Division-heavy portion of the schedule. From Feb. 12-March 12, the Caps will play 14 of 15 games against Western or Atlantic opposition.
"The guys recognize the importance of where we are," says Trotz. "They know the standings. They understand that this last third of the season is really important, where it gets ramped up. Every game is [important]. [Wednesday] night, four points - it happens and gets on you real quick.
"You trust that they understand coming out of the break that we are going to have a lot to do here."
Wednesday's game against the Flyers is also important because the Caps have yet to beat Philly in two previous meetings this season. Philadelphia and Buffalo are the only Eastern Conference clubs against which the Caps have yet to record a victory this season.
"There are still a number of games left for us," says Trotz. "There are teams like Philly, which we haven't had great success so far against. And they look like they're in the playoff hunt, so you want to have success against them. Columbus we haven't seen a whole lot; we saw them early and we haven't seem them in forever.
"You're not necessarily gauging where you are, but you're also getting a feel for where they're at as well."
Left for dead after 10-game losing streak (0-5-5) from Nov. 11-Dec. 2, the Flyers reeled off six straight wins in the immediate aftermath of that slide. They've stayed hot, going 16-6-1 in their last 23 games to reinsert themselves into the thick of the playoff chase. As they head to the District for the second of their two visits this season, the Flyers occupy the second wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
What's made the difference for Philly since that long skid?
"People have talked about that 10-game losing streak," says Flyers captain Claude Giroux, "and I keep saying that we weren't playing bad hockey. We just weren't getting the results. It was only that one goal or that one stop or that one play that we could have done differently that would have changed the game.
"And once we won one, we kind of relaxed and our confidence came back pretty quick, and we won six in a row. I don't think we were a much different team. I just think that that one mistake or that one turnover, we've been finding ways to take that away."
Even when the Flyers were on that slide and in last place in the Metro, they still led the NHL in one key statistical area: fewest five-on-five goals against. Philadelphia has permitted just 76 goals at five-on-five in its 49 games this season. The Flyers rank fourth in the league in that department now, only four away from league-leading Boston (72).
