Further On Up The Road – Almost a week into their nine-day road journey out west, the Caps finally enjoyed a day off under the sunny skies of Vancouver on Friday, and now they’re set to get back to work tonight against the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Washington played three games in four nights at the outset of the trip, and it now has two games remaining – including tonight’s tilt in Vancouver – before returning home on Tuesday. The Caps open a four-game homestand on Wednesday against Toronto.
The Caps faced the Canucks at home last month, playing well enough to win in that Feb. 11 contest at Capital One Arena, but settling for a 3-2 overtime loss in a game in which they never trailed.
“Going back through, I thought it was a really highly competitive hockey game, especially for both teams on a back-to-back afternoon game,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “I thought we did a lot of really good things, and they caused us some issues in some areas with their forecheck pressure, and some things they do in the offensive zone, especially with that top line or with multiple lines, with [Elias] Pettersson, [J.T.] Miller and [Quinn] Hughes moving around a little bit, which caused some issues.
“But overall, I thought we did a pretty solid job. You can tell when you watch them that it’s a very clear identity to what they want to do, from a forecheck pressure to a skating standpoint, and quick ups through the neutral zone. And then a lot of what they do in the offensive zone, you can see it’s really clear through the film, and you feel that way on the bench about what they’re trying to do.”
Tonight’s game is the third this week against a Western Conference opponent with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations this spring, and the Caps fell in each of the first two such games in Winnipeg and Edmonton, failing to grab a lead at any point in both games, and spending the night chasing the game.
When the Caps encountered Vancouver back home last month, they scored early in the game and were able to play from in front for some of the contest, and element that also aided their Thursday night win over the Kraken in Seattle.
“Honestly, it’s so hard to play from behind,” says Caps’ center Nic Dowd. “When you have the lead – when any team has the lead – it causes the other team to have to take more chances, it causes their defensemen to have to pinch more, and it puts a little more pressure on everybody on the bench, and on the ice. That’s just psychology, and it’s every team that you play.
“We have a veteran group in here, so there’s been times where we have dug ourselves holes and have dug ourselves out of it. That’s because we have older guys who understand that if you go down 2-0 or 3-0 in the first period, or even if you go down one goal, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played.
“But you notice it. A [trailing] team plays more instinctual; defensemen are allowed to pick and choose when they want to pinch, and so I think it just puts a little bit more pressure on the other team.”
The Grand Tour – Two nights after he netted career goal No. 301 on the power play in Seattle, Caps’ right wing T.J. Oshie is on the verge of turning the odometer over to quadruple digits. Thursday’s game in his native state of Washington was game No. 999 of Oshie’s NHL career, so his next one makes him the 390th player in League history to play in 1,000 or more games.
Oshie’s grand game could happen as soon as tonight in Vancouver against the Canucks, but there was a complication at Saturday’s morning skate at Rogers Arena. Oshie left the ice early, and his presence in tonight’s lineup will now be a game time decision.
“He will be a game time decision tonight with an upper body injury,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery.”
Oshie has willed himself to play in more than a few of his 999 games to this point, so don’t bet against him doing so one more time tonight. Where there is a way, Oshie has the will.
Bring It On Home – Carbery was born and raised in nearby Victoria, B.C., and he is back in his homeland for the first time as an NHL head coach.
“It does feel a little bit different coming off the plane,” says Carbery. “This is home. I can just feel it in the air, and when you’re riding on the bus to the hotel in downtown Vancouver, I’ve spent a lot of time in this area. I went to my first NHL game at the old Pacific Coliseum – Canucks and Montreal Canadiens – and I have fond memories of that.
“This is home for me, where I grew up and where I learned to play the game, and learned to love the game. So always coming back here and seeing family and friends and just the whole area, it feels nice to be home.”
Asked about some of his favorite Canucks, Carbery rattled off a few names, including a couple whose sweaters now hang in the rafters of Rogers Arena, and he started by referencing the Canucks’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994.
“That [1994] run there, I would have been probably 13 or 12,” he recalls. “This is going to sound crazy; obviously the Trevor Lindens of the world, Pavel Bure. Gino Odjick was a fan favorite who I loved watching.
“There’s some great all-time teams and great Canucks through the years. And then the whole thing about British Columbia is the whole province is [for the] Canucks. It doesn’t matter if you live in Victoria, Vancouver or Prince George, it’s Canucks through and through in the province.”
In The Nets – Lindgren gets the start tonight for Washington, his 11th starting assignment in the team’s last 13 games. In his six March starts, Lindgren is 4-2-0 with a shutout, a 1.85 GAA and a .937 save pct. Most recently, he notched his 16th win of the season on Thursday night in Seattle, a 23-save effort that earned him a second star of the game designation that evening.
Tonight, Lindgren will be making his first career appearance against the Canucks.
For Vancouver, Casey DeSmith gets the net tonight. Number one netminder Thatcher Demko was lost to injury a week ago in a game against Winnipeg, and DeSmith is likely to see the lion’s share of the netminding chores in Demko’s absence.
On the season, DeSmith is 8-4-6 with a shutout, a 2.91 GAA and an .899 save pct. in 20 appearances. Lifetime against the Capitals, he is 4-1-1 with a 2.43 GAA and a .914 save pct. in six appearances, all starts.
All Lined Up – Here’s how the Caps and the Canucks might look on Saturday night in Vancouver:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 24-McMichael, 77-Oshie or 96-Aubé-Kubel
63-Miroshnichenko, 17-Strome, 43-Wilson
67-Pacioretty, 29-Lapierre, 15-Milano
47-Malenstyn, 26-Dowd, 21-Protas
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 3-Jensen
27-Alexeyev, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
35-Kuemper
Injured/Out
19-Backstrom (lower body)
Scratches
23-Sgarbossa
25-Bear
96-Aubé-Kubel
VANCOUVER
Forwards
21-Hoglander, 40-Pettersson, 24-Suter
65-Mikheyev, 9-Miller, 6-Boeser
92-Podkolzin, 23-Lindholm, 8-Garland
34-Di Giuseppe, 53-Blueger, 18-Lafferty
Defensemen
43-Hughes, 17-Hronek
82-Cole, 91-Zadorov
7-Soucy, 57-Myers
Goaltenders
29-DeSmith
31-Silovs
Injured/Out
5-Poolman (head)
35-Demko (undisclosed)
81-Joshua (hand)
Scratches
47-Juulsen
51-Friedman
88-Aman
