SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes From Caps' Morning Skate

Get Myself To Saturday -The Caps conclude a three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against the New York Rangers, seeking to stop a six-game slide. Washington has also lost each of its last five home games, and it has scored a combined total of nine goals in those five contests.

Today's tilt is the second of four between Washington and New York this season. On Dec. 27 at Madison Square Garden, the Caps forged a 4-0 whitewash win over the Rangers behind a 32-save effort from Darcy Kuemper. That victory gave Washington its second five-game winning streak in the month of December, and came in the midst of the Caps' most successful stretch of the season, a 13-2-3 spree from Nov. 29-Jan. 5, a run the stopped at the exact midpoint of the season.
Since then, Washington has won six of 19 (6-13-0), and it has been limited to two or fewer goals scored in 13 of those 19 games. The Capitals' average of 2.11 goals per game puts them last in the NHL over that stretch.
Today, the focus is on just getting back into the win column.
"Our business is our game and our room, and making sure that we're ready to play," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "Two points in the column today would look good, with a bunch of teams at 64 points, and then we'll go on with the next game."
Emotional Weather Report - Emotions ranging from frustration to disappointment with tinges of anger, sadness and a hint of regret were prevalent on Thursday before game time in the Caps' locker room. Just before warmups ahead of a game against Anaheim, the Caps learned that defenseman Dmitry Orlov and right wing Garnet Hathaway had been dealt to Boston for a trio of draft choices and veteran winger Craig Smith, an impending unrestricted free agent.
Smith will make his Caps debut against the Rangers today.
The Caps were - and actually still are - just two points south of the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference standings. But after suffering a sixth straight regulation setback on Thursday to the Ducks, the Caps are in the midst of their longest regulation slide in early 20 years, since October of 2003.
"I think the biggest disappointment is that we put ourselves in this situation," says Caps center Nic Dowd. "We didn't perform well enough - essentially, I guess - to protect guys from being traded. That's how it goes, right? If the team is playing well , and you're putting yourself in goo spots and you're winning hockey games and you're doing what you need to do, then traditionally, you're not breaking teams up. So I think it's challenging, because we only have ourselves to blame for that."
Having sandwiched mediocre first and third quarters of the season around a terrific second quarter, the Caps have been in a standings free fall for two weeks now, since their last victory two weeks ago today. Washington has tumbled all the way from seventh to 12th in the Eastern Conference, dropping nearly a rung with each loss.
Given the opportunity to move a pair of impending free agents for draft capital, Caps general manager Brian MacLellan opted to make the deal.
Instead of dressing and playing against the Ducks, Orlov and Hathaway returned home to pack. They picked up their gear on Friday morning at MedStar Capitals Iceplex and hustled to the airport to meet the Bruins in Vancouver, where Boston will face the Canucks tonight.
"That's obviously a scenario that's not the best for a team like us," says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom. But at the same time, I think we're still in the race and we have a chance to make the playoffs still, even if that's what it's been like for the last couple of months. We still have a chance, that's what we believe.
"I think it's pretty straightforward. We need to win a lot of hockey games in the next couple of months or so. We're well aware of it, and that's the mindset we've got to have going forward."
It's been a rollercoaster of a season for the Capitals, who have played every one of their first 60 games with a handful - or more - players missing from their lineup, and more often than not, some of their best players sitting out. The result has been a revolving door of a lineup, and the constant state of flux seems to have finally caught up with the Caps since the turn of the calendar.
"Our guys have done a pretty good job," says Laviolette. "Even last game, it's not like we didn't show up and compete. You fire close to 50 shots and you're trying to do the right thing, trying to press and it doesn't drop, and the game doesn't go your way. I don't think it was because the guys were distracted, or the guys were fazed by it. It's a veteran group, and we needed to win a game and we didn't.
"But I'm not going to use that as a reason why. For me, we've got to focus on what's in the room right now, the players we do have, the players that are available today, and we've got to win a hockey game. It's the same as it has been all year; it's not about who's not in the lineup, it's about who is in the lineup. And with regard to that, we've got a good team on the ice today and we expect to win a hockey game today, so we've got to go out and play one."
"If you look at the last couple of games," says Backstrom. "I think we just need to relax and play our game and turn this around and get a win under our belt and get rolling the other way. It's always tough when you keep losing; you're a little down. But at the same time, we've got to take this one game at a time and make sure we turn it around."
In the Nets - Kuemper gets the start in goal for the Caps today, and he will be seeking to shake off a personal four-game losing streak. Of the 48 NHL goaltenders with at least 20 appearances to this point in the season, Kuemper ranks 44th in offensive support. The Caps score just 2.49 goals per 60 minutes with Kuemper in the crease.
Lifetime against the Rangers, Kuemper is 7-1-0 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.13 GAA and a .921 save pct. in eight appearances, all starts.
For the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin will be in the net today. In 16 road appearances this season, Shesterkin has suffered just a single regulation loss (11-1-4). He owns a 2.40 GAA and a .922 save pct. on the road this season.
Lifetime against Washington, Shesterkin is 4-2-0 with a 2.36 GAA and a .929 save pct. in six appearances, all starts.
All Lined Up - Here's how we believe the Caps and the Rangers might look this afternoon when they take the ice at Capital One Arena:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
15-Milano, 17-Strome, 77-Oshie
73-Sheary, 19-Backstrom, 16-Smith
20-Eller, 26-Dowd, 96-Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
56-Gustafsson, 57-van Riemsdyk
42-Fehervary, 3-Jensen
52-Irwin, 25-McIlrath
Goaltenders
35-Kuemper
79-Lindgren
Healthy Extras
16-Smith
27-Alexeyev
59-Protas
Injured/out
28-Brown (lower body)
39-Mantha (upper body)
62-Hagelin (hip)
74-Carlson (upper body)
90-Johansson (non-COVID illness)
NEW YORK
Forwards
20-Kreider, 93-Zibanejad, 26-Vesey
10-Panarin, 16-Trocheck, 91-Tarasenko
13-Lafreniere, 72-Chytil, 24-Kaako
14-Motte, 21-Goodrow
Defensemen
55-Lindgren, 23-Fox
79-Miller, 8-Trouba
77-Mikkola, 4-Schneider
5-Harpur
Goaltenders
31-Shesterkin
41-Halak
Healthy Extras
15-Leschyshyn
74-Kravtsov
Injured
None