SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes From Caps' Morning Skate

My Rival - Last season, the Capitals and the New York Rangers were co-denizens of the temporarily cobbled East Division, and they faced one another eight times in a truncated 56-game regular season slate. The two longtime rivals have faced each other more in the same season only once, back in the 1992-93 season when they met nine times as co-inhabitants of the Patrick Division, in a season with an 84-game regular season schedule.

This season, the Caps and Rangers meet only three times. The Caps claimed a 5-1 opening night win over the Blueshirts in Washington, and the two teams will renew acquaintances tonight in Manhattan. Thursday's game is the second of only three Caps-Rangers games this season, matching the fewest times the two foes have met in the same season, but the for the first time ever in an 82-game season. New York and Washington faced one another only three times in the lockout-shortened season of 2012-13 and also had only three meetings during the 2019-20 season that was abbreviated by the pandemic.
As the two teams tangle for the first time in more than four months, they're separated by just four points in the Metropolitan Division standings. New York leads the Caps by four points, and it holds a pair of games in hand.
Playing their first game in a week, it's important for the Caps to start on time.
"I think there may be a little bit of rust coming off the break," says Caps forward Conor Sheary. "But if we just keep the game simple and not try to do too much early, I think that will get everyone in the game. You want to make sure all four lines and all six [defensemen] are going early and get their feet moving, and then we'll go from there. It's obviously a team that's doing well this year, so we want to come out with a good start, especially on the road."
The Caps carry a five-game road winning streak into tonight's game, and they'll be seeking to match the franchise record in that regard. The 1983-84 edition of the Capitals won six straight road games to establish the standard, and it was matched by the 2010-11 club. In the years since, this is the sixth time they've managed to string together five straight road wins without stretching it to six.
Since Washington began its run of 13 playoff appearances in 14 seasons in 2007-08, it owns the second-best road record in the League (.604 points pct.), trailing only Boston (.607).
"I think a veteran team always helps," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette, speaking to his team's road success. "And so we certainly have a veteran team, and a lot of guys have played a lot of games - a lot of playoff games - in a lot of places where the crowd might not be with you.
"Focus and preparation; I think you learn that even more as you become more of a veteran player and a veteran team. Maybe some of those things factor into it. We don't change our game or change the plan or change what we do, and so I don't have real details with regard to that. But it doesn't seem to affect us or faze us, where we play."
Washington split its four games here last season, dropping the first two and winning the last two.
"It's a little easier without the matching of lines sometimes," says Sheary of the Caps' road success. "You just roll over, and the next line up is just going. Sometimes you can get stuck on the bench when there are special teams and you're trying to match lines.
"On the road, you don't get the last change, so you've just got to go play. Everyone has to have the same mindset; know who you're out against and play hard against their top lines. I think we've done a really good job of that so far."
So I Can Take My Rest - Relative to the rest of their schedule in a given season over the years, the Caps tend to struggle when they play after a layoff of four or more days, as they'll be doing tonight. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Caps own a .614 points percentage in games played with four or more days off before. Over the same time span, they're at .559 when playing on the second of back-to-back nights, they're at .640 when playing on three days rest and .657 when playing with two days between games.
Washington's absolute sweet spot is one day between games. The Caps hold a .707 points pct. in such situations since the start of 2014-15.
"Early on this year with all the COVID outbreaks, there's been a lot of these breaks," says Sheary. "Hopefully we're past that and we'll be able to get into that rhythm of playing every other night. Hopefully we can get a couple more guys back and healthy, and that will also boost our offense and our team. But yeah, I think it's important for these last 30 games to get into a rhythm and find our identity and hopefully going into the playoffs."
Keep On Going - When you're hot, you're hot. And you don't walk away from a heater. But sometimes in the NHL, the schedule says you have to.
A week ago tonight in Philadelphia, Garnet Hathaway scored a pair of goals in the final three minutes of a game against the Flyers. Hathaway's goals were the game-tying and game-winning goals, respectively, continuing a torrid spell for him and linemates Nic Dowd and Carl Hagelin.
Since the outset of February, Hagelin and John Carlson are Washington's leading scorers with seven points each. Right behind them is a quartet of players with five points, including Dowd and Hathaway. The Dowd line has not only been hot in February, it's been clutch as well. The trio has combined to score the game's first goal in three of Washington's seven games this month, and it has manufactured the game-winning goal in each of the team's last three victories.
"Early in the season, I had a lot of chances and the puck didn't go in," says Hagelin. "The last couple of games the puck's been going in, and I've been involved in goals that we scored. It's always nice. As a team, I think we need to do more in terms of secondary scoring. For myself as a player who has been a pretty streaky player - and especially in the second half of the year, where I've done most of my damage - hopefully that continues."
Over the course of his 11-season NHL career, Hagelin has averaged .356 points per game prior to the All-Star break and .571 points per game after the break.
Back In The Saddle Again - Caps right wing T.J. Oshie appears ready to return to action after an upper body ailment kept him on the sidelines for more than a month. Oshie last played on Jan. 15 against the Islanders in New York, departing early in the first period after logging only 1:46 in ice time.
This was Oshie's fifth separate and longest absence from the lineup this season; he has appeared in only 18 of Washington's first 52 games this season, and the Caps are 12-2-4 in the games in which he has played.
In The Nets - Ilya Samsonov will make his fifth straight start tonight - the longest run of his three-year NHL career - and he will appear in his eighth consecutive game tonight, also a first for his career. Samsonov celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday, five days after recording his 17th win of the season - a career high - against the Flyers in Philadelphia last week.
Sasmonov's .917 save pct. in the month of February marks his second best monthly save pct. of the season (.919 in November). Lifetime against the Rangers, he is 1-1-1 with a 4.07 GAA and an .855 save pct. in three appearances.
Igor Shesterkin is the likely netminder for New York tonight. He picked up his 50th career win in his most recent start on Sunday against Ottawa, becoming the 14th goaltender in NHL history to record 50 wins in 79 or fewer games, a distinction Samsonov could also achieve if he were to win four of his next five appearances.
Lifetime against Washington, Shesterkin is 3-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and a .924 save pct. in four appearances.
All Lined Up - Here's how we expect the Capitals and the Rangers to look on Thursday night in New York for the opener of Washington's two-game road trip:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 73-Sheary
91-Snively, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson
24-McMichael, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie
62-Hagelin, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
57-van Riemsdyk, 2-Schultz
Goaltenders
30-Samsonov
1-Copley
Extras
6-Kempny
10-Sprong
52-Irwin
Injured/Out
39-Mantha (upper body, indefinite)
41-Vanecek (upper body)
NEW YORK
Forwards
20-Kreider, 93-Zibanejad, 13-Lafreniere
10-Panarin, 16-Strome, 29-Hunt
14-McKegg, 47-Barron, 15-Gauthier
21-Goodrow, 17-Rooney, 75-Reaves
Defensemen
55-Lindgren, 23-Fox
79-Miller, 8-Trouba
6-Jones, 45-Schneider
Goaltenders
31-Shesterkin
40-Georgiev
Extras
25-Hajek
Injured/Out
12-Nemeth (personal)
24-Kakko (upper body)
72-Chytil (illness)
91-Blais (lower body)