Ain’t Life Grand? – Caps’ defenseman John Carlson is slated to skate in the 1,000th game of his NHL career tonight against Boston, doing so exactly two weeks after teammate T.J. Oshie played in his 1,000th career game against the Canucks in Vancouver. Carlson is the first Caps’ defenseman to play as many as 1,000 games in a Washington sweater; he is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played, assists (519), points (667), game-winning goals (30) and power-play points (247) among defensemen, and he is two goals shy of surpassing Kevin Hatcher (149) for the most among Washington blueliners.
Carlson joins teammates Alex Ovechkin (1,416) and Nicklas Backstrom (1,105) as one of only three trios of teammates to play in 1,000 or more games with the same franchise. The feat was previously achieved by Los Angeles’s Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Drew Doughty, and by Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
“I think that makes it even more special, the longevity that we’ve all had,” says Carlson. “A lot goes into it on a personal level, and a lot goes into it on a team level, and it’s great. They’re the reasons that we’ve been great for so long, and without a great team you probably don’t [do it as a group]; not many guys stay on kind of middling teams for long periods of time. That has a lot to do with it, and it’s just a great organization to do it for.”
Carlson becomes the 392nd skater and the 128th defenseman in NHL history to reach 1,000 games played, and he is the 43rd player among all active NHLers to achieve the milestone. Most impressively, he is still thriving at the age of 34 as he hits this significant milestone. Carlson’s average of 25:41 in average nightly ice time is the highest workload of his career, and second in the NHL this season only to Doughty (25:48).
“That’s obviously the goal of any player, to contribute in any way that they can,” says Carlson. “I guess I’m used to it after a lot of years, but it is still nice to be where I am, and I still think I have a lot more game left in me.”
The Caps will hold a special pre-game ceremony to honor Carlson’s achievement prior to their April 7 home game against the Ottawa Senators.
Bring It On Home – Coming off a 5-1 loss to the Leafs in Toronto on Thursday night, the Caps return home to host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. Home cooking has been kind to the Capitals of late; they are 7-2-0 in their last nine games in the District, and they’ve notched 20 victories (20-11-5) in their home barn, doing so for the first time since 2018-19 (24-11-6).
Washington’s current successful run of 14-6-2 over a span of 22 games began seven weeks ago today in Boston against the Bruins, with a Charlie Lindgren shutout on just 18 shots. In Thursday’s loss to the Leafs, the Caps yielded a season-high 48 shots on Lindgren and they teed up a total of 75 shot attempts. As they seek to rebound from Thursday’s loss, the Caps will be focused on spending less time in their end of the ice, as they did that afternoon in Boston, seven Saturdays ago.
“We have to do a way better job in a bunch of different areas, against another really, really quality team,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “Boston is a little bit different from Toronto in how they will stress you, but if we’re spending that much time in the defensive zone, giving up that many shot attempts, turning the puck over that many times through the neutral zone and letting [Boston’s David] Pastrnak and [Toronto’s] Auston Matthews come at you, it’s not a good recipe for Chucky, and it’s not a good recipe for our entire team.
“For sure we’re going to have to do a better job of protecting as a team, which, as a result, will protect Chucky. In managing his workload, he doesn’t practice [Friday], so we give him some time to reset, as we go through [a stretch] where he’s played a lot of minutes in a short amount of time.”
Washington expects to have winger Sonny Milano back in its lineup after a two-game absence because of an upper body ailment. After notching his first career NHL hat trick on March 22 against Carolina in a thrilling 7-6 victory over the Canes, Milano departed the Caps’ next game against Winnipeg – the 300th game of his NHL career – in the first period because of the injury.
Milano has 10 goals and 13 points in his last 18 games.
Out Like A Lion – After winning just five games in December (5-5-4), in January (5-7-1) and in February (5-4-1), the Caps are 9-5-0 in March, and they have an opportunity to double their win total from each of the previous three months of the season with a win over Boston in their Saturday night finale of the month of March.
“I think there’s just a little more continuity to our game,” says Caps’ defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, “whether it’s defending and having layers to our defense, where one breakdown doesn’t lead to a glorious chance. And when that does happen, Chucky has played unbelievable.
“And then just in getting through our zone, and getting through the neutral zone, and feeling like we have support, we have speed – and when we’re getting pucks into the offensive zone, we’re a really good forechecking team. We’ve got a lot of guys who can skate and make it hard on [opposing defensemen] going back. I think that when we get to that and we get to that early, that can open up some of those high-end, nicer looking plays later in the game. But if you don’t get the work done early, you don’t really wear them down, and so it will be an easier game for the other team.”
The last time Washington was able to roll up a double-digit win total in March was 2020-21 when it went 11-3-1.
In The Nets – Lindgren gets the net again tonight for Washington, starting for the fourth consecutive game and the eighth time in the Caps’ last nine games. Lindgren has earned each of Washington’s nine victories this month, and he leads the League in that category this month. In his last 11 appearances, he is 8-3-0 with two shutouts, a 2.40 GAA and a .924 save pct.
Remarkably, despite appearing in 41 and starting 39 of Washington’s first 72 games this season, Lindgren has yet to go consecutive starts without earning at least a point for his team, a run he is aiming to continue tonight against Boston.
“A lot of it is who he is as a person,” says Carbery of Lindgren’s ability to bounce back after a loss. “[He’s] ultra, ultra competitive, but also I find him to be very, very even-keeled and not emotional, so he’s able to reset, refocus, and go right back out there.
“Even in games where we’ve struggled in front of him, I’ve kind of looked for opportunities for him to get frustrated or maybe upset with some of the play in front of him, and what he’s been subjected to. Never. Never. And that tells me that he is extremely mentally tough, and just focuses on what he needs to do. And if it doesn’t go well – whether it’s the players in front of him or his own play – he is able to flip to next day, reset, refocus. What do I need to do today to play at my highest level, against the Boston Bruins?”
Lifetime against the B’s, Lindgren is 1-1-0 with a shutout, a 1.71 GAA and a .944 save pct. in two appearances, both starts.
For the Bruins, netminders Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have alternated starting assignments since mid-February, and that trend continues tonight in Washington with Swayman between the pipes, seeking his 24th victory of the season.
Lifetime against Washington, Swayman is 1-3-0 with a 1.96 GAA and a .934 save pct. in five appearances (four starts).
All Lined Up – Here’s how the Caps and the Bruins might look on Saturday night in Washington:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 24-McMichael, 77-Oshie
23-Sgarbossa, 17-Strome, 63-Miroshnichenko
67-Pacioretty, 29-Lapierre, 15-Milano
47-Malenstyn, 26-Dowd, 21-Protas
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 3-Jensen
27-Alexeyev, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
35-Kuemper
Injured/Out
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (lower body)
25-Bear (NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program)
43-Wilson (NHL suspension)
Scratches
2-Iorio
45-Phillips
96-Aubé-Kubel
BOSTON
Forwards
63-Marchand, 18-Zacha, 88-Pastrnak
43-Heinen, 13-Coyle, 11-Frederic
74-DeBrusk, 39-Geekie, 55-Brazeau
19-Beecher, 20-Boqvist, 94-Lauko
Defensemen
27-Lindholm, 73-McAvoy
48-Grzelcyk, 25-Carlo
12-Shattenkirk, 52-Peeke
Goaltenders
35-Ullmark
1-Swayman
Injured/Out
17-Lucic (ankle)
20-Maroon (undisclosed)
24-Forbort (undisclosed)
51-Poitras (shoulder)
Scratches
6-Lohrei
21-J. van Riemsdyk
29-Wotherspoon
