Caps Open Western Canada Trip in Edmonton
Washington takes to the road for the next week, starting a four-game tour through western Canada with a Wednesday date in Edmonton's new barn.
By
Mike Vogel
WashingtonCaps.com
The first half of the Capitals' 2016-17 season schedule is liberally littered with one-game road trips, two of which the team has already taken to Pittsburgh and South Florida. On Tuesday, the Caps depart for one of their longest journeys of the year, and easily their longest between now and March. Washington opens up a four-game road swing through western Canada on Wednesday night when it pays its first ever visit to Rogers Place, the new home of the Edmonton Oilers.
One of Washington's many impressive achievements during the 2015-16 regular season was getting through the entire 82-game slate without suffering back-to-back regulation losses at any point, the first NHL team to achieve that feat since the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. In Edmonton on Wednesday, the Caps will attempt to follow up Saturday's loss to the New York Rangers - Washington's first regulation setback of 2016-17 - with a victory over the Oilers, the best team in the league some two weeks into the campaign.
The Capitals suffered 18 regulation losses last season, and most of the games following those losses (11 of them) were played at home. The Caps went 6-0-1 on last season in road games immediately following on the heels of a regulation loss.
Washington enjoyed Sunday off in the wake of Saturday night's loss, but the Capitals have been hard at work since, practicing hard and long for the last two days before Tuesday afternoon's departure for Edmonton.
"We want to pick up our intensity for our group, and they want it," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "So we're going to do it. We feel that the simple areas of being able to battle through stuff and be able to get down the ice. We want to stay fast and lean. We'll continue to do that. That's an emphasis by the staff and the leadership group. Let's build something. It's a slow process, but we'll hopefully build something."
Five games into the season, the Caps are satisfied with their 3-1-1 record, but they also realize they let Saturday's game against the Rangers get away from them. The Capitals jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead against the Blueshirts, but surrendered three goals in the second period en route to a 4-2 loss. The Caps have scuffled in the second periods of games this season, getting outscored by a combined 6-2 in the middle frame.
Washington owns a combined 11-3 advantage over its opponents this season in the first and third periods.
"I think we are just working hard together," says Washington forward Marcus Johansson. "It shows in the starts of our games. We're ready to play and as soon as the game starts we get going and we're not waiting for any power plays or things like that. Everybody wants to play. I think it's just the second period so far that hasn't been really good. I think we have - for some reason - not played as well in the second as we have in the first and the third. But that's something we need to get a little better at here."
Heading out on the road for their first - and one of their few - long trips this season, the Caps hope to iron a few of the kinks out of their game. They'll have to start with the league's hottest team and the hottest of its many bright young stars, Connor McDavid.
Last October, the Caps played their last game at Rexall Place and their first - and thus far only - game against McDavid. Then a rookie playing in his eighth NHL game, McDavid notched a goal and an assist against the Capitals and goaltender Philipp Grubauer, but Washington prevailed 7-4. The Caps' own kids came through that night; Evgeny Kuznetsov had a hat trick and five points and Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist.
Burakovsky was McDavid's junior teammate and linemate for the OHL Erie Otters in 2013-14. The two played against one another on their respective national teams before landing in Erie together.
"I kind of watched him play before I came over," recalls Burakovsky. "We played a couple times against each other on the national team. But yeah, from the beginning he did just incredible things on the ice and in practice and you just enjoyed watching him play. And obviously it was a lot of fun to play with him. We had a really good chemistry going on together and we scored a lot of goals together."
McDavid suffered a broken collarbone shortly after the Caps left town last year, and he missed the second and final meeting between the two teams, a 1-0 squeaker at Verizon Center in November, a game in which Braden Holtby's netminding earned the win for Washington.
Limited to 45 games last season, McDavid still totaled an impressive 16 goals and 48 points. This season, he has piled up four goals and nine points in Edmonton's first six games.
"Just the things he is doing are incredible," exudes Burakovsky. "Even when he was so young, he had no fear. He just did what he wanted to do with the puck. He wasn't afraid to make a mistake or anything. He believed in himself every time and just trusted himself and what he could do."
Edmonton won its first two games of the season, a home and home set with bitter rival Calgary, scoring a dozen goals while yielding seven in those two tilts. The Oilers then dropped a 6-2 home ice decision to the depleted Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16, the lone blemish on their 2016-17 ledger.
Since then, the Oilers have reeled off three straight wins while allowing a grand total of three goals. They ran their winning streak to three with an impressive 3-0 whitewashing of Winnipeg in the Heritage Classic on Sunday. Edmonton has pieced together those three consecutive victories without benefit of a power-play goal, but they did get a shorthanded goal from fourth-line center Mark Letestu - his second shorthanded strike of the season - in Sunday's victory over the Jets.
The Oilers' swift start may be an indication that the team is finally poised to take a step up to the next level and contend for a playoff berth in the Pacific Division and Western Conference. Off-season maneuvering has left the Oilers with a much more formidable roster, particularly on the blueline where the team has struggled for the better part of the last decade.
"They've got skill on the three lines; actually on all four lines they've got some skill," says Trotz of the Oilers. "But they have one player who is a heavy, sort of physical type of player on each line. That's good on their part. They've got some elite skill guys, and you've got to have a mix. You can't be one-dimensional. I think they've got pretty good balance there. They're playing really good, and they're the top team in the league right now."
The Next Five - The Capitals move into the back half of their first 10 games of the season on Wednesday night in Edmonton when they take on the Oilers, beginning a four-game western Canada road trip and playing at Rogers Place for the first time.
While four of the Caps' first five foes this season were 100-point teams from last season, each of the next five are teams that missed the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2015-16. A couple of those teams are on the upswing through the first couple weeks of '16-17.
