Caps, Isles Tangle Again on Thursday
Reeling from injuries and riding a seven-game point streak, Caps head into back half of six-game homestand with rematch vs. Isles
After a enjoying a richly deserved day off on Wednesday, the Capitals will reconvene on Thursday to host the New York Islanders once again at Capital One Arena. The two teams met on Tuesday in the District with the Caps prevailing 3-2 on a Justin Schultz goal with 26.4 seconds remaining in the first of eight meetings between the two teams this season.
Although they're coming into Thursday's game with a seven-game point streak (4-0-3) to start the season, the Caps' lineup for the rematch against the Islanders will be a mystery until Thursday's morning skate at the earliest. The Caps played without five key regulars in Tuesday's game, and they lost the services of centers Nicklas Backstrom and Lars Eller before the game ended.
Backstrom took a puck to the face early in the second period and went right off for repairs. He returned to take a regular shift for the remainder of the second and most of the third, but he left the bench late in the final frame. Eller was hammered into the boards midway through the third period, a hit from New York's Leo Komarov that resulted in a five-minute, all-you-can-eat power play for Washington. Eller slowly got to his feet and went straight down the tunnel.
Schultz's goal was a big lift for a shorthanded Washington club that played into overtime in each of its previous four games. Taking two points while relegating the Isles to Spaulding Smails' status was the outcome the Caps deserved after putting together their best 60 minutes of the season to date against the stingy Isles.
"It was probably our best game in terms of staying in the offensive zone," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "That's the zone that you want to be in. Generating opportunity, shots created - guys had a mindset that they were going to deliver pucks to the net tonight, and some good things happened from it."
"New York is a tough team, and in the very short season that we're in right now, they're one of the top defensive teams in the league and we knew it wasn't going to be easy. But our guys hung in there for three periods and just continued to try and find something in the offensive zone. Eventually we were able to crack them."
Because Wednesday was an off day, there was no update on the conditions and statuses of Washington's two ailing pivots. When Tuesday's game ended, the Caps were down to two healthy centers, Nic Dowd and Mike Sgarbossa. Laviolette had T.J. Oshie playing in the middle in the waning minutes in order to mitigate the absences of Backstrom and Eller.
Despite their nightly lineup conundrum of late, the Caps continue to claim points. They've matched the franchise record for most consecutive games with a point to start the season; the 2011-12 edition roared out to a 7-0-0 start.
"There's been challenges right from the get-go," says Laviolette, "going back to everything being a little bit new for everybody and not having any exhibition games to starting the season missing some players, and some injuries that have happened along the way. So it's been a little more challenging. But with adversity and winning, I think a team can really grow from that and build from that."
The adversity started a week ago when the Caps learned they'd be without the services of forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and netminder Ilya Samsonov for at least four games. All four were placed on the NHL's "Unavailable Due to COVID Protocol" list. None of those players will play on Thursday.
The Caps also lost right wing Tom Wilson to an upper body injury in Sunday's shootout loss to the Sabres. Wilson was said to be a game-time decision for Thursday's game, but he didn't take warm-ups and didn't play. Like Backstrom and Eller, Wilson's status for Thursday is also unknown until Thursday's morning skate at the earliest.
For the Caps, being able to stay afloat in the absence of so many important players is an indication of good depth and structure. They've introduced one or more new players into the lineup in nearly every game this season, and yet they've trailed for a total of just 25:54 in seven games and are the only team in the league that hasn't trailed at any intermission this season. Washington has been even on the scoreboard for a total of 248:20 in seven games, the highest figure in the league by more than 45 minutes, and one that represents 57 percent of all game time thus far.
Nearly 90 percent of the Caps' game time has unfolded with Washington and its opponent either tied or within one goal - plus or minus - of the other, and the Capitals have owned a lead at some point in all seven games.
"I think that's good," says Laviolette of the preponderance of tight hockey. "You've got to play the game the whole 60 minutes, and it keeps you focused. And I think our guys have handled that well. We've been able to put some wins and some points in the column. And I think that that's a positive. Getting blown out is bad habits, and sometimes blowing teams out is bad habits, too.
"For me, we're not near where we need to be. But there you can see from early games, that there's been a stepping-up process; we've gotten a little bit better every time."
Islanders coach Barry Trotz wasn't very pleased with his club in the wake of Tuesday's loss, and he indicated lineup changes would be forthcoming for Thursday.
"We need more from our group," says Trotz. "I warned our group about the play of the Caps. They're galvanizing in terms of rallying around the guys that are out. Obviously with the new people that they have in terms of staff and some players, they're playing a systematic, hard-work, detailed game and they're going the distance on everything. They're playing hard and fast and I give them credit.
"But at the same time, I felt that it was a missed opportunity for us. You've got maybe the greatest goal scorer of all time up in the stands. They had some injuries with Kuznetsov, who is a dynamic player. Backstrom got hit and missed some time. Eller missed a little bit of time it looked like at the end. They were working, they were coming.
"I just felt we had one line tonight, that's all I felt like I had tonight, and that's been a couple of games in a row. We're going to shake it up, we're going to put some new people in and go from there."
