It Hits You Again – Two and a half weeks ago in Washington, the Caps and Canucks hooked up in a tight 2-1 overtime affair. Caps center P-L Dubois scored in the final minute of the first period, and Vancouver’s Conor Garland scored on a power play in the final minute of the second. Dubois won it for Washington when he scored his second goal of the game in the final minute of overtime.
Tonight in Vancouver, the Caps and Canucks conclude their season’s series, and following Saturday’s morning skate, both coaches referenced that tightly contested tilt in the District less than three weeks ago.
“It’s been nice that we are fresh off playing them in our building,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “A highly, highly competitive game if you remember, physical, not a lot of real estate with and without the puck. I think we can draw on that experience, having it as fresh as it is in our minds, of how tight that game was – 1-1, goes right to the end, and not a lot of room out there.
“So we know what we’re going to get. I don’t think or anticipate that a team like Vancouver and the year they had last year, the way they’re coached, the character of their group, we know it’s going to be a hard-fought game tonight, without a doubt.”
The Caps have had a slew of such contests of late. In each of Washington’s last eight games, the Caps and their opponent have combined for five or fewer goals.
“We played them a week or two ago, a really good hockey game,” says Canucks coach Rick Tocchet. “We’re looking for that type of game against them [tonight]. I thought it was a hard-fought game; it was a little bit of a playoff style game. I think we needed that. They’re a really big team, structured.
“One thing I like about that team – and it was almost like us last year – they don’t get antsy. They could be down 1-0 or the game could be 0-0 halfway through the game, and they don’t get nervous. You can tell that this year, they’ve got a lot of, ‘We’re the Capitals, and we’re going to play our style, it doesn’t matter what the other team does.’ You’ve got to respect that about that team.”
Paddle Forward – Despite remarkable results (9-0-3 in their last dozen games, and a six-game winning streak) of late, some of Washington’s recent play has had a “smoke and mirrors” feel to it. Goaltending, special teams and defense have fueled many of the team’s recent victories while the Caps’ forward group seeks a return to its early season production rates.
While Thursday’s 3-0 win in Seattle – achieved via a late empty-net goal from Alex Ovechkin – wasn’t a one-sided rout, it did feature some of Washington’s best offensive zone work of late. The Caps had and possessed the puck in the attacking zone more than in recent games, and they generated enough good looks to score five or six goals.
Thursday’s game was just the second time in the last 10 games that Washington was able to crack the 30-shot plateau, and they’ve been held to fewer than 20 shots in five of their last 15 games. Some of their offensive opportunities in that game came from diligent defense.
“I think our forwards did a real good job of extending plays, and tracking, and that’s a big one, too,” says Caps defenseman John Carlson. “We’re getting better again at hanging on to pucks and working extra hard and wearing them down. But also, if the puck does squirt out a rebound or a turnover, whatever it is, guys are flying back. And you saw a lot of the turnovers created that way, and I think a lot of the good offense comes off of that. Guys are staying on top of things, working hard and earning those chances.”
From Ovechkin’s overtime game-winning goal in Ottawa on Jan. 16 – the only goal in a 1-0 Washington win – to Ethen Frank’s late second-period goal in Seattle on Thursday, the Caps scored eight goals in seven periods, and all eight had one thing in common: either P-L Dubois, Tom Wilson and/or Aliaksei Protas had a hand in scoring all eight of them.
No team can subsist for very long on the exploits of a single line, and in Thursday’s victory, all four lines were present and noticeable in the offensive zone for the Caps.
“I think we've had a lot of close games where it's been one or two lines doing most of the heavy lift,” says Caps forward Connor McMichael. “We thought last game was one of those games where you noticed that all lines were dominant, all lines were controlling the play, and creating chances. And I think every single line could have had a couple goals at least.
“That's just what we want to get back to, like the first 20 or so games [of the season] where all four lines were scoring every game, and we were all on the top of our games. And just finding that consistency again, and it'll make us a really hard team to play against.”
“There’s no question we want to build off the momentum that we created in Seattle, one of our best games – probably over the last calendar month, at least, especially with the puck,” says Carbery. “I thought we were much better with the puck, holding on to it, making sure that we were making good decisions when we had it, to not threaten – because you’ve got to attack, and we want to be aggressive, and we want to threaten the interior of the rink – but then you’ve got to get it back again.
“And that's where we were doing a real good job. And when we don't have it, we’ve got to get it back as quickly as we can. And then when we get it, we want to prioritize attacking but also maintaining that possession. So it's good decisions, it's being heavy on pucks. And all four lines felt like we were going in the right direction in Seattle, and now it's on us to continue that momentum and build off that, as opposed to taking a step back.”
