SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes from Caps' Morning Skate 02/15

Traction In The Desert - Two nights after starting their three-game road trip with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, the Caps take on the Arizona Coyotes in Glendale on Saturday night. The Caps will be looking for their first set of consecutive wins since they returned from their midseason break; Washington won four straight games from Jan. 13-27 -- sandwiched around that break - but hasn't been able to put together two in a row since.

After falling down 2-0 to the Avs in the first, the Caps methodically climbed back into the contest and won it on the strength of a couple power-play goals, a strong game in goal from Braden Holtby, a critical 5-on-3 penalty kill late in the second, and T. J. Oshie's late game-winner, a tip-in of a resourceful Nick Jensen point shot with just 2:04 left in the third.
With that win, the Caps were able to avoid what might have been a third straight regulation loss, a fate they have yet to suffer this season. Now, they'll be looking to start stacking some wins together as they did rather routinely over much of the first half of the campaign.

"It comes back to structurally, we were a lot more sound," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "whether we were coming back into our defensive zone and a little bit lower, and I'd say a little bit more collapsed around our net than we had been in a while. It was something that we focused on the last few days in practice.
"And then continuing to - when you have the puck on your stick - let's execute with a purpose, and I thought [we made] a lot less turnovers as the game went on there against a highly competitive team that is playing good hockey, and has a lot of speed and skill. [We did] some really good things in the second and third [periods], and for me, as the game went on, we just got better and better with each shift. We are looking to build on that effort for sure."
The Avs came into Thursday's game as the hottest team in the Western Conference. Colorado had won five straight and eight of nine before the Caps cooled them off. Tonight, Washington will see an Arizona team that is scuffling.
The Coyotes occupy the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference as Saturday's NHL slate unfolds, but their hold on that spot is tenuous. Arizona just returned home from a 1-3-0 road trip, and the Yotes have just three wins in their last 15 games (3-8-4).

Not Quite Ready For Prime Time - Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov will sit out a second straight game with an upper body injury tonight in Arizona. Kuznetsov suffered the injury in Monday's 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders in Washington after taking a hard hit into the boards from Isles winger Leo Komarov midway through that game.
Kuznetsov didn't practice with his teammates on Tuesday or Wednesday, and he didn't take part in Thursday's morning skate in Denver, either. But he did skate after the morning skate in the Mile High City, going on the ice with strength and conditioning coach Mark Nemish.
On Saturday in Arizona, Kuznetsov took part in the morning skate and stayed out late for extra skating and conditioning, but he again will not suit up against the Coyotes.
"Out tonight," says Reirden of Kuznetsov's status. "We just wanted to see how things were going this morning, and he is still not at 100 percent. So he will do some conditioning here, and then practice [Sunday in Vegas] and we will see if we can get him into the game against Vegas [on Monday], which is our hope."

In The Nets - Two nights after notching his 21st win of the season with a 32-save outing against the Avalanche in Denver, Holtby will be back in the saddle tonight against the Coyotes. Including a relief effort on Monday against the Islanders, Holtby has stopped 44 of 46 shots in his last two appearances.
After Thursday's win on Denver, Holtby was asked whether the relief effort against the Isles helped set up him for a better outing against the Avalanche.
"Yes and no," was the reply. "Obviously the Philly game - [a 7-2 loss last Saturday] - was not the result that we wanted, but I felt like there were a lot of positives in the way we approached that goaltending-wise, and I didn't want to get too down and just continue on. It's a big win for us to get out of this fun and start rolling."
Tonight, Holtby is seeking to stack wins together for the first time since Dec. 6 in Anaheim, when he won his fourth straight game in a 3-2 triumph over the Ducks. Lifetime against the Coyotes, he is 4-2-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .901 save pct. in six appearances.
With No. 1 netminder Darcy Kuemper sidelined since mid-December, the Coyotes have relied on veteran Antti Raanta for the bulk of their goaltending chores since. Raanta had a career year here in Arizona in 2017-18, his first full year with the team, when he established career highs in games (47), starts (46) and wins (21), while posting an impressive 2.24 GAA and a brilliant .930 save pct.
In a season and a half since, Raanta has won 16 of 39 starts with less impressive qualitative numbers. This season, he has been much better at home (2.23 GAA and .930 save pct. in 13 games) than on the road (3.35 GAA and .903 save pct. in 15 games). He has been solid of late, posting a 2.19 GAA, a .932 save pct. and a shutout in his last five starts, belying an orindary 2-2-1 record over that stretch.
Lifetime against Washington, Raanta is 2-1-0 with a 2.65 GAA and a .908 save pct. in four appearances.

All Lined Up - Here's how we expect the Capitals and the Coyotes to look on Saturday night in Glendale when they meet for the final time this season in the middle match of Washington's three-game road trip:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson
13-Vrana, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie
62-Hagelin, 72-Boyd, 14-Panik
28-Leipsic, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
34-Siegenthaler, 33-Gudas
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
30-Samsonov
Injuries
92-Kuznetsov (upper body)
Scratches
None
ARIZONA
Forwards
91-Hall, 18-Dvorak, 83-Garland
9-Keller, 8-Schmaltz, 81-Kessel
67-Crouse, 21-Stepan, 13-Hinostroza
34-Soderberg, 15-Richardson, 36-Fischer
Defensemen
23-Ekman-Larsson, 4-Hjalmarsson
6-Chychrun, 33-Goligoski
82-Oesterle, 46-Lyubushkin
Goaltenders
32-Raanta
31-Hill
Injuries
35-Kuemper (lower body)
55-Demers (oblique)
Scratches
40-Grabner
42-Ness