"I think with [Burakovsky], the biggest thing with him is he's a young guy who on opening night, he had two goals," Trotz told reporters, before the start of Tuesday's game. "And he's been sort of dry ever since. With young guys, sometimes you just need a reset because they validate a lot of production based on goals and assists. They're trying to be a little bit too cute in some areas, and therefore it doesn't work as effectively.
"I just talked to Andre, and Andre is going to be fine. He is a good player. Sometimes you just need a little reset. It's been playing on his mind a little bit, trying to get some production and what have you. And his ice time has gone down. So just get a reset. You can't control my decision or you can't control what's happened in the past. All you can do is control from this moment forward.
"Tonight, you're not playing. I don't know if you'll be in next game or whenever. But all you can control is how you practice, your mindset and sort of reset about what you're going to do in the next 60 games or whatever."
In each of his first two seasons in the NHL, Burakovsky sat out multiple games as a healthy scratch.
As a rookie in 2014-15, Burakovsky scored his first NHL goal in the first period of Washington's opening night contest. He had two goals and five points in his first four games before he hit a bit of a wall. Through 25 games, he had four goals and 13 points, and he was scratched for three straight games at that point. Burakovsky played just three of the next dozen Caps games as Washington caught fire in December and settled on a lineup that didn't include Burakovsky. The rookie forward was reassigned to AHL Hershey in December of 2014, the first of five reassignments during that season.
Burakovsky finished his rookie NHL season with nine goals and 22 points in 53 games.
After totaling two goals and six points in his first 18 games last season, Burakovsky was scratched for consecutive games on Nov. 21-23, 2015. He played the next six games, recording a single assist, and then was scratched again on Dec. 10. Burakovsky didn't net his third goal of last season until his 33rd game of the season, but he caught fire in the second half and finished the season with 17 goals and 38 points, respectable totals for a sophomore NHLer.
The Caps are hoping Burakovsky's "reset" will spark a renewal, as was the case last season.
