SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes from Caps' Morning Skate 3/11

Flyin' Shoes - Days after they finished a five-game road voyage, the Caps are back on the road again, and they're right back in Philadelphia where that last trip ended on Sunday night. Tonight in Philly, the Caps start a three-game trip that starts with two games here against the Flyers and concludes on Monday night in Buffalo, when Washington will reach the midway point of the 2020-21 NHL regular season.

In between the five-game trip and the current one, the Caps stopped home long enough to get some laundry done and pick up a pair of points on Tuesday night in a 5-4 overtime win over New Jersey. The Caps' lone home game in a span of 18 nights was splendid through the first 40 minutes when Washington forged a 4-1 lead, but it became problematic in the third when the Devils erupted for three goals in less than seven minutes to force overtime.
That was a reversal of Sunday's game in Philly, when the Caps didn't have a good first frame, but supplied a string finishing kick in the final 40 against the Flyers, winning 3-1 to claim their fifth victory in their last six road games.
"In the Flyers game, we don't start with the 20 we want, and then we finish with the hard 40," says Caps defenseman Brenden Dillon. "And then we started with the 40 we wanted [on Tuesday]; we were playing hard, we weren't giving up much, and we were playing in the [offensive] zone - not trying blind stuff through the middle of the zone.
"Ultimately, we know what makes us successful and what doesn't. And that was a perfect example of what doesn't in the third period there."
Perfect games exist only in bowling and baseball, but the Caps will strive for more consistency over more of the game's 60 minutes tonight against the Flyers.
Flying V - Caps left wing Jakub Vrana is one of 49 players in the NHL with 10 or more goals thus far this season, but he ranks 48th in average nightly ice time (15:05) among that group. Now in his fifth NHL season, Vrana has since his ice time grow slowly each season. But the 25-year-old Czech speedster has had to rely on his 5-on-5 play for most of his offense.
When Vrana was a rookie in 2016-17, he scored three goals - all on the power play - in 21 games with Washington. Since then, he has only three power-play goals in 248 games but has scored 69 times at even strength.
Vrana has the greatest goal scorer of this - or possibly any other - era in front of him on Washington's left wing depth chart, but it seems as though he has arrived at a stage in his career where he and the team would both benefit from an uptick in his playing time.
"There is no question that Jake has the ability to score goals," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "He has put in a few big ones lately here and that's a real positive.
"I think when you're talking about an increase in minutes, we've talked to Jakub about just the consistency in which he does it on the ice. But I think that eventually when you continue to produce and are doing things the right way, then you need to need to try and find and look for more minutes as well.
"The minutes are somewhat reflective of if the power play is not getting a lot of work, or if you don't kill penalties. And the bench gets rolled a little bit differently when you're winning; you find yourself putting the penalty killers on the ice a little bit more. There are things that contribute to that, if the play warrants it and he continues to be a hot player, I think you do look to increase his minutes."
The Hole -In June of 2019, the Caps and Flyers swung a deal involving a pair of defensemen. Washington sent Matt Niskanen to Philadelphia in exchange for Radko Gudas, and the Flyers picked up some of Gudas' salary as well. Niskanen had two years and Gudas one year left on their respective contracts at the time. For the Caps, the deal was largely designed to free up enough salary cap space for Nicklas Backstrom's contract extension, which was still pending at the time.
For the Flyers, the addition of Niskanen was designed to solidify a youthful blueline corps, much as he had done during his five years in Washington. Niskanen played alongside Dmitry Orlov when the Caps won the Stanley Cup in 2018, and the Flyers slotted him in alongside another Russian blueliner who wears No. 9, Ivan Provorov.
The results were good. Provorov had another excellent season, posting his best possession metrics ever, his highest points per game rate, and drawing some peripheral Norris Trophy attention. Niskanen posted his best possession numbers in three seasons and had one of the best offensive seasons of his 13-year NHL career, and the Flyers advanced to Game 7 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playffs before bowing to the New York Islanders. But late last summer, Niskanen stunned the Flyers by announcing his retirement and walking away from the final season of his contract.
This season, the Flyers have had a revolving door on their top pairing alongside Provorov, and they're still seeking the right fit.
"We're looking for chemistry in the back end right now," said Flyers coach Alain Vigneault on Wednesday. "Obviously, we haven't found - in my estimation - the Nisky that was playing with Provy back there. We've tried different people, Phil [Myers] being one of them. I like the way [Shayne Gostisbehere] has been playing, I don't mind the way [Erik Gustafsson] has been playing in the last few games. I just need Phil to be more consistent. But I do need somebody to step up and play in that role."
