Caps Take on Leafs in Toronto
Seeking a second straight win for first time in over a month, Caps face one of the beasts of the East
Washington takes to the road for its last two games of January, starting with a Sunday afternoon visit to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. Sunday's game is the finale of the season's series between the Caps and the Leafs, and it's the rubber match of the set as well; each team has won once in the prior two meetings this season.
Coming off an uplifting 3-2 shootout victory over archrival Pittsburgh on Thursday, the Caps will be seeking to string together consecutive victories for the first time in more than a month. Washington's two-game trip to Toronto and Columbus are its last two games ahead of the NHL's All-Star weekend and the Caps' bye week, which follows.
Following Tuesday night's tilt in Columbus on Tuesday, the Caps will be off until a mid-afternoon practice session on Feb. 9. The idea is to keep the foot on the gas pedal for the Caps in these next two games. Although they've played fairly good hockey overall of late, they're sporting a 5-6-1 mark this month, a far cry from December's 11-2-2.
"I think the thing about the last couple of weeks is that we've been playing really hard," says Caps defenseman Nick Jensen. "The whole team is putting a lot of effort forward. There's just some little details that can push us over the edge. I think some of these goals that we're giving up to other teams are just a little too much, or too easy. So we've just got to make sure that we're playing a solid game, and we don't give up easy goals, easy 2-on-1's and easy chances like that. We've got to make it hard for them to score, like teams are doing to us. L
"It's been hard for us to score. We're putting up 30-40 shots a lot of these games and we're not we're not putting up as many goals as we think we should. And then on the flip side, I think it's what we always talk about; it's making hard on goalies, getting in front of them, maybe getting close to them, making them uncomfortable. making them sink back into their crease, getting screens, or things like that. That can throw goalies off and help us get some pucks in the back of the net. I think the effort has been there. We've just got to do those little details that push it over the edge, and I think we'll start winning some games."
Washington has scored two goals in each of its last three games (1-2-0) and in seven of its last 10 (4-6-0), but it has eclipsed 30 shots on net in seven of those 10 contests.
"We talked about that this morning," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette, "just trying to get closer to that paint, doing something a little bit more, getting a little bit tighter, getting a little bit better positioning, maybe working a little bit harder to find a lane to deliver the puck. A little bit more traffic, a little bit more second effort once the shot is delivered.
"It's a fine line. I don't feel like we're doing much different from December to January, but the goals have been a little tougher to come by this month, and I don't think the game has changed that much. So what can we do around that area to be a little bit better."
The Caps will be without one of Toronto's favorite sons for this trip, right wing Tom Wilson won't join his teammates on this two-game journey to Toronto and then Columbus. Wilson suffered a lower body injury midway through the second period of Tuesday's game with the Avalanche in Denver. After blocking a shot from Colorado's Brad Hunt, Wilson left the game and did not return. He didn't play on Thursday in the 3-2 shootout win over Pittsburgh at Capital One Arena, either.
"He won't be available before the break here, and I think we'll just assess everything when we get back from the break," says Laviolette of Wilson.
Asked about the status of Nic Dowd, who has been missing from the lineup since suffering a lower body injury against the Islanders in New York on Jan. 16, Laviolette offered a similar update.
"He won't be with us before the break, and then we'll assess him just like we will assess probably the other players when we come back after the break," says Laviolette.
Forwards Connor Brown (knee) and Carl Hagelin (hip) are both out for the long haul and may not play this season. Defenseman John Carlson has been missing with an upper body injury for more than a month now, and although he stepped onto the MedStar Capitals IcePlex sheet on his own before Friday's optional practice, we aren't expecting to see Carlson in uniform for quite some time to come yet, either.
"It's great," says Laviolette of Carlson's Friday twirl. "As you know, it's off in the distance still, a little bit for him. But he's back and he looks good, he looks like himself. And to get him out on the ice is a real positive too, I'm sure for him as well. I'm glad to see him around the rink more."
The Leafs are sporting a gaudy 19-4-4 home ice record this season, but they are coming into Sunday's game on the heels of a rare home ice loss, a 5-2 setback at the hands of the Ottawa Senators on Friday night.
Sunday's game with Washington is the fourth game of a five-game homestand for the Leafs, who will host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday in the finale of that homestand, Toronto's longest of the season. The Leafs are 2-1-0 on the homestand; they defeated the Islanders and the Rangers (in overtime) before the loss to the Senators.
Toronto will be playing without star center Auston Matthews on Sunday. Matthews suffered a sprained knee and is expected to be sidelined beyond the Leafs' bye week.
