Sept. 25 vs. Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: Team 980, Caps Radio Network
Boston Bruins (2-0-0)
Washington Capitals (1-0-1)
The Caps finish up their first shortened training camp on Monday, but they will first conclude their four-game preseason slate with a pair of weekend exhibition matches. The Boston Bruins are in town on Friday night for the lone Capital One Arena exhibition of this autumn, and the Caps will make a quick trip up to Philadelphia on Saturday where they will finish up the preseason with a late afternoon tilt with the Flyers.
After missing a few days of training camp practices, Caps captain Alex Ovechkin returned to the ice for Thursday’s session at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Ovechkin made it through the entire practice with no issues, but Caps coach Spencer Carbery was noncommittal on Ovechkin’s possible participation in either of Washington’s final two exhibition tune-ups.
Throughout camp, Carbery has indicated that Friday’s home game against the Bruins would be mostly a “dress rehearsal” of the team’s expected roster for opening night. And speaking of that, we are now just a long weekend away from the deadline to set those opening night rosters across the League. A slew of players is expected to hit the waiver wire in the coming days as teams make their final roster parings in anticipation of Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline for the submission of those opening night, 23-player rosters.
Once the Caps’ Saturday preseason finale is in the books, the Caps will be idle for nearly a week; they don’t open the season until next Friday (Oct. 2) in Carolina. With that in mind, Carbery mentioned the Caps will – as they’ve done to bridge the gap from training camp to the season opener each of his previous three seasons behind the bench – take a short team-building excursion. This year’s preseason team building will take place in Annapolis between Saturday’s exhibition coda and the season opener.
In addition to the team-building activity, the trip to Maryland’s capital city will include a practice session at McMullen Arena. And given Saturday’s preseason finale and Monday’s deadline for setting opening night rosters across the League, players who require waivers must be placed on waivers no later than 2 p.m. on Sunday, for them to clear those waivers ahead of the Monday deadline.
Essentially, those roster decisions need to be made within hours of the conclusion of Saturday’s game in the City of Brotherly Love.
With Washington’s lineup all but established, these last two preseason games will be important from a standpoint of ongoing chemistry within newly cobbled forward lines and defensive pairings, and they’ll obviously also be important for establishing which players will settle into those final three roster slots, and what the makeup of those three slots will look like positionally.
While the ninth-floor hockey operations staff mulls over the roster slot conundrum and the resulting tangle of waivers, Carbery and the players are working toward opening night readiness and maximum chemistry and comfortability.
Following Wednesday’s practice, the bench boss noted the importance of making sure the line of Alex Tuch, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson is ready to roll as a top-six shutdown unit. They’re seen as a group that will be deployed against other teams’ top lines with the goal of keeping those trios off the scoreboard while delivering a fair amount of offense in the process.
The Dubois trio played the Caps’ preseason opener in Boston this past Sunday, and Friday’s game against the Bruins is likely to feature the trio together again. But the three forwards will also hit their two-game exhibition max on Friday, so this will be the final look before the season opener.
“That’s one thing that I want to see more,” says Carbery. “I need more viewings of that [line], especially in game action. [Sunday’s] Boston game was just such an ugly game; it was really hard to evaluate on the film and going back through, because that’s a big spot, that line, Dubie’s line, [with] Willie. Is there chemistry there? [Tuch] on the left, does it work?
“And I think our next exhibition game will be a good indicator of that and get us a better idea of what we see there. And then I’ll talk to all three guys and see what their thoughts are.”
Friday’s tune-up tilt will be important as far as seeing chemistry between the trio, and for Tuch – a right wing by trade – to feel comfortable playing on the left side of that line.
“First and foremost, a lot of communication,” says Tuch, asked what the trio can do to accelerate the chemistry creation. “I think we’re three smart hockey players, so we’re going to be able to make plays all over the ice. But it’s just communicating and getting used to different tendencies these guys have.
“I think we’ve all played with a lot of different linemates over the years, and a lot of different styles, so I think we’re going to be able to adapt pretty quickly. It’s just playing to each other’s strengths, continuing to play your game, and just trying to find it out there.”
How the Dubois line looks and whether the staff believes it can measure up to what the team needs from it could impact the outlook of the other units. For example, if the staff determines the line is not ready for prime time, it could always move Aliaksei Protas to the left side of that unit because “Big Pro” has shown the knack for playing with Dubois and Wilson and has had prior success in that role.
For his part, Tuch has no concerns over sliding over to the left side.
“It’s not that different honestly,” says the Washington winger. “When you’re coming into the zone, a lot of times it’s whatever side you end up on. Lining up for a face-off is just a little bit different in little battles to help out the centermen. But I don’t think it’s going to be too big of an issue.”
“I look at it like this; that line is so important,” asserts Carbery. “Let’s just say – and I’m not saying this is the case – you’ve got three lines that you really like and they have a lot of chemistry, but Dubie, Willie and Tuchie, it just doesn’t work, you’re going to have to move something. That’s an important line for us; we need that to work, and we need Alex Tuch to be the player that he’s capable of being, so you’re going to have to rob Peter to pay Paul [if it doesn’t work]. You’re going to do that and move some things around. So, we would ideally like to find that out sooner than later.
“Now, sometimes it takes a little bit more time. So, we’ll get a better idea of what that looks like on Friday.”
After edging the Caps 3-2 in last Sunday’s preseason opener, the Bruins drubbed the Flyers 5-1 on home ice on Tuesday. The B’s are in Philadelphia tonight for a rematch with the Flyers, and they will conclude their exhibition season with Friday’s game in the District.
