Caps Conclude Homestand vs. Avs
Washington faces its first Western Conference foe in more than 19 months
The Caps conclude their season-opening three-game homestand on Tuesday night when they host the Colorado Avalanche at Capital One Arena. The game is Washington's first against a Western Conference opponent since March 1, 2020 when the Caps earned a 4-3 win over the Wild in Minnesota in the finale of a two-game trip.
Washington showed well in the first two games of the homestand, downing the Rangers by a 5-1 count on opening night before taking a 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of the Lightning on Saturday night. In the very early going thus far, the Caps have been stingy defensively, they've gotten excellent goaltending, and they've played mostly disciplined hockey.
And with Saturday's game against the Lightning and Tuesday's against the Avs, they've finally broken out of the bubble of seven teams they faced exclusively last season.
"It's really interesting to see different players and see different colors," says Caps center Nic Dowd. "It gives you a little bit to think about because last year we played the same guys so much. From my perspective from our line, we knew who we were getting every game because we had gotten them like eight times. So it was like, 'Okay like these are some tendencies, and this is what they want to do.' But yeah, it takes a second to get used to.
"Playing all four lines, you're looking at some guys you've never played against. But they're doing the same thing, It's going to make for good hockey because guys are going to make mistakes, and we haven't played them and they're learning new systems. And they play a little different than the other teams that we played last year, and obviously we'll see different goaltending, too."
Only two of Washington's six goals to date have been scored at even strength. Caps captain Alex Ovechkin has accounted for half of those goals himself, scoring once on the power play, once shorthanded, and once at 5-on-5. Ovechkin also assisted on a pair of power-play goals, so he has had a hand in five of the team's six goals.
Few conclusions can be drawn from any two-game sample, and there's always a tendency to read more into early season results because those are the only results we have. For the Capitals, the idea is to keep displaying the traits and tendencies they've shown in the early going - especially the discipline and the diligence in the defensive zone - until they can build a level of consistency that typically leads to good results, game in and game out.
Peter Laviolette | October 18
Last season, once the Caps latched onto Laviolette's system and they developed that sustained consistency on the ice, they reeled off a 15-2-1 run over a span of 18 midseason games.
"Coach always says he wants to see us on the forecheck," says Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov. "He doesn't want to see us turn pucks over and he doesn't want us to be sloppy in our details. Those are the things that you have to do to build that consistency. If we are going to execute all those details - you know, the shots on goal, no penalties early in the game - that's when we can get into the flow, and I think all of that is important. But the number one thing is to probably stay disciplined for us."
Washington's discipline may have helped it to earn a point on Saturday. A league-wide crackdown on cross-checking has led to an uptick in preseason and early season power plays, and the Caps are plus-2 in early season cross-checking calls, taking one and drawing three.
Facing a Tampa Bay team that is burgeoning with talented and prolific power play performers, the Caps took only one trip to the penalty box on the night while drawing four man-advantage opportunities of their own on Saturday. A cross-checking call on Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in overtime gave the Caps a 4-on-3 power play chance in the extra session, but Washington wasn't able to cash in, and Steven Stamkos won it for the visitors in the final ticks of OT.
Defensively, the Caps have limited the opposition to one goal at 5-on-5 in the two games they've played this season, and the tweaks they've made to their game in the defensive zone have led to less time in their zone, and some efficient and resourceful zone exits in the early going.
"We're right into it," says Dowd. "We've got some elite players that we're playing against and some really good lineups that our team has got to play against. But I think [our play so far] has been a tribute to our goaltending. Vitek has played really, really well; he's made really big-time saves that potentially should have been goals.
"But we've changed up a couple of things in the [defensive] zone that allow us not to get so spaced out and allows guys to help each other. You know you're going to get beat sometimes; you're playing against other NHL players. Mistakes are going to be made and bad bounces are going to happen. But we've shifted away from a little bit of what we were doing last year into something new, and I think it's helping us be in the right area if something bad does happen."
Colorado has been plagued by some COVID woes early in the season. Superstar center Nathan MacKinnon tested positive last week and won't make the trip to Washington; he may join the club later on the trip. Defenseman Jack Johnson missed Saturday's game against St. Louis because of a positive test, and coach Jared Bednar missed the season opener because of COVID protocol.
To compound those COVID woes, the Avs are also dealing with a spate of early injuries. Winger Valeri Nichushkin suffered a lower body injury in the season opener against Chicago, and journeyman winger Stefan Matteau left Saturday's game against St. Louis before his ice time total reached four minutes. In his debut in a Colorado sweater, Matteau also went down with a lower body injury. Neither player is expected to travel to D.C.
The Avs were already without defenseman Devon Toews, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery. Toews is traveling with the team and could return later in the three-game trip, which opens in D.C. on Tuesday before a southerly diversion to face the two Florida teams.
Finally, Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog won't play in Washington, either. Landeskog picked up a two-game NHL suspension for boarding Chicago's Kirby Dach on opening night, and he will serve the final game of that sentence on Tuesday in the District.
Colorado opened the season with two home games, defeating the Blackhawks by a 4-2 count on Wednesday before falling 5-3 to the Blues three nights later.
