Caps Start Weeklong Road Trip on Tuesday vs. Wild
The Caps open up a four-game road trip in which they'll play in three different time zones on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul
Washington's just concluded five-game homestand started promisingly enough; the Caps earned points in each of the first three games of the homestand (2-0-1) and won consecutive games for the first time this season. But the homestand took a sideways turn over the weekend when the Caps dropped a 2-1 decision to Columbus on Friday night and came out flat in a 4-1 Sunday afternoon setback at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes.
Now the Caps take to the road once again, lugging a two-game losing streak with them as they embark upon a weeklong road trip in which they'll face four formidable foes. The trip starts on Tuesday in Minnesota against the Wild.
"Obviously we didn't get the results we wanted to on the homestand," says Caps goalie Braden Holtby. "Our play has been a little bit up and down. But I think it's a good thing to go on the road and play some good teams. Sometimes that helps. Just go out and simplify, outwork the other teams, don't worry about impressing anyone or anything like that. Just go and grind out some wins, and that can do a lot for a group.
"So that's going to be our mindset and our goal going into this trip, because it's going to be a really good challenge, a fun challenge against some really good teams, and something that could make us better."
During their five-game homestand, the Caps played better hockey in their own end at five-on-five. But their even-strength attack, so potent early in the season, has gone cold. Caps coach Todd Reirden made some changes to his forward lines and his defensive pairings in Sunday's homestand finale against Arizona, but to little avail.
Each of Washington's four units was remade, and Nic Dowd was reinserted into the lineup while Dmitrij Jaskin sat out. But at night's end, the Caps were on the wrong side of a 4-1 score. They only permitted one goal at five-on-five, but the Caps only scored one such goal, too, and they've now managed just seven goals at five-on-five in their last five games, all of them at home.
Stacking the top line with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie resulted in Washington's only goal of the game - a Backstrom tally late in the second period - but for the second straight game, the Caps managed to score just once.
"They obviously created quite a few opportunities and chances right from the very first shift," says Reirden of his top line, "and then converted on the lone goal that we scored.
"They play a lot together on the power play. That's something that's not a huge adjustment from playing together five-on-five. They have chemistry - instant chemistry - from years or playing together, and there were some positives to that. We wanted to look at some other things and some opportunities that were out there for other players that they didn't take advantage of. Just like our team, some individuals didn't play up to the level we expect."
Washington has scored a total of four goals in its last three games, needing a 41-save performance from Holtby to claim its only win in that span, a 2-1 edging of Pittsburgh last Wednesday, a game in which the Caps were vastly outplayed. The last time the Caps were limited to a goal or less in consecutive home games was more than a year ago, a 2-0 loss to Toronto on Oct. 17, 2017 at Capital One Arena followed by a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers on Oct. 21 of last year.
As they seek to jumpstart their dormant offense, the Caps are also starting set of back-to-back games and a stretch of three games in four nights, on the road and against difficult opponents. As the trip gets underway, Washington's four foes on this road trip have a combined for a 21-7-5 record on home ice this season.
First up is the Minnesota Wild, which has yet to suffer a regulation loss in its home building, the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild is 5-0-2 at home, and from a points percentage perspective, the Wild owns the fourth best overall record in the league going into Monday night's four-game NHL schedule.
Minnesota was slow out of the starting gate this season, winning only one of its first five games (1-2-2). But the Wild has won 10 of its 12 games since, and it enters Tuesday's game with a three-game winning streak and five wins in its last six contests.
The Wild ranks in the middle of the NHL pack offensively and on the power play, but Minnesota has permitted an average of just 2.67 goals per game, the seventh best rate in the league, and its penalty-killing unit ranks fourth with a kill rate of 86%.
Coming off consecutive seasons with 60-plus points, Finnish forward Mikael Granlund is leading Minnesota with 10 goals and 18 points in the early going. He is well on his way toward reaching his career high of 26 goals, established in 2016-17, and two of his goals have come while the Wild was shorthanded.
For the Caps, Tuesday's visit to Minnesota will also contain elements of a social visit. Ex-Caps bench boss Bruce Boudreau now runs the Minnesota bench, aided by former Caps assistant coaches Dean Evason and Bob Woods. Additionally, former Caps forwards Eric Fehr and Matt Hendricks are on the Minnesota roster.
