Caps Host Flyers on Tuesday
Caps face Philly on Tuesday in what is expected to be Anthony Mantha's debut with the Caps, a day after he was acquired from Detroit
The Capitals had a six-game homestand in late March, but home dates have been scarce since. Washington is in the midst of a rugged patch of scheduling in which it plays 11 of 14 games on the road in a span of just 26 days. But after returning home from a successful weekend road trip to Buffalo and Boston, respectively, the Caps are set to start a two-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tuesday's game against Philly and Thursday's contest against Buffalo represent the Caps' first consecutive home dates since a six-game homestand from March 16-28.
Additionally, Tuesday's game is expected to mark the debut of Anthony Mantha in a Capitals uniform. On Monday afternoon, the Caps dealt Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, their first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and their second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to Detroit for Mantha, a 6-foot-5, 234-pound left wing.
"We have really liked Anthony for quite a while now," says Caps general manager Brian MacLellan. "I like a lot of the attributes: the size, the skill, the shot, the scoring ability. He is a really good skater for his size. It's a player that we've liked and talked about a lot in our room, and we had a chance to acquire him, so we went out and got him."
Washington dealt Vrana - a player with consecutive 20-goal seasons and on pace for another in terms of 82-game season pace - for another former first-round pick, and a player with similar production, but with a different style. Vrana has breakaway speed while Mantha relies more on in-zone and net front presence. Both players have lethal shots. Although he has a big body, Mantha doesn't throw his weight around like Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson tend to do.
"The physicality he brings is strength on the puck," says MacLellan of Mantha. "He is a long player, he uses a long stick, he has a good shot. I think the size factor more translates to skill more than physically running over people. I think he has that in him. He is a big, strong guy that plays a big game and can play a big game. He uses his size and strength and length to his advantage. I think it's an effective style on the ice."
Washington also dealt a fifth-round pick in 2021 - originally obtained from Vegas in the Chandler Stephenson deal in 2019 - to Philadelphia for winger Michael Raffl, who is not expected to suit up and face his former Flyers teammates on Tuesday night.
Caps 365 | April 12
Playing seven games in 11 nights - and only one of them at home - to start the month of April, the Caps went 4-3-0 over that stretch. They finished off that grueling span with an 8-1 stomping of the Bruins in Boston on Sunday night, taking advantage of an injury-depleted Bruins team that was playing for the fifth time in seven nights.
"I think it'll be good to be back home," says Caps center Nic Dowd, who netted his eighth goal of the season in Sunday's win in Boston. "There is obviously a sense of comfort when you get back there.
"I think tonight was good because I think we finally played a consistent 60 minutes of hockey. We had a good start, we had a good middle and a good finish. With all of the times we have had one or the other and it has led to wins, but it leaves you wanting more at the end of the game. In this game we had a lot of guys step up and do different things, and I think everyone played their "A" game tonight."
Three players - T.J. Oshie, Lars Eller and Conor Sheary - scored two goals each, and Washington scored three times on the power play, with Oshie, Sheary and Tom Wilson scoring the extra-man tallies. Washington's power play now ranks fourth in the NHL with a 25.5% efficiency rate.
"I feel like it was just one of those nights where we were clicking," says Sheary of the power play. "People were in their right spots, our breakouts were good, our entries were good. Our recoveries were really good, and then when we got chances to score, we executed. You don't get it like that every night, but when you do you've got to take advantage. Hopefully that's some momentum for us moving forward."
Following this two-game homestand, the Caps head back out on the road for four straight games. But once that road swing is over, the Caps will finally be able to host fans at Capital One Arena - beginning with an April 27 home date against the New York Islanders - and they'll finish out the 2020-21 schedule by playing six of their final eight contests on home ice.
Philadelphia had a mixed weekend, defeating the Bruins 3-2 on Saturday afternoon before falling to Buffalo by a 5-3 count on Sunday. The loss to the Sabres leaves Philly four points behind Boston for the final playoff berth in the East Division with 15 games remaining for the Flyers, and with the Bruins holding two games in hand. The Flyers aren't dead in the water, but they don't have any games remaining against the Bruins.
With the Flyers' playoff hopes fading, Philly sold off impending unrestricted free agent Raffl - who had played all 504 of his career contests with the Flyers - and well-traveled defenseman Erik Gustafsson, whose stay in Philly was short and unmemorable. Gustafsson went to Montreal for a seventh-round pick after a 24-game stint on the Philly blueline this season.
Philadelphia also signed forward Scott Laughton to a five-year contract extension on Monday.
