Caps Come Back Home to Host Bolts
Washington hosts Tampa Bay on Friday night, ahead of the NHL's three-day holiday break.
© Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
By
Mike Vogel
WashingtonCaps.com
In the midst of a two-week stretch during which it alternates one-game road trips with one-game "homestands," Washington returns home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night in the last game for both teams prior to the NHL's three-day holiday break.
The Caps come into Friday's game having lost their last two games (0-1-1), but they're also 6-1-1 in their last eight. In the ultra competitive Metropolitan Division however, claiming just one of four possible points in a two-game span can lose a team a chunk of ground in the standings.
"I think that's what every team is thinking, unfortunately," says Caps defenseman Karl Alzner. "It's not like anyone is coming in to give these two [points] away. And with how tight our division is, they're that much more important for us."
Most recently, the Caps dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The Caps scored first and never trailed in that contest, but Washington was never able to add to a pair of one-goal leads.
Both of Washington's goals came from Lars Eller's line, with Eller and Andre Burakovsky lighting the lamps. Burakovsky did so in his first game back in the lineup after a three-game stint as a healthy scratch, ending a 26-game drought without a goal. That line - with Jakub Vrana filling out the trio - and the Jay Beagle line (with Daniel Winnik and Tom Wilson) were consistently effective all night long against Philly. But Caps coach Barry Trotz tinkered with his other six forwards - the top six - in the third period against the Flyers.
"Those two lines were getting some [offensive] zone time and they were creating some stuff," said Trotz after Wednesday's game, referring to the Eller and Beagle units. "I switched those [other] two lines around; our top six weren't generating a whole heck of a lot there, so I tried to mix it up a little bit and see if we could get another spark there."
The spark never took. The Caps' top six produced consistently during Washington's recent six-game winning streak, but they were held off the scoresheet against Philly. That ended a streak in which at least one of the Caps' top six forwards scored a goal in eight straight games. Against the Flyers, Washington's top six didn't mange the puck as well as they should have. It sometimes seemed as though the Caps' bottom six was playing with a different mindset.
"I wouldn't say we were doing something totally different," says Trotz, comparing the top six to the bottom six. "But it did have a different feel. The Beagle line is going to get it behind you. They're going to grind it out and they're going to impose their will and get back into the interior.
"The Eller, Vrana and Burakovsky line, I thought they established everything from the forecheck. They got on the Philadelphia Flyers, they forced them to turn it over, and then they made plays off of that. and they made quick plays off of that and they got a real good opportunity. But they didn't mess around in the neutral zone. They were pretty deliberate in making sure we got to the next level. I didn't feel that way with our other two lines on a consistent basis, and therefore they had maybe a little less puck time than you want them to have.
"Good lines establish 'get through the neutral zone cleanly.' If they don't have anything, they definitely make sure the puck is put into a position where they can get it back. And that's where our top two lines sometimes we don't do that enough, especially with the blueline decisions. And therefore you lose your offense, you lose your push, and you lose numbers that way. Because everybody's going this way, and then you turn it [over], and then you're on the backside and now you're defending, some of that thought process."
Friday's meeting against the Lightning is the second meeting between the two former Southeast Division rivals this season. Tampa Bay eked out a 2-1 shootout win over Washington in Tampa on Dec. 3.
"It's a test, because they played us hard last time and have a great team," says Alzner of the Lightning. "But we know the importance of points like this right now even though there is still half a season left. We're focused on what needs to be done and we're looking big picture at this point."
Tampa Bay limps into town as a battered team likely looking forward to the NHL's holiday break just for the opportunity to heal. In Thursday night's 5-2 home ice victory over the St. Louis Blues, the Bolts played without No. 1 netminder Ben Bishop and four regular forwards: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan.
Lightning center Tyler Johnson skated between Cory Conacher and Erik Condra, a pair of players recently recalled from AHL Syracuse. Both Conacher and Condra played in their sixth NHL games this season. They are two of four forwards up from Syracuse who have played fewer than 10 games with the Lightning this season.
In the Lightning's Thursday home game against the Blues, the Lightning fell into a 2-0 hole in the first period when St. Louis struck for two scores in 32 seconds. But the Bolts bounced back with a pair of their own in the second to tie it up, and they added three more in the third to win going away.
Jonathan Drouin scored two of those third-period goals for the Lightning on Thursday, and he now has seven goals in his last seven games. Alex Killorn also scored for the Lightning against the Blues. With 11 goals on the season, Killorn is the leader among currently healthy members of the Bolts.
With Bishop on the sidelines, Andrei Vasilevskiy figures to see an increased workload in the Lightning nets. He made 21 saves against the Blues to improve to 8-4-1 on the season. Tampa Bay has recalled goalie Kristers Gudlevskis from Syracuse. The 24-year-old Gudlevskis has played in two NHL games during his career, but he has had a good deal of international experience, including the 2014 Olympic Games.
