Caps Visit Isles' New Home
Washington opens a weekend set of back-to-back matinee matches with its first visit to UBS Arena on Saturday
Washington opens up a set of back-to-back matinee matches this weekend when it makes its first ever visit to the Islanders' new home - the UBS Arena - on Saturday afternoon. The Caps will return home immediately after, and they'll host Bruce Boudreau's Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon in the District.
The Caps played three games in four nights last weekend, playing on the road on Friday and Saturday and returning home to face the Bruins on Monday. Boston handed the Caps a 7-3 thumping, scoring six straight goals after Washington had forged a 2-0 lead in the first period. Washington has been off since Monday, so it has had to marinate with that loss over the course of three practice days and an off day since.
"It's good to have a game right away and to try to get back on that winning track," says Caps defenseman Justin Schultz. "But also at the same time, it's good to get some good practices in, and have the guys rest up. We probably have a lot of hockey coming up, since we've been away from it a little bit, but we'll be ready to go."
Washington was originally scheduled to play its first game at UBS Arena on Dec. 23, but that game - and a game in Philadelphia two nights earlier - were both postponed, and both are likely to be made up during a two-week stretch next month that had been set aside for the Olympic break. Since NHL players aren't going to be participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics and because of dozens of postponements around the NHL, that February stretch will be used to play those previously postponed contests.
In the meantime, the Caps and other teams are dealing with the repercussions of some rather jagged scheduling. This is the second straight week in which Washington had four days between games before heading into a stretch of three games in four nights. With four postponements in the past 25 days, the Caps will have some make-up games on their horizon as well.
"Too much time off I don't think is good," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "There's nothing you can do about it; all teams are dealing with something and different things. And like I said [Thursday], you're throwing in injuries, COVID-related protocol, non-COVID related protocol - guys being sick - and there has just been a lot of stops and breaks, and it just doesn't seem like we're busy right now.
"It'll change. Eight games in 14 days is busy. Two this weekend, and every other day after that. So it gets busy. It is what it is, we do our best to stay with it in practice, and that's all we can do."
Prior to that Boston game, the Caps had been inching themselves toward full health. But in the hours leading up to Monday's game with the Bruins, two of Washington's best defensive players - defenseman Dmitry Orlov and left wing Carl Hagelin - both landed in COVID-19 protocol, causing both players to miss their first games of the season. Only John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin have played in each of Washington's first 37 games of the season to date.
"We're crossing our fingers that we're getting closer to a full lineup," says Caps forward Conor Sheary. "We're getting used to each other and hopefully this will be put behind us and we can start creating chemistry and work towards that playoff run. I think this is a big time of year; these points are all important, especially against division opponents. We've got to make sure we're ready to go."
Saturday's divisional match-up with the Islanders is the first meeting between the two Metropolitan Division opponents this season, and Washington has faced each of the other Metro teams at least once in its first 37 games. The Caps are 6-2-1 against divisional foes this season, but they've lost each of their last two (0-1-1).
The Caps are lugging a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) into Saturday's game. They've yielded an uncharacteristic total of 18 goals against in those four games, and a dozen of them were scored at 5-on-5.
"These are big games," says Schultz. "You've got to win these. If you win your divisional games, you'll be in a good spot at the end of the year. It's a big game for us, and we're all excited."
The Islanders are dealing with scheduling woes of their own. They've played three games in the last 26 days - winning all three - and they've had eight games postponed over the same time frame. Most recently, they came off a 12-day break to take a 3-2 win over the Devils on Thursday night at UBS Arena. The Isles have a home-and-home set of back-to-backs coming up with Philadelphia on Monday and Tuesday.
New York started the season with 13 straight road games while the finishing touches were being added to their new home. The Isles got off to a solid enough 5-2-2 start to the season, but they hit the skids hard thereafter. Beginning with a loss to the Wild in Minnesota on Nov. 7, the Isles dropped 11 in a row (0-8-3), losing the first eight of those games in regulation. They've gone 6-2-1 since.
Despite opening the season with that massive patch of road scheduling, the Isles still face another lengthy road stretch later in the season. They're looking at an eight-game road run from April 1-17.
