Southern California Line – The Caps are in Anaheim on Thursday night, set to conclude a set of back-to-back games in Southern California, and to finish up the November portion of their schedule. Washington eked out a 2-1 win over the Kings in Los Angeles on Wednesday, despite being outshot 39-15 on the night. Charlie Lindgren won for the fifth time in seven November starts, turning in another in a series of recent stellar performances.
The Caps had to kill three penalties in Wednesday’s game, and for the first time this season, they had no power play opportunities of their own in the game, so much of the game was played at 5-on-5. Washington’s coaching staff was able to get the players it wanted on the ice without overtaxing any of them. As he typically does, John Carlson led the team in ice time on Wednesday, but his 23:38 total was actually his fourth lowest single-game figure in 19 contests.
“[It was] by design a little bit,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “We knew going in we didn’t want to lean too heavily on certain guys to where it doesn’t set them up for success tonight. We were able to balance that with all four lines being able to play late into that game, no issues there. Hopefully, that sets us up for success today.”
Lights Out – The Capitals have yielded only nine third-period goals in their 19 games this season, and that third-period stinginess has helped them secure a number of points in tight games to this point. The Caps’ total of third-period goals against is the lowest by any team in any period this season (h/t Carter Myers).
Washington is 7-0-1 when leading after two periods, and nine of its 11 victories have come by a margin of either one or two goals. In each of the two games the Caps won by three goals, that margin was augmented by at least one empty-net goal in the late stages of the contest.
Wednesday’s win over the Kings in Los Angeles is the latest example. Although the Caps were out-attempted and out-possessed at even strength, and although they were outshot 15-3 in the third period, they again frustrated and blanked the opposition – the highest scoring team in the NHL coming into the contest – over the final 20 minutes to secure another two points.
“Just doing whatever it takes,” says Lindgren. “You can go down our whole roster tonight, top to bottom, and guys are doing the little things to get it done. We had some huge pass breakups there, some huge blocks. That’s what you need to do, especially against really good teams. It takes every single guy; you can’t really have any passengers in a game like tonight. It’s just a huge win by our guys.”
A day before the win, we asked Carbery about his team’s defensive success in the third this season.
“I don’t think that’s an issue for our group,” says Carbery. “We’ve been really good in those moments; we’ve actually excelled in the third periods at protecting leads or getting games to overtime if it’s tied.”
Washington blocked nine shots in the final nine minutes of Wednesday’s game, it broke up a number of passes with good reads and smart plays, and it did any number of small, detailed things to get the clock down to zero in the final frame. In one instance, Lindgren was able to smoother a loose puck, then dish it off to Carlson, avoiding an immediate draw in his own end and killing off a few more precious seconds.
The Caps didn’t have a very good night on the face-off dot on Wednesday, winning just 18 of 45 draws (40%) on the night. But each of the last three draws of the game came in the final two minutes, and each was in the Washington end of the ice. Caps’ center Dylan Strome won all three, giving a chance to exhale briefly in those situations instead of preparing for the onslaught of the formidable Los Angeles attack.
“I can think or probably a dozen instances in that last 10 minutes where we’re really defending,” says Carbery. “And those little plays like that, whether it’s a face-off win, whether it’s a shot block, whether it’s just getting a stick on a puck and finding a way to get it outside of the blueline because we were back on our heels and hemmed in for various parts of that last 10 or 15 minutes. Just a ton of huge defensive plays to save scoring chances or to save goals, or generate a clear, to just help Chucky out any way we could.”
That’s been the modus operandi for the Caps in virtually all of those tight third-period situations this season.
“I think that’s great,” says Caps left wing Beck Malenstyn. “It really gives us that opportunity that if we’re able to pounce on a team early and get that lead going into the third, we’re very confident in the brand of hockey that we have to play to be successful.
“I think that’s huge, going into those tight games. Sometimes the nerves can get up and you see mistakes start to happen and things like that. So having that confidence across an entire lineup that there is a certain job that needs to be done and then being able to execute it is important.”
The 700 Club – Caps’ right wing Tom Wilson is slated to suit up for his 700th career NHL game on Thursday against the Ducks. Among players to both debut with and to reach the 700 mark with Washington, Wilson becomes the fourth-youngest player to hit 700; only Mike Gartner, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin were younger.
Since Wilson made his regular season NHL debut with the Caps on Oct. 1, 2013 in Chicago, only Ovechkin (765) and John Carlson (712) have appeared in more games with the team. Wilson ranks 12th on Washington’s all-time games played list, and he becomes the fourth member of his 2012 NHL Draft class – and the first forward – to reach the milestone, following in the skate steps of Morgan Rielly (739), Cody Ceci (729) and Jacob Trouba (700).
In The Nets – Darcy Kuemper is expected to be the Washington starter tonight against the Ducks. He is 4-4-2 on the season with a 2.95 GAA and an .894 save pct. in 10 appearances, all starts. Lifetime against the Ducks, Kuemper is 7-6-0 with a 2.56 GAA and a .909 save pct. in 15 appearances, all starts.
We’re expecting to see John Gibson in the crease tonight for Anaheim. The veteran Pittsburgh native has played better than his 4-9-0 record would indicate this season; his 2.64 GAA and .912 save pct. are much more representative of how he has played this season. Lifetime against the Capitals, Gibson is 3-3-4 with a shutout, a 2.97 GAA, and a .910 save pct. in 11 appearances, all starts.
Kuemper and Gibson – and Lindgren as well – each rank among the goaltenders with the least amount of offensive support in the League this season. Among the 54 NHL goaltenders who have made seven or more appearances to this point of the season, Gibson ranks 51st with an average of 1.90 goals per game in offensive support. With 1.67 goals per game, Kuemper is 52nd on the list, ahead of only San Jose’s Mackenzie Blackwood (1.62) and Kaapo Kahkonen (1.51).
Lindgren ranks 50th, just ahead of Gibson, with 2.15 goals per game.
All Lined Up – Here is how we believe the Capitals and Ducks might look when they take the ice at Honda Center on Thursday night:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
24-McMichael, 17-Strome, 39-Mantha
15-Milano, 29-Lapierre, 21-Protas
47-Malenstyn, 26-Dowd, 96-Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 57-van Riemsdyk
6-Edmundson, 3-Jensen
Goaltenders
35-Kuemper
79-Lindgren
Injured
19-Backstrom (upper body)
67-Pacioretty (torn Achilles’ tendon)
77-Oshie (upper body)
Scratches
27-Alexeyev
45-Phillips
46-Johansen
ANAHEIM
Forwards
77-Vatrano, 23-McTavish, 16-Strome
17-Killorn, 91-Carlsson, 19-Terry
49-Jones, 14-Henrique, 33-Silfverberg
44-Johnston, 24-Groulx, 39-Carrick
Defensemen
4-Fowler, 60-Lacombe
5-Vaakanainen, 7-Gudas
34-Mintyukov, 46-Lyubushkin
Goaltenders
36-Gibson
1-Dostal
Injured
6-Drysdale (lower body)
11-Zegras (lower body)
21-Lundestrom (Achilles)
Scratches
20-Leason
26-McGinn
67-Luneau
