Emotions And Math – The Caps are in Philadelphia this Wednesday night, taking on the Flyers in the front end of a set of back-to-back games; Washington finishes this quick trip Thursday night when it meets the Sabres in Buffalo.
Since returning from the Olympic break, the Caps have split six games (3-3-0). That pace isn’t helping the Caps’ push for a playoff spot, as the out-of-town scoreboard reminds us night after night. Coming out of the break, the Caps were four points shy of a playoff berth, and they had also played the most games of any team in the NHL.
Two weeks down the road, no team has played more games than the Caps, but they do have company in the group of nine teams that now share the League lead with 65 games played. Washington has also slipped to seven points behind Boston for the second Eastern Conference wild card playoff berth, and the Bruins hold a game in hand. The Caps trail the New York Islanders by eight points for third place in the Metropolitan Division, and the Isles have played the same number of games as Washington.
Both Boston and the Isles are playing at a pace that would result in 100 points for them at season’s end, if that pace is maintained. For the Caps to match that triple-digit point total, they would have to pull 29 of the 34 points still available to them.
Washington’s conundrum is not just one of mathematics, it’s one of geography as well. The Caps’ current total of 71 points would have them sitting in a playoff spot – with a four-point cushion – if only they were a Western Conference team.
Now the 11th place team in the Eastern Conference, the Caps will be trying to keep the Flyers (69 points) in the rear view as one of five teams still behind them in the conference standings. Tonight, the two teams tangle for the third time in 37 nights.
“They’re a pretty good team, pretty dangerous off the rush, so for sure we know what to expect,” says Caps forward Aliaksei Protas of the Flyers. “We know that it’s going to be a tough game; they’re also fighting for their lives – same as us – so we know it’s going to be a hard game.
“I think we’ve just got to keep playing our game. We are not focusing on Buffalo or other teams, our main focus is on today’s game and we’ve got to have a good start and go from there.”
The Letter – In the wake of the departure of defenseman John Carlson via last Friday’s trade with the Anaheim Ducks, the Caps have an alternate captain’s “A” – one that Carlson sported for many years – to distribute.
Center Dylan Strome wore the alternate captain’s “A” in each of the Caps’ first two games since Carlson’s departure, a road game in Boston on Saturday followed by a home game in DC on Monday against the Flames.
Tonight, defenseman Matt Roy will have the “A” on his sweater, and he will have it for road games while Strome will sport it at home.
“I think Stromer has been part of our leadership group the last two years,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “He has sort of morphed into and grown into that role through his experience, through him becoming so comfortable in Washington and in our locker room. And so, he's got a wealth of knowledge. You guys all know how smart of a hockey guy he is, but also the little individual tendencies, the things that happen in the game, whether it's a face off or a power play. And then for a center man, [he is] a wealth of knowledge for [Hendrix Lapierre].
“And I think too, that a lot of what these guys lean on each other for and leadership, a lot of it isn't necessarily X's and O's all the time. That's just a small part of it. I think it's their experiences through their career. So, Dylan Strome, someone that was drafted third overall on his third [NHL organization], had some struggles early in his career of finding his footing and finding his identity as an NHL player.
“So think about that for Lappy, who can bounce ideas and ask him, ‘What were you going through?’ And Stromer being able to share some things that helped him along the way, that's so valuable from a leadership standpoint, and Lappy being able to lean on that.”
Roy played his 500th NHL game on Monday night, and during his tenure in Los Angeles, he was the team’s player representative and its treasurer, starting in the pandemic season weeks ahead of the NHL shutting down for the global pandemic, which occurred six years ago today.
“I just think from the back end, with John moving on, we're going to need some leadership from the back end,” says Carbery. “And I feel like, whether it's Marty Fehervary or [Rasmus Sandin] we have a veteran group back there, so we always feel good about our back end and the experience back there, the communication back there. So [we have] Marty, Sandy, [Jakob Chychrun] and those guys, but Matt Roy I think is growing into a leadership role with where he's at in his career, and now being in his second year here, just feel like he's a guy that can sort of step up.
“He's not all of a sudden going to be John Carlson and be this vocal guy that's the life of the party, but he has a lot to offer when it comes to leadership, and guys really respect him a lot with how he plays, how he leads by example. So, I think giving him that opportunity, he deserves it.”
New Day Rising – Recently acquired center David Kampf is still dealing with visa issues and he won’t play tonight in Philly, but blueliner Timothy Liljegren is set to make his debut in a Washington sweater tonight.
The 26-year-old Swede arrived in DC with 307 NHL games to his credit, scattered across seven seasons with Toronto, San Jose and now, the Capitals.
“It’s a little bit different, depending on their experience in the League,” says Carbery, asked what his message would be to a player suiting up for the first time. “This is a guy that’s played enough games to sort of understand his identity and what he needs to do. The way that I always approach it, a younger guy might be a little bit different. But for him, it’s just don’t overthink it, simple is usually better as you’re getting comfortable with partners, communication, systems and all that. Just it’s just going out and competing, keep your puck plays simple – as well as you can, especially for a defenseman – and if you can defend well and move pucks well, you’re going to have a good night.”
In The Nets – Logan Thompson starts for the Capitals tonight, making his seventh start in eight games. Thompson has yielded two or fewer goals against in four of the six previous starts across that stretch, and he has won four of the six (4-2-0) as well. Most recently, he made 26 saves on Monday to rack up his 22nd victory of the season, a 7-3 triumph over Calgary.
Lifetime against the Flyers, Thompson is 3-0-1 in four appearances – all starts – with a 2.49 GAA and a .916 save pct.
For Philly, we are expecting to see Samuel Ersson in net tonight; the Caps have faced Dan Vladar in each of their first two meetings with Philadelphia this season. Ersson is 9-10-5 on the season in 26 appearances, with a 3.40 GAA and an .859 save pct.
Lifetime against the Capitals, Ersson is 1-4-0 in five appearances – all starts – with a 3.22 GAA and an .858 save pct.
All Down The Line – Here’s how the Caps and the Flyers might look on Wednesday night in Philadelphia:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 34-Sourdif, 72-Beauvillier
21-Protas, 17-Strome, 43-Wilson
24-McMichael, 80-Dubois, 9-Leonard
22-Duhaime, 29-Lapierre, 53-Frank
Defensemen
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
38-Sandin, 3-Roy
42-Fehervary, 27-Liljegren
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Healthy Extras
47-Chisholm
52-McIlrath
63-Miroshnichenko
64-Kampf
Injured/Out
None
PHILADELPHIA
Forwards
20-Bump, 22-Dvorak, 11-Konecny
91-Grundstrom, 46-Zegras, 74-Tippett
52-Barkey, 27-Cates, 39-Michkov
29-Grebenkin, 14-Couturier, 19-Hathaway
Defensemen
6-Sanheim, 55-Ristolainen
8-York, 9-Drysdale
24-Seeler, 47-Juulsen
Goalies
33-Ersson
80-Vladar
Healthy Extras
36-Andrae
41-Glendening
Injured/Out
18-Abols (ankle)
71-Foerster (arm)
