SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes from Caps' Morning Skate 10/13

A Little Bit South Of Saskatoon - Saturday night's tilt between the Caps and the Toronto Maple Leafs is an early season marquee matchup, one that will get prime-time billing north of the border and one that figures to attract a fair number of eyeballs locally, as well.

"I think so," says Washington winger Brett Connolly. "It's something that all of us have grown up watching and I have good memories of that. I live in the Toronto area now; I'm from [British Columbia] but I live full-time in Toronto now in the offseason. Anytime you get to play in Toronto there is going to be a little more media and a little more of that stuff. It's definitely more of a different feel and exciting for all the Canadian guys for sure."

Both the Caps and the Leafs have been playing some high event hockey in the early going of the new season. The Leafs are averaging five goals for and four goals against per game, while the Caps are averaging four and a half goals for, and three and three quarters against in what is obviously a small sample size at this early juncture.
For Canadian kids, the allure of playing in front of the nation is still strong.
"Yeah, it's exciting," says Caps forward Chandler Stephenson, who hails from Saskatoon. "Family and friends back home are able to watch, and it's going to be a good night. We play a good team that's rolling right now."
The Leafs are rolling to be sure, having scored five or more goals in three straight games and owning a perfect 3-0-0 road record. Including noteworthy offseason acquisition John Tavares, the Leafs boast the league's top four scorers at the moment, with all four averaging at least two points a game. Toronto has won four of its first five games to start the season, but the greater Toronto area has been buzzing since the Tavares signing in early July.
"I think anytime you turn on the radio or turn the TV on, it was all over the place," says Connolly. "But that's typical Toronto media; it's pretty crazy. There is quite a buzz around the city. Obviously I have a lot of friends from Toronto who are die-hard Leafs fans, and they were pretty excited about that. There is a lot of buzz in the city for sure and they're playing well right now. [Tavares] has fit in pretty well there, and it's going to be a good test for us tonight."
For first-year Caps head coach Todd Reirden, Saturday's game is his first chance to match bench wits with Toronto's Mike Babcock, who is seen as one of the premier bench bosses in the business. A decade and a half ago, Babcock was coaching the Anaheim Mighty Ducks while Reirden was toiling for Cincinnati, the Ducks' AHL affiliate in those days.
"They've got a really talented team," says Reirden. "and obviously their coaching staff, I've played for Mike before so I'm aware of him and most of his tendencies as a coach. He is obviously highly regarded throughout the league as the best. It's always a challenge, whether it's their team or their staff, it will be a good one tonight."

Look Sharp -The Caps come into Saturday's game on the heels of an ugly 6-0 loss to the Devils on Thursday in Newark in New Jersey's home opener. The Caps will be looking to put that one behind them when they take on the Leafs tonight.
"I think execution has just got to be on point," says Caps center Lars Eller. "We all know the Xs and Os and the system and all that stuff. Last game, we were wobbling pucks, passing to guys in their skates and in bad spots, and just not making each other look good. I think tonight we've just got to be sharp, be on point, be crisp with the execution in all areas and the rest will follow."
Every team has a few games like that over the course of an 82-game slate, and the key for the Caps is to move on and to get back to the way they played through most of the first three games of the season.
"We had games like that last year, too," says Connolly. "But we did a good job of just turning the page and putting it behind us. I think our league is arguably the most competitive league in sports with our salary cap and all that, so every night you don't bring your best and put in a consistent effort, there is a good chance that you're not going to win. So it was a good wakeup call for us. We didn't bring our best in the second half of the back-to-back. They were definitely the better team and we've just got to turn the page and be better tonight."

It's Just The Normal Noises In Here - After playing two sets of back-to-back games to start the season and doing so for the first time in franchise history, the Caps can now settle into a much more normal and favorable routine, ideally one that will enable them to find a groove as the first quarter of the campaign wears on.
"Yeah, I welcome that," says Eller. "It's a bit more of a natural cycle for us, playing almost every other day going forward. Having that next week at home going forward is going to be a good upcoming week here, and I'm excited about that."
Washington need not worry about another set of back-to-back games for another month, and it will basically spend the next two months alternating multiple-game homestands with multiple-game road trips, a feature that was noticeably absent from their 2017-18 regular season slate.
"It will be nice to get into a rhythm and play every couple of days instead of the back-to-backs," says Connolly, "and to go on the road and get in that rhythm again and play some road games, play some teams out west and get a little bit of a different feel. We've just got to stick with it. We know we've got a good team in here and it's just a matter of us pushing each other every day and getting better as the year goes on."
In The Nets - Braden Holtby gets the net for the Capitals tonight, making his fourth start of the young season. In his most recent outing, Holtby helped the Caps to a 5-2 win over Vegas on Wednesday, running his record to 2-0-1. Lifetime against the Leafs, Holtby is 8-3-1 with an shutout, a 2.05 GAA and a .934 save pct. in 13 apperances.
Frederik Andersen starts for Toronto tonight. He is 3-1-0 on the season, and he is 3-1-1 lifetime against the Capitals in the regular season, with a pair of shutouts, a 2.88 GAA and a .909 save pct.
All Lined Up - Here is how we expect the Capitals and the Maple Leafs to look for Saturday night's game at Capital One Arena, the first of three meetings between the two clubs this season:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 18-Stephenson
13-Vrana, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly
23-Jaskin, 26-Dowd, 25-Smith-Pelly
Defensemen
6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik, 29-Djoos
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
1-Copley
Injuries
43-Wilson (league suspension)
72-Boyd (lower body, week-to-week)
Scratches
15-Megna
22-Bowey
79-Walker
TORONTO
Forwards
12-Marleau, 34-Matthews, 24-Kapanen
11-Hyman, 91-Tavares, 16-Marner
26-Lindholm, 43-Kadri, 28-Brown
32-Leivo, 33-Gauthier, 63-Ennis
Defensemen
44-Rielly, 2-Hainsey
51-Gardiner, 22-Zaitsev
23-Dermott, 92-Ozhiganov
Goaltenders
31-Andersen
40-Sparks
Injuries
Horton (back)
Scratches
3-Holl
18-Johnsson
52-Marincin