Caps Start Long NY Weekend on Saturday vs. Isles
With their mentors/dads along for the ride, Caps embark upon final multi-game trip of '22-23
The Caps head north to the New York metropolitan region for a long weekend trip of two games, their final multi-game journey of the 2022-23 season. They'll face the Islanders in Belmont on Saturday night before finishing the trip with a Tuesday night tilt against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Washington's travel party will expand for this journey; the annual Mentors' Trip is this weekend, back after a two-season absence because of the pandemic.
With 16 games remaining and a five-point game to make up in the chase for the final wild card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, the Caps have run themselves low on wiggle room and they need to start stacking up wins if they are to make a serious late season surge for what would be a ninth straight Stanley Cup playoff berth. Although goaltender Darcy Kuemper has given the Caps a chance to win each of their last two games, the Caps have managed to claim just one of the four points available to them in those two games.
The three points they left on the table in those two games against elite opponents - in Los Angeles and at home against New Jersey - would have put the Caps within a pair of points of eighth place Pittsburgh in the chase for the final playoff berth. Washington entered the third period of each of those games in a 2-2 deadlock, largely thanks to Kuemper shaking off a high volume of shots at his net. He has faced 40 or more shots in each of his last three starts, this after facing 40 or more shots just three times in his first 42 starts of 2022-23.
Kuemper is one of the League's most poorly supported goaltenders in terms of offensive support. With an average of 2.71 goals per game with which to work, he ranks 25th among the 33 netminders with at least 30 starts this season. In games in which the Caps score three or more goals, Kuemper is 16-1-2.
Essentially, the Caps need to spend more time attacking and forechecking, and less time defending. But that's easier said than done, too, given the fact that a quarter of the roster has turned over in the last two weeks, and only one of the team's six opening night defensemen -Trevor van Riemsdyk - has been in the lineup in Washington's last three games.
"It's in our end because it's on their stick and they're pushing," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "L.A. and New Jersey are both fast teams that have got forwards who can fly and possess the puck in the offensive zone. And so we found ourselves defending probably a little bit more than we want to."
Slow starts have also plagued the Caps in each of their last three games. Washington rallied back from a 2-0 first-period deficit to wallop the Sharks by an 8-3 count in San Jose on Saturday, but the numbers from the last two games in Los Angeles and against New Jersey have been grim. The Caps were out-attempted 53-27 at 5-on-5 in Los Angeles and were out-attempted 54-38 on Thursday against the Devils.
Even more illuminating are the high danger chances in those games. The Kings outdid the Caps by a lopsided 19-4 margin in that regard, and the Devils held a 15-5 advantage in high danger opportunities at 5-on-5, showing just how much heavy lifting Kuemper has done in at least giving the Caps a chance to compete in those contests.
With five important players headed out of D.C. in the last two weeks, and a handful of new faces now populating the locker room at MedStar Capitals Iceplex and Capital One Arena, the Caps are still in the process of integrating their new teammates both on and off the ice, and it is showing on the ice during games.
"That's it, 100 percent," says Caps winger Tom Wilson. "For a couple of guys, it feels like they've been with us forever but this week is their first time ever at MedStar, so there is still a little bit of getting acquainted going on. And we've played in a lot of games, but there wasn't much time with the puck on my stick in L.A.; it was a game of up and down the ice and chasing, and a trenchy type of game."
A full team practice at MedStar on Wednesday made things look a little better on the ice against New Jersey, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
"Having that practice, guys were able to feel the puck, move the puck, make plays, and feel each other out a little bit more," says Wilson. "Practice with a new group is huge, just to get a little bit of chemistry and stuff. In games, you don't spend as much time with the puck, so it felt good to get a good skate in, and guys were up and down the ice going hard. Hopefully that helps us build for this weekend."
The Islanders are in seventh place, seven points ahead of Washington and two ahead of the Penguins. The Caps hold a game in hand on New York, and they have three games remaining against the Islanders, including Saturday's game. The Caps host the Isles in D.C. on March 29 and again on April 10.
New York is 6-1-1 in its last eight games, and it has allowed only 13 goals against in those eight contests. The Caps won the only previous meeting between the two teams this season, taking a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory over the Isles here in New York on Jan. 16, in the midst of one of the Islanders' worst runs of the season. The Isles were in the throes of a 1-7-3 stretch that ran from Jan. 5-25. They've rolled to an 11-3-3 mark since.
