SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes from Caps' Morning Skate 11/1

End Of The Road, Beginning Of November -The Caps are in Montreal on Thursday night, finishing off their first extended road stretch of the season and starting off a busy month of November. After playing 10 games in 29 days to start the season, Washington will play 14 games in the next 26 nights, beginning with tonight's tilt against the Habs.

A Man Down - Caps defenseman Brooks Orpik is just eight games shy of reaching the 1,000-game milestone for his NHL career, but a lower body injury prevented him from making the trip to Montreal and he will miss his first game of the season on Thursday.
Heading into the season, Orpik was seen by many as a guy who would split time as the team's sixth or seventh defenseman, maybe playing in half of Washington's games. The 38-year-old blueliner showed up in shape as always, and he quicklyn showed that his own expectations were different.
Through the first 10 games of the season, Orpik played too well to be taken out. His analytic numbers were much better than they were last season, and he looked good to the eyes as well. He has averaged 16:18 per game in ice time, fifth among the team's defensemen, and his 3:42 average of shorthanded ice time per game ranks second on the team (behind only Matt Niskanen) and is 12th in the league.
Orpik was effective in 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs when Washington won the Stanley Cup, and he has picked up where he left off. The Caps are hoping his absence from the lineup will be a short one.
"It says a lot about him," says Caps coach Todd Reirden of Orpik's early season performance. "I'd say I'm surprised but I'm not. He obviously went through a lot this summer and to say that he came back with us eager to get back playing and be ready to go to start the season is exactly how it was. He came in great shape as he always is, and I think he has played very well, very similar to how he played in the playoffs. He was a huge component to us winning the Stanley Cup last year and it's great to see him back in normal form. This is just something we will take day to day. Early in the season, we will just treat it day to day."

Opportunity Knocks - Orpik's absence is obviously an opportunity for someone else, and that someone else is Madison Bowey. Recalled from AHL Hershey a little over a year ago when Niskanen went down with an early season injury in 2017-18, Bowey stayed for most of the remainder of the season, getting into 51 games as a rookie with the Caps while chipping in with a dozen assists and averaging just under 14 minutes a night.
But Bowey's playing time took a hit after Michal Kempny was obtained from Chicago in February, and the 23-year-old Winnipeg native opened the season as the Caps' seventh defenseman. He played in the first two games of the season while Kempny recovered from a preseason ailment, then sat out seven straight games before returning to the lineup in place of Christian Djoos on Saturday in Calgary.
A second-round pick in 2013, Bowey is still seen as a good prospect with upside. But on a Caps team with an established top four and a team that has been much healthier than its NHL counterparts in recent seasons, you don't know when your next opportunity might come. Bowey played well against the Flames, and will be looking to build off that outing tonight in Montreal.
"For sure, I think that Calgary game was definitely a big start for me and a big start in the right direction," says Bowey. "I think I did a lot of good stuff that game, and a lot of stuff I can build off of. I know my mindset is staying the same here. I want to be in the lineup every night and in order to do that I've got to play with a competitive nature and with urgency and make sure I'm consistent with my playing and doing all of the little things right, I think I did that well in Calgary and if I can continue building off that, it should put me in a good spot."
After playing in 51 of 55 games for the Caps from Oct. 14 thorugh Feb. 20 of last season, Bowey has played in three of the last 44 Washington games for which he has been on the roster, including the playoffs. While some might sulk in such a situation, Bowey has embraced the opportunity to improve and to work on his game with reirden last season and with assistant coach Reid Cashman this season.
"My hands for sure, working on the skill aspect of the game," says Bowey when asked what he worked on specifically while waiting for that next opportunity. "I think that's one thing where I did a lot of good stuff when I was in junior and in the AHL, and I think now is good to have those two weeks and to kind of get that stuff back into my game, and to feel more comfortable out there in the offensive zone and with the puck. It was really nice to get that, and now I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with my game and with myself, knowing what I have to do to play hard and to be in the lineup every night. I think if I can stick to all of those little things - my consistency, my urgency, my competitiveness - that puts me in a good spot."

