Back Again – The Caps departed the District in good spirits back on Jan. 19. Fresh off a pair of home ice victories over Anaheim and St. Louis, respectively, the team took to the road for a four-game tour of the middle part of the continent, Washington’s final four games ahead of a nine-day break for its bye week and the NHL All-Star break.
Nearly three weeks after that Jan. 18 win over the Blues, the Caps are finally back in the building on F St., but they’re still seeking their first win since then. With just 35 games remaining, the situation has become urgent. With 51 points through 47 games, the Caps are several points shy of a playoff pace. Unless they’re able to pick up that pace rather quickly and convincingly, they run the risk of a second straight season outside the playoff picture, a fate they haven’t met in almost 17 years.
Back from the beaches and couches of the world – or wherever they opted to spend the last week plus – the Caps are relaxed and refreshed, and they hope they’ll be recharged and can engineer a hard reset from their recent stretch of subpar hockey; they’re 5-9-2 in their last 16 games.
“We obviously need a little bit of a refocusing here,” says Caps’ right wing T.J. Oshie. “I think we got a little bit lazy with a lot of our attention to details on the last road trip, and that led to a lot of goals against. That’s it. Obviously, you don’t want to end up with a loss, but the way we fought back in Dallas gives you at least a little bit of momentum to see how we can play and how we can fight back if we need to. So just a little bit of refocusing here; we’ve obviously got a tough stretch of games coming up here this month, and we’ve just got to bear down.”
With a 1-6-1 mark in their last eight road games, the Caps are happy to be back home where they’ve won four of their last five games. But they also know they’ve got to start winning frequently and consistently, regardless of venue.
“Obviously, we want to be in a playoff spot,” says Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin. “We want to be fighting for a Cup. I think it’s up to us, what and how we want to play. If you look at our names on the lines, it’s a pretty good [lineup]. It’s up to us. We have to use our chances, we have to play smarter in the neutral zone, don’t make stupid mistakes and stupid decisions, and it’s not going to cost us the game.”
The Caps are seven points behind Detroit for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, and they hold three games in hand on the Red Wings. Washington is also just five points behind third-place Philadelphia in the Metro, and it holds three games in hand on the Flyers, too.
Over its final 35 games, Washington needs to pump up the volume in terms of standings points. The Caps are likely to need 95-100 points to get in – the Red Wings are currently on a 95-point pace – and that means they’ll need to muster a pace that would result in 103 points over a full 82-game season, just to get to 95. For example, that might look like a 20-11-4 finish, again, just to get to 95.
Fortunately, they’ve got a bit of a blueprint for what that might look like. From Oct. 25 through Dec. 23, the Caps went 16-6-4 over a stretch of 26 games, a pace of approximately 113 points over a full season. So how do they replicate that stretch from early in the season, and sustain it for another nine games beyond what they were able to do earlier in the season?
“I've thought about that quite a bit, of what led to that and looking back at the recipe,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “And there's a lot of things that factored in; I think specifically number one was goaltending. When you think back to that stretch and you look at the games, our goaltending was performing at an elite level, and that's not to put more pressure [on them] – our success depends on our goaltending. I just am talking specifically to [goaltending] because I've looked at that chunk of the season, and so what led to the success? What were we doing 5-on-5? What were we doing on special teams? Why did we were we able to win those 2-1 games? And I think that stood out to me as number one.
“Number two is a consistent level of play and a confidence in our process. And here's what I'll say. And I think it's a recipe for us in general, is we were very comfortable playing in 1-0 and 2-1 games, and we stuck with it. We knew that, yeah, we might not score three or four tonight. But we were very comfortable in a 0-0, 1-1, and potentially a 2-1 game, going right to the finish line and closing that game out. And I think that's maybe something that, as we've lost our way a little bit in us putting such an emphasis on scoring, and producing, and finding a way [to score more], whether it's [Ovechkin], whether it's our power play, whether it's our defenseman scoring, whether it's us just scoring in general, at 5-on-5, and not sitting near the bottom of the League in that department.
“What we've lost a little bit is, that it’s so okay to score two goals, if we win 2-1. It's okay to score one goal, if we win 1-0. And that is draining. It's hard. It's taxing on a team. It's taxing our players, because you want to score, you want to produce, you want to get better in the areas that you're deficient in. And so maybe that, for us, to just get back on track with, we don't need to score four goals to win; we weren't during that stretch. It's been a good reminder of why we had success during that stretch.”
Missing In Action – The NHL and NHLPA issued a joint press release on Monday afternoon, announcing that Caps’ center Evgeny Kuznetsov has entered the League’s and NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program for substance abuse.
“He has gone into the substance abuse program,” says Carbery. “And that's a lot of what we know; there's not a lot of background information that they share with us, other than just the fact that he's in the program. So for us, as an organization, staff, and players, it's just supporting him and his family as he gets the help that he needs.”
And of course, there is another conversation that takes place where Carbery informs Kuznetsov’s teammates of the situation.
“Yeah, we talked about it,” says Carbery. “And, again, there's not a lot that I can share other than just, ‘Here's what's going on with your teammate, your brother, a member of our family.’ And so it's a lot of people that are concerned for him, and his health, and his family. And that's really where a lot of the conversations and thoughts have gone.”
We all wish the best for Kuznetsov and his family, and that he gets the help he needs and get to a place where he can return to being the player and the person we all know he can be.
Sometime To Return – Mike Sgarbossa’s most recent NHL recall came just before Christmas when he was summoned from AHL Hershey on an emergency basis while Washington was in Columbus for a Dec. 21 game with the Blue Jackets. That recall was a quick one, and it did not result in Sgarbossa seeing any NHL action.
