Oct. 11 vs. New York Islanders at UBS Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN/Caps Radio Network
New York Islanders (0-1-0)
Washington Capitals (0-1-0)
The Caps get a dose of the road this weekend when they make their first trip of the season, a weekend set of back-to-backs in the New York metro area. They’ll face the Islanders on Saturday and the Rangers in Manhattan on Sunday before returning home to kick off a four-game homestand on Tuesday against Tampa Bay.
In Saturday’s game at UBS Arena, the Caps are providing the opposition for the Islanders’ home opener.
Washington dropped a 3-1 decision in its season opener to Boston on Wednesday in DC. The Caps outplayed the Bruins in a game in which neither team was at its best. The Caps’ power play went 0-for-5 in Wednesday’s opener, including a stretch of 54 seconds with a two-man advantage early in the second period when the game was still scoreless.
Washington fired 36 shots at the Boston net on opening night – including 11 on the power play – but Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman stopped 35 of them.
As the Capitals go through the process of reworking their power play and integrating a number of new players into their two extra-man units, some time may be needed to smooth out the wrinkles. During their six-game preseason schedule, the Caps had a total of
In five of their six preseason games, the Caps had two or fewer power play opportunities. In their final preseason tune-up against Columbus on Oct. 4 – the only preseason game they played with most of their power play performers in the lineup – they had just two power play opportunities. The second of those came with eight seconds remaining in regulation.
“I think we only had one at home against Columbus in the last preseason game,” says Caps right wing Tom Wilson, who scored Washington’s lone goal in its opening night setback. “So as a unit, we’ve had next to no dry runs; we’ve had next to no dry runs in the exhibitions.”
“Yeah, the lack of work with that first unit is challenging,” concurs Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “There’s a bunch of things that you could point to, but at the same time, we’ve got to find a way. Their power play finds a way to score a massive goal after we get that game tied at 1-1, and we didn’t.”
“Now, it’s about taking what we did in that game and continuing to build consistency and continuity with the power play, and the second unit, too.
In the preseason, the Caps were 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) with the extra man, and both goals came from the second unit, and specifically, off the stick of Andrew Cristall.
“Credit to [the second unit],” Carbery continues, “because they were fantastic, and they earned opportunity to go back out there, even with a minute nine [remaining on the man advantage], I had no problem putting them out there, and they took advantage of it. They're going to push the first unit – 1A, 1B, whatever you want to call it -- they're going to push to get put out there if they continue to play like that. Because I thought [Jakob Chychrun] did a great job. Ryan Leonard on that unit, [Aliaksei Protas], [Connor McMichael] winning face-offs, puck recoveries. They did a lot of good things.”
All five of the Caps’ opening night power plays came in the first 33 minutes of the game and the opportunities looked a bit better as the game wore on.
“I think towards the end,” says Wilson, “we started to get some better looks and to build some more momentum, and we’re trying some different looks, so guys are getting comfortable in different spots.
“It’s never great when you leave a game and you’re 0-for-5, but in talking to the coaches and looking at the film, there is some stuff to build on. Hopefully we’ll get it corrected quickly here and find the back of the net.”
Carbery also saw progress in the process.
“I didn't mind the process for the most part,” says Carbery. “Like I said after the game, special teams plays a huge role. And for us to not capitalize on the power plays that we had, and the 5-on-3 – no doubt we need a goal there – and if we get one there, does it change the outcome of the game? Potentially, yeah. It would play a huge role, or be very significant in potentially getting us to overtime or winning that game.
“But if you look at the individual power plays, I thought we did a lot of good things, created a lot of good opportunities. Swayman made some big saves; you’ve got to tip your cap to him. Did we have some puck touches that I think we would have liked to have had back? Yes, but I think there was more good than bad for first game and we just need to deliver in some of those moments.”
The Islanders opened their season on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, falling 4-3. Over the summer, the Islanders hired Mathieu Darche as their general manager, and the Isles also won the draft lottery, earning the right to make the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Isles chose 18-year-old blueliner Matthew Schaefer, who made League history in his debut.
With an assist on Jonathan Drouin’s first-period goal, Schaefer became the youngest defenseman (18 years, 34 days) in NHL history to pick up a point in his NHL debut, nudging Hockey Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer (18 years, 46 days on Oct. 16, 1991) from the distinction after a run of nearly 34 years.
“I think it's always exciting for everybody to see,” says Wilson of going up against the top player in the most recent NHL Draft for the first time. “Any first overall pick has a ton of hype, so it’s always interesting and fun to see the transition between playing junior and making the jump to the NHL. Obviously, it's such a such a tough League, so I think everybody's always just excited to watch and see how he does.
“I've bumped into him a few times this summer. He seems like a really good kid, good head on his shoulders, good swagger to him. Just a respectful young guy. That being said, it'll be different [Saturday] night. It's our job to make it difficult on him.
“He seems like he'll be a guy that's able to handle the mental side of the game and the pro lifestyle. He seems like he'll be able to manage it well, and then just making the jump on the ice is the rest of it.”
