Caps Conclude Trip in L.A.
Caps seek third straight win on Monday night when they face Kings in Los Angeles
With a modest two-game winning streak and three victories in their last four games, the Capitals conclude a four-game road trip on Monday night in Los Angeles against the Kings.
In Saturday afternoon's 8-3 victory over the Sharks in San Jose, the Caps introduced three new defensemen into their lineup in the same game, doing so for just the fourth time in franchise history and the first time ever, aside from opening night contests. All three found their way onto the scoresheet, the first time in franchise history that three players making their debut with the team in the same game collected at least a point, again excluding season-opening games.
Rasmus Sandin, the 22-year-old blueliner obtained from Toronto in a trade for Erik Gustafsson, had three assists - including one on the power play - in his debut in a Caps' sweater. Gabriel Carlsson, a former Columbus first-rounder who was recalled from AHL Hershey on Friday, recorded the first multi-point game of his 76-game NHL career with a pair of helpers against San Jose. And Vincent Iorio made his NHL debut a memorable one when he assisted on one of two Alex Ovechkin goals in the third period, the first point of the 20-year-old defenseman's NHL career.
And a week after he debuted with the Caps after coming to the District in a deal with Boston, veteran winger Craig Smith scored his first two goals with the team, including the game-winner in Saturday's victory.
"Especially the back end there, having those three guys jumping into the lineup and then to contribute offensively," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "After the first period, it wasn't that we weren't good defensively, we just weren't good. We were too slow, and just not fast enough. But we got going and from there, I thought that the guys jumping in played really well."
After scuffling their way through the first period and falling down by two goals in Saturday's game, the Caps erupted for four goals in the second and four more in the third, the first time they scored four or more goals in consecutive periods since Jan. 11, 2003 against Florida. Saturday's win in San Jose was Washington's fifth comeback victory from a multi-goal deficit this season.
"The rest of the team helped us out very well, and the coaching staff tried to go through the systems with us," says Sandin. "But it's still a little bit of an adjustment and it's going to come a little bit with time, I think. But it was a lot of fun to play with those guys out there today."
Four of Washington's six defensemen picked up a point - including Matt Irwin notching his first goal of the season against his former employers - and nine of the Caps' dozen forwards also picked up a point in the game. Sandin became the first defenseman and the seventh player in franchise history to notch three or more points in his Caps' debut, and the first since Mikhail Grabovski had four points (three goals, one assist) in an Oct. 1, 2013 game in Chicago.
Along with Sandin and Grabovski, the others to achieve that feat are: Garnet "Ace" Bailey (2/11/75), Milan Novy (10/6/82), Geoff Courtnall (10/7/88), Joé Juneau (3/22/94), and Kip Miller (10/11/02).
The victory came in Washington's first game after the NHL's Friday trade deadline and a week in which five of the Caps' former teammates were traded away. Washington also lost two of its top defensemen - Nick Jensen and Martin Fehervary - to injury in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Ducks in Anaheim. Those injuries prompted the recalls of Carlsson and Iorio.
"I haven't been here for very long right now, but it just seems like such a tight group," says Sandin. "I'm just super excited to be a part of it. I've been here four or five days, and everyone has welcomed me in very well. It just shows what a team this is. It's a lot of fun to be here."
Ovechkin also added to his list of achievements on Saturday, victimizing Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen for the first time. Kahkonen became the 168th different goaltender Ovechkin has scored against in his NHL career. With the two goals, Ovechkin now has 815 for his NHL career, and he has passed the legendary Stan Mikita (1,467 points) for sole possession of 16th place on the League's all-time scoring list.
In notching his first career point on an Ovechkin goal, Iorio became the sixth player on that unique list. Defenseman Lawrence Nycholat was the first, on Dec. 26, 2006, midway through Ovechkin's sophomore season in the League. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth (3/18/12) was next, followed by Evgeny Kuznetsov (3/14/14), Travis Boyd (3/18/18) and Jonas Siegenthaler (12/14/18).
Saturday's strong performance earned the Caps a full day off in Los Angeles on Sunday. The Caps will reconvene for a Monday morning skate at Crypto.com Arena in preparation for Monday's game against the Kings.
Los Angeles is looking to run the table on a three-game homestand, and the Kings have collected at least a point in 13 of their last 16 games (11-3-2), climbing into a tie with Vegas for the top spot in the Pacific Division standings, heading into Sunday's slate of NHL activity. The Kings have also won five straight games on home ice, where they are 19-9-2 this season.
Last season, the Kings returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a three-year absence. They're seeking to stack up consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since piecing together a five-year run from 2010-14, a stretch that included Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.
