Caps Close Out 2021 in Detroit
Caps conclude 2021 portion of the '21-22 schedule on Friday against the Red Wings
The Caps conclude the calendar 2021 portion of their 2021-22 season's slate on Friday night in Detroit when they take on the Red Wings at Little Caesar's Arena.
Following a lengthened 10-day holiday break which included the postponement of three games, the Caps got back into action on Wednesday night against Nashville at Capital One Arena. With four of their top-six forward group returning to the lineup against the Predators, the Caps forged a 5-3 victory over the Preds.
Evgeny Kuznetsov - who came off COVID-19 protocol after an absence of three games - broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period with his second shorthanded goal of the season
Thirty-two games into the '21-22 schedule, Wednesday's game was the first this season in which Washington has had each of its top four centers in the lineup and the first in which it has had its entire first unit power play group in the lineup. Despite missing anywhere from a couple to a handful of players virtually every night, the Caps have managed to forge the third best record in the NHL, from a points percentage (.703) standpoint.
"We're sort of getting bodies back, players back," says Washington winger Conor Sheary. "And being able to be back on the ice and get a big win at home, we were just all happy to be back at the rink and back together, and hopefully getting through this COVID thing together and not having to deal with it too much longer."
Most of the absences - whether for injury or for COVID - to date came from the forward ranks, from which only Hagelin and Alex Ovechkin have suited up for every game. The Caps had the luxury of dressing the same six defensemen for each of the first 20 games of the season, and they were able to dress at least five of those top six for each of the first 31 games.
That luck ran dry over the last 10 days when blueliners Dennis Cholowski, Martin Fehervary, Nick Jensen and Justin Schultz all landed on the COVID protocol list, leaving the Caps with three holes to fill for Wednesday's game against Nashville.
Veteran defenseman Matt Irwin didn't suit up for the first time this season until Dec. 4, but he has now been pressed into service in six of the Caps' last eight games. Irwin stepped into the lineup, and the Caps recalled blueliners Alex Alexeyev and Michal Kempny from AHL Hershey. The Caps have been running a frequent shuttle of forwards between Hershey and Washington since late October, but this was the first time they needed to dip into their defensive depth.
The trio of Alexeyev, Irwin and Kempny proved capable of the task.
"You get the three defensemen in there that haven't played in a little bit," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "Matty I, even though he's been here he hasn't played in a little bit. And Alexeyev's first [NHL] game and then Kempny jumping back into the lineup. These guys played good. We were really good defensively, we let up single digits in [scoring] chances against - low, half a dozen or less.
"So we did a really good job and those guys were a big part of it. Just realizing where we're at and understanding that we're going to need to use everybody to get by, and guys have done a really good job."
Last season, the Capitals deployed 32 different players (21 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders) to get through a 56-game regular season schedule. Thus far in 2021-22, they've needed 34 players (21 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goaltenders) to get through the first 32 games of an 82-game schedule.
None of Washington's absent defensemen made the trip with the team to the Motor City, so expect to see the Caps with a similar lineup on Friday night against the Wings.
"I don't think it's too much of a challenge," says Sheary. "You've just got to be ready for the unexpected in a certain sense. With the times that we're living in, there's a lot of unknown - whether the game is going to be canceled and whether we're going to be missing players. You just have to approach it with the same mindset; it doesn't matter who is on the ice with you, who you're playing with or who is in the lineup altogether, it's just a collective group playing together and sticking together, and a next man up mentality. I think we've really done a good job of that so far this year."
Detroit was slated to resume play after the pause with a Wednesday night game against the Islanders in New York, but that contest was postponed. When they host the Capitals on Friday to open up a three-game homestand, the Wings will be playing for the first time since Dec. 18 when they downed the Devils 5-2 in Detroit.
Sitting in fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings, the Wings would be in a playoff position if the season ended today. After a run of 25 straight playoff appearances - a spree that included four Stanley Cup championships - the Red Wings are now aiming to end a five-season playoff drought.
This far this season, the Wings have excelled on home ice with a record of 11-3-2 at Little Caesar's Arena. Washington handed the Wings one of those losses on its previous trip to town this season, on Nov. 11. Making his NHL debut, Caps goalie Zach Fucale blanked the Wings on 21 shots here that night, 2-0.
