Ooh Las Vegas – Back from a triumphant set of back-to-backs in the New York metropolitan area, the Caps are set to open a four-game homestand tonight against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is playing the first game of a five-game trip here tonight, its first extended road run of the season.
A depleted Caps lineup turned in a gritty and cohesive effort over the weekend, sweeping a set of back-to-backs against Metro Division foes New Jersey and the New York Islanders, respectively. With an impressive 6-1-1 mark in their last eight games, the Caps now face the defending champs, a team they hold a 2-6-2 all-time record against in regular season play.
“They’re obviously a really good team,” says Caps’ center Dylan Strome. “They’ve got a really good record, and they’re Stanley Cup champs for a reason. They’ve been playing good hockey, and so have we. Obviously, we’re feeling really good about our game. It’s a huge game for us, especially coming off two in a row on the road against divisional opponents.
“We’re playing probably the best team in the League, and we’ve got to find a way to contain them. They’ve got four pretty deep lines, and we’re just trying to find a balance of four really good lines that can face-off against Vegas. They’re a really deep team, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Each of Washington’s two victories over Vegas have come here in the District, with the most recent of the two coming just over four years ago, in a 5-2 victory on Nov. 9, 2019. The Capitals are a perfect 3-0-0 against Western Conference foes this season, with each of the victories coming on home ice.
“You have the standard, the top of the heap coming into our building,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “I look at that as a different thing. We’ve done some really good things, and now, here’s what we’re trying to live up to. Here’s what the pinnacle of the League looks like, and that’s a good challenge on home ice, of where do we stack up? Let’s take a peek at this. Let’s see where we stack up early in the year, against the cream of the crop in our League, and see if we can’t push them.”
Keep On Moving – With three regular defensemen out of the lineup on Saturday in New York, it was obvious that one of the Caps’ trio of youthful defensemen – Alex Alexeyev, Hardy Häman Aktell and Lucas Johansen – was going to have to step up and absorb a much larger workload than usual. As the game wore on, it became clear that Johansen was that guy.
On Friday in New Jersey, Johansen suited up after eight straight games as a healthy scratch. He logged 13:09, and he was deployed in the late minutes of the game while Washington was seeking to hold onto a 3-2 lead; Johansen helped set up Evgeny Kuznetsov’s empty-net goal that sealed the Washington win.
A night later on Long Island, Johansen suited up again, doing so in consecutive games for the first time in his NHL career. He totaled 20:11 in ice time – including more than eight minutes in the third period – to establish a single-game career high.
“It was a unique challenge,” says Johansen. “I don’t know how long it’s been since I had been in the lineup and playing, but one of the guys that’s really helped me stay ready is [assistant coach] Kenny [McCudden]. We are out there before practice every day, and we get our touches and we’re feeling the puck. And then in practice, I try to get as many reps as I can to try to simulate what a shift would be like in a game. So it was a unique scenario, but I had Kenny there to help me. I was just trying to stay ready for the next opportunity.
Tonight, Johansen is expected to suit up for a third straight game, and he also seems likely to ascend to the team’s top pairing alongside John Carlson, who will pass Kelly Miller (940) to move into fifth place on Washington’s all-time games played list tonight. Johansen knows he can’t rest on the laurels of his last two games. He also knows the best way to stay in the lineup is to play so well that the powers that be can’t take you out.
“Absolutely, you’re 100 percent right,” he says. “Every day you’ve got to prove yourself here, every practice – every minute; you can’t afford to take a second off – if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that.
“Every shift I get, I’m going to make the most of it, play as hard as I can, and just try to earn the second one.”
Fill In The Blank – Rookie Caps’ winger Matthew Phillips pushed his way onto Washington’s opening night roster with a strong training camp performance, and he has stayed in the lineup through the first month of the season, getting into each of the team’s first 13 games this season. Prior to signing with Washington over the summer, Phillips had spent the entirety of his pro career in the Calgary organization, where he saw action in only three NHL games over his five seasons as a pro there.
With his father in attendance, Phillips scored Washington’s first goal of the season against his former organization on Oct. 16, and it was also his first NHL goal. Although he is still seeking to add to that goal total, Phillips has picked up three assists, including the primary helper on Aliaksei Protas’s first goal of the season on Saturday against the Islanders. The goal was a huge one; it came in the final minute of the second period and allowed the Caps to carry a two-goal advantage into the third.
Finally getting his first sustained opportunity at regular NHL duty at the age of 25, we checked in with Phillips this morning for his thoughts on how things are progressing with him.
“It’s been good,” he says. “It’s been a full month, and I’ve dressed in every game. I’ve been in a lot of different roles, and I’ve had some games with a lot of ice time, and some games with just a handful of shifts and sort of a depth role. But I think that’s good, and I’m learning how I can have an impact regardless of where I’m slotted in the lineup.
“It’s been great, just the day-by-day and the new challenges that every day presents. And playing a different team every night is something that I’m really enjoying.”
As a guy who has had back-to-back 30-goal seasons in the American League, Phillips is a goal scorer and a player with heightened offensive capabilities. But when you don’t have the pedigree of a high draft choice, it’s difficult to carve out a big enough role to put up offensive numbers at the NHL level. Phillips was a sixth-round choice (166th overall) of the Flames in the 2016 NHL Draft.