With Kuznetsov now sidelined indefinitely, there may be more runway for Sgarbossa here on this recall. In parts of seven seasons in the NHL with four different organizations, the 31-year-old native of Campbellville, Ont. has logged 65 NHL games. His single-season career high of 38 games was achieved in 2016-17, split between Anaheim and Florida.
Washington was able to get some good games and performances from rookie Hendrix Lapierre earlier this season, but Sgarbossa got the call this time around. Sgarbossa does have two goals and six points in his last 14 NHL games – all with the Caps – so he has shown an ability to produce a bit of offense at this level, despite averaging just 9:39 in nightly average ice time during his 17 games in a Caps’ sweater.
“It’s to give Sgarbs a look; he’s earned that opportunity,” says Carbery. “Lappy has done a lot of good things, got a good taste, has played some meaningful games; he’s done a good job. I think with the organizational decision to bring Sgarbs into this portion of the schedule and where we’re at, I think bringing that veteran player in that’s played a lot in the National Hockey League. And not that Lappy couldn’t excel in that role as well, but I just think in this situation, letting Lappy continue to play big minutes in a large role in the American Hockey League at this point of the season, it was the best decision for our team at this point.”
For Sgarbossa, the timing was excellent, too, at least on one front. Moving his young family from Hershey to Arlington is a laborious process for him and his wife and two young kids, but he will be able to bring his dad along on the Mentors’ Trip this week.
“You’re surprised every time you get [that call to the NHL],” says Sgarbossa, “especially at my age. We just were on our [All-Star] break, so I wasn’t expecting anything, because I figured everyone was going to be here. Obviously, you’re excited, but at the same time you’re kind of panicked, because I have a family now so you’re trying to figure all that out, packing and stuff.
“But it’s a good opportunity, I’m excited for it, and hopefully I can stay for a little longer.”
Sgarbossa has been around long enough to know there are no guarantees in this business, but he knows he will be accompanying the Caps on this upcoming road trip.
“They told me I’m going on the trip,” he says. “And because they’re doing the dads’ trip, and so my dad was pretty excited about that, which I was happy about.”
Sgarbossa has played in three other organizations, and his dad was able to go on a previous dads’ trip with him during his time in the Panthers’ organization.
“Luckily, he was on one in Florida, and it was like a bucket list [item] for him,” says Sgarbossa. “And he said [then] if you every get the opportunity again, he’s going to drop whatever he’s doing to come.
Baby Just Break – About 24 hours before the Caps departed on their four-game, eight-day road trip leading up to Washington’s bye week and the All-Star break, Beck Malenstyn’s wife Annie gave birth to the couple’s first child, a son named Beau. Malenstyn had all of a few hours with his new family – and little to no sleep – before departing with his teammates on a lengthy road trip.
For Malenstyn especially, the midseason break came at a great time. He was able to settle in with Annie and Beau and his extended family, and to spend some quality time with his wife, son, in-laws and parents.
“It was great,” he says of the break. “Obviously, that was a difficult situation, having to leave; I think it was basically 24 hours after he was born. The break is great every year, and this year it was super special for me, being able to spend that quality time with him and my wife, and my in-laws were in town for a chunk of it, too. So it was great, and I just really, really cherish those moments I was able to have with them.”
And on this upcoming trip, Malenstyn and his father will be able to spend some time together on the first Mentors’ trip for both men.
“I think it’s going to be really special,” he says. “It’s the first one I’ve been involved with, so I think both of us are really looking forward to it. I know he was excited to get out here. We’re going to two great spots; I’m sure the dads are going to love being in the sunshine in Florida and then being in a historic spot like Boston is going to be a great place to watch a game.
“I’m super excited to have him here, and we’re both just going to enjoy it.”
In The Nets – Charlie Lindgren starts for the Caps tonight against the Canadiens, the team that gave him his start in pro hockey. Following a strong collegiate career at St. Cloud St., the Lakeville, Minn. native inked a free agent deal with the Habs on March 30, 2016, and he made his NHL debut with the Canadiens just over a week later, winning his first NHL start over the Hurricanes in Carolina.
Lindgren will be making his third career start against Montreal; he is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .946 save pct. in those two appearances.
For the Habs, we are expecting to see Samuel Montembeault in the crease tonight. With an 11-7-4 mark on the season, Montembeault is responsible for notching just over half of the Habs’ 20 victories on the season to date.
Lifetime against the Capitals, he is 1-2-0 with a 3.72 GAA and an .875 save pct. in four appearances, three of which were starts.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we expect the Caps and the Habs might look on Tuesday night when they hit the ice at Capital One Arena:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 17-Strome, 43-Wilson
67-Pacioretty, 24-McMichael, 77-Oshie
21-Protas, 23-Sgarbossa, 39-Mantha
47-Malenstyn, 26-Dowd, 96-Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 57-van Riemsdyk
6-Edmundson, 3-Jensen
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
35-Kuemper
Injured/Out
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (lower body)
92-Kuznetsov (NHL/NHLPA player assistance program)
Scratches
25-Bear
27-Alexeyev
45-Phillips
MONTREAL
Forwards
22-Caufield, 14-Suzuki, 17-Anderson
20-Slafkovsky, 51-Gignac, 40-Armia
70-Pearson, 71-Evans, 56-Ylonen
55-Pezzeta, 82-Condatta, 49-Harvey-Pinard
Defensemen
8-Matheson, 21-Guhle
47-Struble, 58-Savard
72-Xhekaj, 26-Kovacevic
Goaltenders
35-Montembeault
34-Allen
Injured/Out
6-Wideman (back)
11-Gallagher (NHL suspension)
15-Newhook (ankle)
28-Dvorak (upper body)
31-Price (knee)
77-Dach (knee)
Scratches
30-Primeau
54-Harris
