SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes from Caps' Morning Skate 11/30
Caps look to match November mark, Kuznetsov returns, second periods have been a strength, more
Washington enters Friday's game with a 9-4-1 record for the month, and it will be seeking its first 10-win November since 2010-11 when it went 10-2-2 in the season's second month. The only other 10-win November in franchise history was achieved with a 10-3-1 mark back in 1985-86.
Two-Man Advantage | November 30
Back In The Saddle Again -Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov returns to the Washington lineup tonight after a six-game absence because of an upper body injury. The six games he missed with this injury are one more than he had missed in his previous four-plus seasons in the NHL combined. Kuznetsov missed two games as a healthy scratch in his rookie season of 2014-15, and he missed three games in mid-March of this year because of an upper body injury.
When he left the lineup in the first period of Washington's Nov. 14 game against the Jets in Winnipeg, Kuznetsov was the Caps' leading scorer with 21 points (six goals, 15 assists). He returns as Washington's fourth-leading scorer, behind Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom (28 points each) and John Carlson (26).
"He is a special player," says Caps coach Todd Reirden of Kuznetsov. "[We're] just so fortunate to have him back, and the energy he brings, the speed allows us to slot our lines a little differently. He is one of the elite players in the league when he is playing the way he can play, and we were fortunate to see a lot of that early in the year. I'm just happy he is back, 100 percent healthy, and good to go tonight."
Rinkside Update | Lars Eller
Seconds Of Pleasure - Second periods have been a strong point for the Caps this season, right from opening night. Washington scored four goals in the middle period of its 7-0 spanking of the Boston Bruins on Oct. 3, and the Caps have kept up the good work from that night forward.
Washington outscored the opposition by a combined total of 16-11 in the second period of its 10 October games, and the Caps are up 20-13 over their foes in the middle period of 14 November games to date. During the life of their current six-game winning streak, the Caps have outscored opponents by a total of 9-5 in the middle stanza.
"One of the strengths of our game is the quick transition plays," says Caps center Lars Eller, "and all of our [defensemen] are good at making long stretch passes. And when you can make long stretch passes over a zone or a zone and a half, now you're moving the puck quick and it makes it hard for the opposition to defend. So I think that's one of the things that goes into it."
In 22 of its 24 games thus far this season, the Caps have scored at least one goal in the middle period. One of the two exceptions occurred in their previous meeting with the Devils on Oct. 11, a 6-0 New Jersey win in which Washington obviously didn't light the lamp in any of the three periods.
Todd Reirden | November 30
On The Fly - Generally speaking, you can expect to see roughly a face-off per minute at most NHL games. By night's end, the total face-offs in a game are usually within a handful of 60. But recently, the Caps have been playing some quick games featuring long spells of play between whistles, relatively few face-offs and, at night's end, shorter game times.
Only two of the Caps' last eight games have featured more than 60 face-offs. Washington's Nov. 19 game against the Canadiens in Montreal is the heaviest of the bunch in terms of draws; there were 74 of them that night, and it took 2 hours and 52 minutes to get that game played.
At the other end of the extreme was the Caps' Saturday matinee against the Rangers in New York. That game had just 42 face-offs, with just nine of those coming in the third period, and three of those final-frame draws coming after goals. The Rangers game took 35 fewer minutes to play, too; game time came in at 2 hours and 17 minutes.
It's unusual for sure, and you wonder whether the faster pace is as appealing to players and coaches as it is to those watching as fans.
"It has been a little bit different that way," says Reirden. "It's something where I talk a lot behind the bench when the play is going on - to the players so they know well in advance when it's their turn to go or not go. And then different things maybe where we're making adjustments on the fly, like 'Okay, from now on we've got to start going up this side of the ice; this is an area where we can have success.'
"So you don't necessarily need a [stoppage] for that. It makes it easier, for certain. But it was a challenge last game [vs. the Islanders] when we lost [Devante] Smith-Pelly, to be able to piece together lines and make sure everyone is getting involved. I think it benefits us. We want to play fast; we don't want to have a slow game. I think that's when we've played our best, in the second period this year, and some of that is on a little bit of a focus on playing quicker then."
As Reirden alluded to, Monday night's game with the Islanders was similar in that respect, too. There were only 43 face-offs in the game, and game time was a crisp 2 hours and 20 minutes.
"From a player's perspective, I like personally when there are not so many breaks all of the time," says Eller. "You just get into a good rhythm and a good flow. I think in particular the Islanders game, the refs could have called two or three penalties during that span. Some refs might have, but that game they chose not to, and so that kept the flow going even more. I remember one period we have two [television timeouts] during the last three minutes of the period, so that was a bit unusual."
In The Nets -Holtby gets the net for Washington on Friday against the Devils, and he's coming in on a roll. Holtby has earned wins in four straight appearances, and he has permitted two or fewer goals in six of his last seven outings. Over that span, he is 5-2-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .956 save pct.
Since returning to the net after an absence of about 10 days because of an upper body injury, Holtby has reeled off four straight wins while stopping 122 of 126 shots (.968 save pct.). He had been playing well before the injury, but has bounced back even stronger.
"I was feeling pretty good before I had that setback," says Holtby. "Afterwards, I felt comfortable getting back into it. Obviously, that's not always the case, but sometimes a rest like that can help. Even just watching you can find things or areas where you can improve, and you can find more comfort in the game that way. And it also helps that we've really started playing some good hockey, and that usually shows in a goaltender's success."
Lifetime against New Jersey, Holtby is 15-3-3 with four shutouts, a 1.98 GAA and a .925 save pct. in 21 career appearances.
Keith Kinkaid gets the Friday night start for the Devils. Now in his sixth season with the Devils and his fourth season as a full-time NHLer, Kinkaid has seen his workload increase each season. He played in a career high 41 games last year and is certain to shatter that mark in 2018-19 if he remains healthy. Kinkaid came into the league as Cory Schneider's back-up, but Schneider's struggles coupled with Kinkaid's strong play these last two seasons has resulted in a role reversal - Kinkaid is the starter now and Schneider has been relegated to the role of a highly paid ($6 million annually for three more seasons beyond the current one) understudy.
Three of Kinkaid's nine wins this season have come via the shutout route, and the first of those came at Washington's expense, a 6-0 Devils win in New Jersey on Oct. 11. Coming into Friday's game, Kinkaid's 2.72 GAA and .912 save pct. on the season mirror both numbers for his career.
Lifetime against the Capitals, Kinkaid is 3-3-0 with the aforementioned shutout, a 3.24 GAA and an .882 save pct. in six games.
All Lined Up -Here is how we believe the Capitals and the Devils will look when they meet on Friday in the District for the opener of Washington's two-game homestand:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson
13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 10-Connolly
65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 25-Smith-Pelly
18-Stephenson, 26-Dowd, 23-Jaskin
Defensemen
6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
29-Djoos, 22-Bowey
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
1-Copley
Injuries
44-Orpik (lower body)
77-Oshie (upper body)
92-Kuznetsov (upper body)
Scratches
34-Siegenthaler
72-Boyd
NEW JERSEY
Forwards
9-Hall, 13-Hischier, 63-Bratt
90-Johansson, 37-Zacha, 21-Palmieri
20-Coleman, 19-Zajac, 23-Noesen
11-Boyle, 41-McLeod, 44-Wood
Defensemen
6-Green, 28-Severson
74-Yakovlov, 45-Vatanen
8-Butcher, 12-Lovejoy
Goaltenders
1-Kinkaid
35-Schneider
Injuries
16-Santini (broken jaw)
49-Anderson (broken ankle)
Scratches
18-Stafford
25-Mueller
43-Seney