Fitting In - Four weeks ago yesterday, Dmitrij Jaskin reported for duty in Washington and participated in his first practice with the team a day after he was claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.
"It went by fast, and you get used to it," says Jaskin of his first month as a member of the Capitals. "I think four weeks is enough and I feel comfortable here now."
Jaskin's indoctrination into the world of Caps hockey consisted of many video sessions and meetings, several practices and playing in seven of the team's first 10 games this season. The games and practices did the most to getting Jaskin up to speed on the ice.
"You can watch as many videos as you want, " says Jaskin, "but if you don't experience it on the ice then it's hard to get used to it. Honestly, it's the practices and mostly the games where you get a feel for it and try to get used to it."
Drafted in the second round (41st overall) by St. Louis in the 2011 NHL Draft, Jaskin had been in the Blues' organization for seven years when the Caps claimed him off waivers on Oct. 2. On the eve of a new season, Jaskin picked up everything and moved east, leaving the only organization he had ever known.
"It's a totally different team and everything is different," says Jaskin. "But I think I'm lucky that there are a lot of guys I know here, and that made it really easy. The organization is great and everything around is pretty easy. I didn't really have any problem with it.
"Obviously it was a little hard, but that's what goes with it and that's what I wanted, a little change. There is never a perfect time for it, so it doesn't matter when it happens. I'm just going day by day, and now I feel really comfortable here, so I can't complain."
Jaskin appears to be getting more comfortable on the ice. He has settled into a fourth-line role with Nic Dowd and Devante Smith-Pelly, a unit that has been consistently solid throughout this road trip, and a unit that has manufactured two of the Caps' last four goals overall, going into tonight's game against the Canadiens.
"We're just trying to keep it simple," says Jaskin. "If you play hard and play simple, then you will get some chances from it, and that's what we do. When we can, we try to create, but just play hard and try to make it as hard on the opposition as we can."

In The Nets - Braden Holtby makes his first start in exactly a week on Thursday against the Habs. Holtby's last outing came in a 4-1 loss to the Oilers in Edmonton last Thursday. Over the course of his NHL career, Holtby tends to play his best on a single day's rest while struggling after longer periods of rest. Early this season, the opposite has held true.
Holtby was pulled 20 minutes into his only start on one day's rest in 2018-19, but he has a perfect 3-0-0 mark when starting on three or more days rest, and he has a 1.65 GAA and a .943 save pct. in those three starts.
"It's just different," says Holtby of the long layoff. "The more you play, it's just easier mentally because you're kind of in that flow and it fits together easier. But in saying that, I've felt really comfortable the last few games and I wasn't going out on a note where you want to get back in there to fix a few things. So I've just tried to continue where I was at after Edmonton and moving into practices, because I've felt every game is getting better and better."
Holtby has always performed well against the Habs. In 15 career appearances vs. Montreal, Holtby owns an 11-1-2 record with two shutouts, a 1.57 GAA and a .944 save pct.
Carey Price is expected to start for the Canadiens. Coming off the worst season of his NHL career in 2017-18, Price has had a solid start to his '18-19 season. With his most recent victory - a shutout win over the Bruins in Boston last Saturday - Price passed Patrick Roy (289) for second place on Montreal's all-time wins list. Price has a shot at reaching the top spot by season's end, too; only the legendary Jacques Plante (314) is ahead of him.
Price hasn't had tremendous success against the Caps over the course of his career in the NHL, posting a 6-13-4 record with a shutout, a 3.30 GAA and an .891 save pct.
All Lined Up -Here is how we expect the Capitals and the Canadiens will look when they hook up for the first of three meetings this season on Thursday night at Bell Centre in Montreal:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 13-Vrana
65-Burakovsky, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
18-Stephenson, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly
23-Jaskin, 26-Dowd, 25-Smith-Pelly
Defensemen
6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
29-Djoos, 22-Bowey
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
1-Copley
Injuries
43-Wilson (league suspension)
44-Orpik (lower body, day-to-day)
72-Boyd (AHL rehab assignment)
Scratches
79-Walker
MONTREAL
Forwards
90-Tatar, 24-Danault, 11-Gallagher
92-Drouin, 13-Domi, 54-Hudon
62-Lehkonen, 15-Kotkaniemi, 40-Armia
20-Deslauriers, 63-Peca, 65-Shaw
Defensemen
8-Benn 26-Petry
28-Reilly, 58-Juulsen
61-Ouellet, 53-Mete
Goaltenders
31-Price
37-Niemi
Injuries
6-Weber (knee surgery)
14-Plekanec (lower back)
41-Byron (lower body)
21-Schlemko (knee)

Scratches
27-Alzner