The Mourning After – Hockey is a game and it’s supposed to be fun and exciting, but occasionally we are reminded that the game pales in significance to the life going on all around us at all times. Thursday’s morning skate prior to tonight’s clash between the Capitals and the Senators at Canadian Tire Center was one of those times, a morning of somber reflection in which both coaches took some time to make a statement ahead of their usual post-practice press conferences.
Wednesday night, back home in DC, an incoming American Airlines flight to Reagan National Airport (DCA) collided with a military helicopter, resulting in the loss of dozens of lives and treacherous search and recovery missions for a host of first responders. Caps coach Spencer Carbery took a few moments to discuss this unfathomable tragedy, the deadliest air carrier crash in the US in more than two decades.
“Just before we get started this morning,” begins Carbery, “it’s just a real sad, somber day back home in DC. And on behalf of the organization – players, staff, the entire organization – we just want to express our heartfelt condolences to all the families and people affected by the tragedy back home in DC, the accident. And also thank all the first responders that were on the scene immediately. It’s just a tough day back home, and especially for us as an organization calling DC home. So I just wanted to say, we're thinking about everybody, everyone involved.”
Also last night, Shawn Simpson, a longtime former member of the Caps organization as a player, broadcaster and executive passed away near Ottawa, where he spent more than a decade on the airwaves as a popular sports talk host on local radio. Simpson was the first goaltender drafted in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, chosen by the Capitals in the third round (60th overall).
Simpson didn’t play in the NHL – though he did dress as a backup for the Caps on a couple of occasions – and after injuries halted his brief pro playing career, he went to law school and later was part of the Caps’ television broadcasts as an analyst before embarking upon a scouting career and ascending to an assistant general manager position with Washington; he also worked for the Toronto Maple Leafs and with ex-Caps bench boss Glen Hanlon for Dynamo Minsk of the KHL.
Before his own media press conference, Senators coach Travis Green took a few moments to the loss of the man most of us knew simply as “Simmer,” and to offer condolences to all those affected by Wednesday’s air collision in DC.
“I just wanted to start off by saying a few words,” begins Green. “When I got to the rink this morning, I heard the sad news. And I know a lot of the people in the room probably knew Shawn. I didn’t know him personally, but I don’t think there are any words that really make sense. But I just want to offer my condolences to his family and friends and loved ones. I can’t imagine what they’re going through today.
“And also, condolences to the family and friends of the people today in Washington, that died in the plane crash. Terrible news all the way around this morning, and I think sometimes in our world we forget how precious life is and how lucky we are. And if you’re struggling with mental health issues, please reach out, and there are hopefully a lot of people who will help individuals. And like I said, sad day.”
Life At The End Of The Road – After spending the better part of two weeks out on the road, the Capitals finally return home after tonight’s tilt with the Senators in Ottawa. Four games into the five-game journey, the Caps are 3-1-0, and they’ve outscored the opposition by a combined 10-5. On the season, the Caps are 18-7-1 and tied with Minnesota for the most road victories in the NHL.
Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory in Calgary enabled the Caps to match their total of road wins from last season, when they forged an 18-19-4 record on the road. The Washington franchise record for road wins in a season is 27, established in the Presidents’ Trophy season of 2015-16 when the Caps were 27-10-4 away from the friendly confines of Capital One Arena.
Tonight, the Caps’ focus is on finishing the trip on a high note. In the aftermath of Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over the Flames in Calgary, Washington center P-L Dubois put it best: “It's not over yet. These road trips are tough, especially this time of year. But two points right now and two points in October are the same. We have one more game to make it an extremely good road trip.”
After his heartfelt statement on the state of affairs back in DC, Carbery talked about his message to the team ahead of tonight’s trip finale, the end of a journey that began on Jan. 19 with a long flight to Edmonton, the first of five cities in three time zones the Caps have visited on this journey.
“Finish the job. Finish the job,” repeats Carbery. “We’ve been gone – it feels like Edmonton was a month ago, to be honest with you. Because of the lack of back-to-backs and the spacing between games on the trip, it feels like we’ve been gone a long, long time. So we’re trying to stay in the moment.
“We’ve even talked more about this portion of our schedule, not necessarily with the road trip, but more for before the Four Nations break. And we’ve got five games remaining in these last 11 days, and we’re trying to finish the right way, and then go our separate ways, and everybody gets to take a breather and get away from the game of hockey and rest and recuperate and enjoy that time off for the Four Nations break. So we’re trying to finish this thing off the right way.”
Just over a month ago, as the Caps and the rest of the NHL came out of the League’s annual three-day holiday hiatus, Carbery challenged his team to put its foot on the collective gas for this stretch of 21 games in 44 days between the holiday break and the upcoming Four Nations break. Sixteen games into that stretch, it’s clear they’ve done so.
Since the League reopened for business on Dec. 27, Washington is 11-2-3 and its .781 points percentage is tops in the circuit, as is its stingy average of just 1.75 goals against per game over that stretch.
This stands in stark contrast to the way the Caps performed a year ago at the same time, in between the NHL’s holiday break and the All-Star break of the 2023-24 season. During that patch of schedule last season, the Caps went 5-9-2, falling all the way from seventh to 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings in the process.
In The Nets – Charlie Lindgren will be in net for the Caps tonight, taking a second crack at notching his 50th win in a Washington sweater. A week ago tonight in Seattle, Lindgren made his first start in 13 days, after a short stint on injured reserve. He blanked the Kraken on 22 shots in a 3-0 victory. Two nights later in Vancouver, Lindgren stopped 23 of 25 shots against the Canucks but was a hard-luck loser in a 2-1 setback.
In his last three starts, Lindgren has stopped 54 of 56 shots (.964 save pct.) in 141 minutes and 21 seconds between the pipes (0.85 GAA). Lifetime against Ottawa, Lindgren is 0-0-1 in a single appearance, with a 2.97 GAA and an .857 save pct.
For Ottawa, we are expecting to see Anton Forsberg in the crease tonight. He has seen action in four of the Sens’ last five games, starting three of them. In the three starts, he has yielded exactly one goal against in each, while posting a 2-1-0 record.
Lifetime against Washington, Forsberg is 5-2-0 in eight appearances (seven starts) with a 3.25 GAA and an .889 save pct.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we believe the Capitals and Senators might look on Thursday night in Ottawa:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 17-Strome, 43-Wilson
21-Protas, 80-Dubois, 24-McMichael
16-Raddysh, 20-Eller, 53-Frank
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 88-Mangiapane
Defensemen
38-Sandin, 74-Carlson
42-Fehervary, 3-Roy
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Extras
13-Vrana
27-Alexeyev
52-McIlrath
Out/Injured
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (hip)
77-Oshie (back)
OTTAWA
Forwards
7-Tkachuk, 18-Stützle, 28-Giroux
57-Perron, 9-Norris, 19-Batherson
71-Greig, 12-Pinto, 22-Amadio
15-Highmore, 38-Ostapchuk, 81-Gaudette
Defensemen
85-Sanderson, 2-Zub
72-Chabot, 23-Hamonic
43-Kleven, 33-Matinpalo
Goaltenders
31-Forsberg
1-Merilainen
Extras
None
Out/Injured
3-Jensen (undisclosed)
21-Cousins (upper body)
24-Bernard-Docker (lower body)
35-Ullmark (upper body)
51-Reinhardt (upper body)
73-Gregor (lower body)