That list starts with the Oilers, who come into Wednesday's game with a three-game winning streak and a 5-1 record on the season. Long road trips are rare for the Caps this season, and the key as always, is to get it off to a good start.
"It's kind of like the start of the season," says Caps right wing Justin Williams. "You want your season to start well, you want your road record to start well. You don't want to start the season on the wrong foot in any facet, really. I think we've kind of done that. Our special teams haven't been to our standard, but as far as road trips are concerned, you want to get off to a good start."
With a pair of one-game trips already behind them and a slew of one-gamers stretched out ahead, this trip is one of the few lengthy journeys the Caps head out on this season.
"I think it will be good for us, really good for us," says Caps coach Barry Trotz of his team's long early season journey. "I think last year we got our game going when we went out to Canada on this trip. It doesn't mean that we're going to get it going this year at all, but it started on the road trip.
"I don't mind it at all. I think it's good for the team and good for the group. You're on the road and you're in a more hostile environment. The road wins are harder to get. That's why you don't see too many teams that have a real positive road record in the league. It will be exciting to go into Edmonton. They've got some great talent. They're leading the league right now. Our first two games [are against teams with] a combined record of 9-2-1. That says it all right there."
After Edmonton, the Caps move on to Vancouver and Calgary before finishing the trip on Tuesday night in Winnipeg. The Jets will follow the Caps back to D.C. where they will tangle again next Thursday in the back end of a home-and-home set, and the Caps' 10th game of the season.
O, Canada -Tonight's game in Edmonton is the first of 17 games against Canadian clubs in 2016-17. Last season, the Caps cleaned up on the seven Canadian teams, none of which made the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Washington rolled up a 14-1-2 record against Canadian opponents last season, outscoring those teams by a combined 60-34 in those 17 contests. The Caps were 6-0-1 in Canadian road games last season, outscoring north-of-the-border opponents by a combined 28-16 in those seven games.
Follow The Loss -Last season, the Caps became the first NHL team since the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens to get through an entire regular season without suffering consecutive regulation losses at any point. The Caps finished the season with 18 regulation losses, and they forged a 15-0-2 record in games immediately following the first 17 of those losses. The last one came in the final game of the '15-16 season.
Only five of those 17 follow-up games were played on the road, and the Caps went 4-0-1 in those contests, outscoring the opposition by a combined total of 17-10.
The Caps come into Wednesday's game with the Oilers on the heels of a 4-2 home ice loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
"We're trying to make sure that any time you lose a game, the next game is the most important game you play," says Trotz.
As good as the Caps were in that regard last season, are they still in a similar mindset in the wake of regulation losses in 2016-17?
"I hope so," says Trotz. "Every year is a new journey and a new challenge, so we'll see where that is. But it's something we've tried to instill in our group, that any time you lose a game, let's nip it in the bud if we can."
"I think so," says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen. "You go through even just a short bad stretch where you lose a couple of games and life at the rink isn't fun. It's a lot more fun when everyone is putting in good work and good execution, and we find wins and you're learning lessons along the way while you're winning.
"So I think that's the approach that we're going to take, to have that same competitive nature that we had last season while also paying attention to how we're going to have to play at the end of the year, to just keep getting better and better."
New Barn - Rogers Place is a new jewel in downtown Edmonton, and from the number of cranes and deep holes near the Oilers' new arena, it appears as though the new arena will spur some growth in the immediate vicinity.
The Caps played in a new NHL building in Brooklyn for the first time last season, they'll play their first game at Rogers Place tonight, and they'll be playing in new buildings in Detroit and Las Vegas last season. They also had the opportunity to play in an NHL-caliber facility in Kansas City during the preseason.
Progress is terrific, but it does not come without expense. Rexall Place had its unique charms, and some will miss it while others will not.
"I liked The Rexall," laments Calgary native and Caps center Jay Beagle, mentioning Edmonton's old arena. "I know it wasn't good for the fans and the media just because it was an old rink, but it had so much history and stuff. I've always liked the older rinks. It will be cool to see it and play in [Rogers Place], but for me, an ice sheet is an ice sheet."
"The old one was obviously cool, with all the history in it and all the banners there," notes Caps defenseman Brooks Orpik. "But it was probably time for a new one. Talking to people who've played there already - some of the Calgary guys - they said it's a super nice arena. There's always a good atmosphere there. I'm sure it will be even better now."
"Yeah, it's something fresh and something new," says Williams of the new building. "From what I hear, it's invigorated the city a little bit. It will be a fun place to play because I believe Rexall Place was a little dated."
"There's a lot of history there and it's cool with those old rinks, too," says Caps forward Marcus Johansson. "But at some point, I think everybody has to get new places and change it up a little bit. It's always fun to see new rinks as well, new locker rooms and everything. It's pretty sweet. I think they've done a great job there, so it will be fun to see."
All Lined Up - Here's how we expect the Capitals to lineup for their first ever game at Rogers Place on Wednesday night, and a guess at how the Oilers might look as well:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 65-Burakovsky
90-Johansson, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
82-Sanford, 20-Eller, 14-Williams
26-Winnik, 83-Beagle, 43-Wilson
Defensemen
9-Orlov, 74-Carlson
27-Alzner, 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik, 88-Schmidt
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
31-Grubauer
Scratches
4-Chorney
10-Connolly
EDMONTON
Forwards
27-Lucic, 97-McDavid, 14-Eberle
67-Pouliot, 93-Nugent-Hopkins, 44-Kassian
19-Maroon, 29-Draisaitl, 98-Puljujarvi
51-Lander, 55-Letestu, 15-Pitlick
Defensemen
77-Klefbom, 6-Larsson
2-Sekera, 4-Russell
25-Nurse, 62-Gryba
Goaltenders
33-Talbot
50-Gustavsson
Scratches
42-Slepyshev
83-Benning
