Caps Finish Road Run in Winnipeg
Washington concludes a three-game road stretch on Friday against the Jets
Washington finishes up a three-game road swing on Friday night in Winnipeg, the Caps' first visit to Manitoba's capital city since Feb 27, 2020. The Capitals are seeking their first win in Winnipeg since they carved out a 3-2 victory there on Nov. 11, 2016, when they stunned the Jets on a Jay Beagle goal with 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Caps' three-game tour began last Saturday in Buffalo when they came back from a 2-1 third-period deficit to claim a 3-2 shootout victory. After a day off on Sunday and a couple of practice days at home, the Caps flew to Chicago for a Wednesday night date with the Blackhawks. The original itinerary had them staying in the Windy City just one night - Tuesday night - and flying to Winnipeg immediately after the game against the Hawks.
But late on Tuesday, the Caps pivoted and decided to stay over in Chicago and fly north on Thursday afternoon, canceling a scheduled practice in Winnipeg the day before their game with the Jets. And then in the immediate wake of their 5-4 overtime loss in Chicago, the Caps again changed their itinerary, opting to fly to Winnipeg on Friday morning, the same day of the game.
Instead of one night in Chicago and three nights in Winnipeg on this portion of the journey, the Caps will end up spending three nights in Chicago and one in Winnipeg. Prior to the pandemic, sudden shifts in the itinerary such as these were extremely rare, aside from occasionally canceling practices to give players some rest. But that hasn't been the case in calendar 2021.
"I think we're pretty adaptable," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "There is a lot of work that goes into it, and we're the pawns; we just move where we're told to move. But guys like [director of team services] Rob Tillotson do an unbelievable job. He's on everything. He's ahead of it before it happens. [Vice president of communications] Sergey [Kocharov] with the media, just people that are behind the scenes coordinating, and then we just kind of follow the direction.
Peter Laviolette | December 16
"Obviously there's input, but at the end of the day, when you go and say something, it affects a dozen people. The equipment people; we're here today [practicing in Chicago]. Did we miss anything? No, the equipment people do an unbelievable job, [and so do] the trainers. It is what it is. We're adjustable, but there's a lot of work that goes on behind it from the staff and the support staff to make sure that things get off without any issues."
Aside from a 34-second span in the middle of the second period of Wednesday's game when Chicago suddenly erupted for three quick goals - two of them on the power play - on successive shots, Washington played well enough to win on Wednesday. But down 3-1 in the final minute of the second, the Caps got a pair of huge goals to even the game at 3-3.
In the final minute of the second, Daniel Sprong combined with Lars Eller on the forecheck, and Sprong rolled out from behind the net, whirled and fired a dart of a shot that beat Hawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, a former teammate of Sprong's in Pittsburgh. That goal - with 41.3 seconds remaining in the second - enabled the Caps to go into the third period down a single goal instead of two.
"I came around the net, I had time, and I had a bit of space to jump in," recounts Sprong. "I saw that [Fleury] was already off his post, moving more to the right side instead of staying there. I know the puck hasn't been going in for me, but I know I can score from those angles and put it where I want it to be. I took my shot, and it went right in the corner where I wanted it, but he was off his angle a little bit. It was good to see it go in, especially for me right now where the puck hasn't been going in."
Eller tied it in the third, scoring his third goal in as many games. Including an assist on Sprong's goal, he now has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his last 11 games.
"It always feels good to get on the board," says Eller. "I've got to try to get better as the season goes on, try to shoot more, take a little bit of a shooting mentality and getting my legs moving. And also my linemates are making some really nice plays to me. It's all about the chemistry with the guys on the ice, and I'm fortunate to have good people around me."
The Caps were dominant at 5-on-5 - to the tune of a 55-36 advantage in shot attempts - on Wednesday, but still found themselves far on the wrong side of the penalty pendulum. Washington was whistled for six minor penalties in the game to only three for Chicago, and all three Hawks infractions came in the offensive zone.
In their previous five games, the Caps had faced a combined total of five penalty killing situations. Prior to Wednesday's game against the Hawks, Washington had gone 86 straight regular season games without facing as many as six penalty killing missions in a single game. The last time it happened was days before the start of the pandemic, on March 5, 2020 in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Rangers in New York. Blueshirts center Mika Zibanejad scored five goals for the Rangers that night, two of them on the power play.
The Jets have been somewhat streaky this season, and they've been on a downward slide for the last month. Since a 5-2 home ice victory over Edmonton on Nov. 15 pushed their record to 9-3-3 on the season, the Jets are 4-7-2.
Friday's game with Washington is the middle match of a three-game homestand that started with a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