Provorov is seventh in the league in ice time per game (25:20) this season, but his possession metrics have tumbled and his offensive numbers have dipped slightly as well. The durable 24-year-old was the second defenseman chosen (seventh overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, and he is still on course for an excellent career. But the Flyers know he is capable of more with the right partner, because the witnessed it last season.
"This year has been a little different in the sense that there has been a lot of changes - guys in and out, sick with COVID, hurt, different stuff like that," says Provorov. "So compared to last year where we had a normal season, normal start to the season, training camp, long training camp and we were able to find the [defensive] pairings that worked last year, and we stuck with it throughout the year. This year is a little different, but it is what it is. We have to adjust and figure out what works best. If there is a change of a couple, then we just have to adjust the best we can and go from there."
Tonight, Shayne Gostisbehere gets the right side of the top pairing alongside Provorov, and Myers is a healthy scratch.
Flyers GM Cliff Fletcher didn't file Niskanen's retirement papers with the League offices, holding out hope - and a potential roster spot - in case the defenseman experienced a change of heart. Fletcher checks in with Niskanen every few weeks or so, but acknowledges the defenseman's return is a long shot because he is enjoying ice fishing and being with his family in his native Minnesota.
In The Nets - This past Sunday night in Philadelphia, Caps goalie Ilya Samsonov made his second start since returning from a six-week COVID-related absence. He made 36 saves in earning his first career win against the Flyers, a 3-1 Washington victory in the finale of a five-game road trip.
That Sunday performance is enough to win Samsonov another night in the crease in Philly tonight. Samsonov is 3-0-1 in five appearances (four starts) this season, with a 2.45 GAA and a .907 save pct.
Samsonov was the first goaltender chosen in the 2015 NHL Draft, going to the Capitals with the 22nd overall pick. A year later, Philly's Carter Hart held the distinction of being the first goalie chosen, going to the Flyers in the second round (48th overall). Hart's career had a swift rise; he is now in his third season and he came within a whisker of backstopping the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Final last summer, but he has fallen on hard times in 2020-21, going 6-5-3 in his first 15 games this season, but with a 3.61 GAA and an .888 save pct.
"Carter is not the first player/goaltender to go through a challenging time, and he's got to work," says Vigneault. "There is no secret formula to anything in life; the common denominator for people that have consistency and success is hard work and the right frame of mind to push yourself. It's a new day. His job is to stop the next puck, that's what he's got to be focused on. And he's got to get ready for when he gets his next opportunity, to make it a good one."
That opportunity won't come tonight against Washington. Hart was in goal for the Caps' 3-1 in here on Sunday, but veteran Brian Elliott gets the net tonight against Washington. The Flyers are fortunate to have Elliott on hand while Hart is working through his struggles. Elliott is 7-2-0 in 11 games this season, with a pair of shutouts, a 2.29 GAA and a .919 save pct.
Lifetime against the Capitals, Elliott is 10-7-0 with a 3.09 GAA and an .895 save pct. in 19 appearances. Elliott is two victories shy of the 250 mark for his NHL career.
All Lined Up - Here is how we expect the Capitals and the Flyers to look on Thursday night in Philly:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 10-Sprong
73-Sheary, 20-Eller, 14-Panik
62-Hagelin, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
4-Dillon, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Schultz
33-Chara, 3-Jensen
Goaltenders
30-Samsonov
41-Vanecek
Out
6-Kempny (Achilles' tendon)
43-Wilson (League suspension)
Extras
34-Siegenthaler
57-van Riemsdyk
Taxi Squad
16-Maillet (F)
28-Carr (F)
31-Anderson (G)
64-Pinho (F)
PHILADELPHIA
Forwards
25-van Riemsdyk, 14-Couturier, 86-Farabee
21-Laughton, 13-Hayes, 11-Konecny
23-Lindblom, 28-Giroux, 93-Voracek
10-Andreoff, 19-Patrick, 62-Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
9-Provorov, 53-Gostisbehere
6-Sanheim, 61-Braun
8-Hagg, 56-Gustafsson
Goaltenders
37-Elliott
79-Hart
Out
12-Raffl (hand)
48-Frost (shoulder)
Extras
5-Myers
39-Prosser
82-Bunnaman