“There are definitely nights when it’s a little more challenging to have an impact on the scoresheet, when you’re getting limited shifts and you want to be responsible while you’re out there,” says Phillips. “But that’s something I’m kind of learning with as a I go. You still have to keep playing your game, regardless of where you are [in the lineup], but whether you’re playing eight minutes or 18 minutes, your defensive details always have to be good.
“And personally, I’ve found throughout my career that when I’m worried about doing the right things within the team system, the offense just tends to come. So I’m not overthinking it and just trying to score a goal or something.”
Phillips’ ice time has ranged from a low of 3:18 (on Oct. 27 vs. Minnesota) to a high of 15:06 (on Oct. 24 vs. Toronto), and his nightly average is 10:25. The Caps’ coaching staff has seen a bit of a “dip” in Phillips’ play since camp, which could be a factor in his vacillating ice times.
“What I would say is I felt like Matty – especially in training camp and to start the year – I thought he was playing as good as any of our forwards,” says Carbery. “That’s how he earned a spot on our opening night roster, and that’s how he earned his way into our lineup, and has continued to earn his way into the lineup.
“I feel like his play has maybe dipped a little bit since that first four or five games. And there are a couple of things you can attribute that to. He started playing top six, and we don’t get out of the gate well from a results standpoint – not that he was a product of that – we just weren’t scoring, we weren’t winning games, and we had to change that mix. So now, he’s in more of a bottom six role, not playing as many minutes. He’s had some games – a few in a row – where he’s playing seven or eight minutes. It’s harder for a guy like him and his skills set to play in those roles and have a real impact.
“I’ve felt like he’s had some good games of late; last game [Saturday vs. Islanders] was a positive step for him. He made a couple really [good plays], not only to set up the one goal, but there were a couple of other plays he made through the game that were really high-end, offensive plays that led to real good sequences for us. And he’ll get an opportunity to play a key role on the power play, potentially tonight.
“We’re trying to get back into a spot where I felt like he was just so impactful at the beginning of the year, shift to shift, and hopefully he can regain that here.”
Phillips believes that he belongs here, and he has learned plenty from his first full, sustained month of live NHL action, an opportunity he has worked for his whole life.
“I’ve just found that you truly can’t take a shift off,” says Phillips. “It’s the best League in the world, and there are no bad players here. Give guys an inch and they’ll take a mile, and you have to be very focused out there.
“But at the same time, I’ve also been feeling more confident and feeling good about my game. I know that I belong here, and it’s been great seeing the game from a different lens and from different roles. Playing a lot of minutes or not many minutes, I think that’s been really good for me. I’m just learning different things within my game that I can help the team with on any given night.”
While Phillips’ dad isn’t here tonight – at least as far as we know – his “billet dad” is here in D.C., all the way from Victoria, B.C., and he is expected to be in attendance tonight.
“My billet dad will be at the game tonight,” Phillips confirms. “He’s pretty fired up.”
In The Nets – Charlie Lindgren starts for the Caps tonight against Vegas. Lindgren backstopped the Caps to victory in New Jersey on Friday in his most recent start, a 24-save effort. Lindgren has won each of his last two starts, stopping 58 of 61 shots (.951 save pct.) in the process.
Lifetime against the Golden Knights, Lindgren is 1-0-1 in three appearances (two starts) with a 2.82 GAA and a .901 save pct.
Former Caps farmhand Logan Thompson get the start for Vegas tonight. Thompson was undrafted during his junior career with the WHL Brandon Wheat Kings, and he was signed to an AHL Hershey contract in May of 2019. Thompson spent the entire 2019-20 season with ECHL South Carolina, putting up excellent numbers and opening the eyes of the Vegas hockey ops group, which signed him to a two-year NHL deal.
Thompson first ascended to the NHL in 2020-21, getting his feet wet in a brief relief appearance. He established himself as an NHL netminder the following season, and has forged a 36-19-6 career mark to go along with three shutouts, a 2.62 GAA and a .916 save pct.
In three career appearances (two starts) against the Capitals, Thompson is a perfect 3-0-0 with a 2.20 GAA and an .897 save pct.
All Lined Up – Here is how we believe the Capitals and Golden Knights might look when they take the ice at Capital One Arena on Tuesday night:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
15-Milano, 17-Strome, 77-Oshie
21-Protas, 24-McMichael, 45-Phillips
47-Malenstyn, 26-Dowd, 96-Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
46-Johansen 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 3-Jensen
27-Alexeyev, 25-McIlrath
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
35-Kuemper
Injured
6-Edmundson (hand)
19-Backstrom (upper body)
39-Mantha (upper body)
42-Fehervary (lower body)
57-van Riemsdyk (lower body)
67-Pacioretty (torn Achilles’ tendon)
Scratches
4-Häman Aktell
29-Lapierre
VEGAS
Forwards
49-Barbashev, 9-Eichel, 81-Marchessault
28-Carrier, 22-Amadio, 61-Stone
43-Cotter, 71-Karlsson, 10-Dorofeyev
46-Rodnbjerg, 21-Howden, 55-Kolesar
Defensemen
23-Martinez, 7-Pietrangelo
3-McNabb, 27-Theodore
17-Hutton, 2-Whitecloud
Goaltenders
33-Hill
36-Thompson
Injured
10-Roy (undisclosed)
14-Hague (lower body)
20-Stephenson (upper body)
90-Lehner (hip)
Scratches
94-Pachal