Frankie Machine – Fifteen nights ago, Ethen Frank made his NHL debut for the Caps in a Jan. 10 home game against Montreal. In the third period of that game, he used his speed to nullify a certain icing call, then made a play from behind the net to set up Lars Eller for the game-tying goal. Frank’s first NHL point helped the Caps pick up a standings point in a 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal.
A night later in Nashville, Frank pulled a Matt Roy stretch pass off the wall in the offensive zone, achieved separation on Preds’ defenseman Brady Skjei, and scored his first NHL goal – the game-winner that night – against the Preds’ Juuse Saros. Frank scored again against Anaheim three nights later, becoming one of just six players in franchise history to record a point in each of his first three NHL games.
Two nights ago in Seattle, Frank scored another big goal when he stripped Seattle’s Kaapo Kakko of the puck in the defensive zone, then used his speed to create a breakaway and scoring a huge goal late in the second period, a goal that allowed Washington to carry a 2-0 lead into the third, rather than 1-0.
“I was low forward, so that was my responsibility,” recounts Frank. “And I tried to be physical on him, and he ended up climbing up the wall. I just tried to stay on him and cause some ruckus and some chaos with him trying to stickhandle the puck. And once it got poked free, I just took off and tried to get a quick shot on net, and got my own rebound.”
Seven games into his NHL career, Frank has maximized his opportunity and his ice time. He has three goals and four points on seven shots on net, while averaging just 9:57 in ice time per night. Frank is also a plus-4, and he has been credited with five hits and four blocked shots.
“I'm just getting more comfortable each day,” he says. “Everybody's helping me out, giving me little tips and pointers on things to do. And I've been working on some good touches on the ice, so it's been a lot of fun, and the long road trip is great. It helps me get a little closer with the guys and understand how things work around here. And I just feel more comfortable as it goes on.”
In a small sample size, Frank and linemates Eller and Taylor Raddysh have also driven play. In his seven games with Washington, the Caps are controlling 55.3 percent of all shot attempts with him on the ice, and they’re outscoring the opposition 5-1 in those seven contests.
“This is why he's continuing to play in the lineup every night,” begins Carbery, “and has done a really good job for us, and pushed us into a difficult decision of, he's got to play. He needs to play more. You’ve got to give him so much credit as a call up player, your opportunity which you walk into is usually pretty sparse, right? And it's on the player to be able to have eight, nine, maybe 10 minutes. And then, can you just chip away with positive plays, positive plays, positive plays?
“It's not going to go from 10 to 16 minutes in one night. But if you consistently do that over five games, eight games, nine games, 10 games, and then chip in a little bit. ‘Wow, what a play made there,’ has a pop. Now, all of a sudden, he is earning trust from the coaching staff. He's earning trust from his teammates, and he's playing every night. And so when you do that consistently, that's the hardest thing for a call up and a player that is trying to break into the NHL to do is that consistency component. And he's doing a fantastic job, and he's just going to continue to earn more opportunity, continue to stay in the lineup if he stays with the things that he's been doing.”
In The Nets – Coming off a 22-save shutout on Thursday night in Seattle, Charlie Lindgren gets the net for Washington once again tonight in Vancouver. Lindgren’s appearance against the Kraken was his first in 13 nights – following a short stint on IR with an upper body injury – and he showed no signs of rust. He recorded his first shutout of the season and his 11th victory of the season.
Tonight in Vancouver, Lindgren takes aim on his 50th win as a member of the Capitals (49-35-12). Lifetime against the Canucks, he is 1-0-0 in a single appearance, with a 1.00 GAA and a .954 save pct.
For the Canucks, Kevin Lankinen gets the net tonight. Lankinen comes in at 16-8-6 on the season. He started and lost the aforementioned game in Washington on Jan. 8, but has started just twice since, and his start tonight breaks up a string of four straight starts from Thatcher Demko. Lankinen was reached for six goals on 33 shots in his most recent start (Jan. 14 in Winnipeg) and he has picked up two wins in his last nine appearances (2-4-3).
Lifetime against Washington, Lankinen is 1-0-1 in two appearances (both starts) with a 1.94 GAA and a .920 save pct.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we believe the Capitals and Canucks might look on Saturday night in Vancouver:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
24-MicMichael, 17-Strome, 8-Ovechkin
21-Protas, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
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
79-Lindgren
48-Thompson
Extras
13-Vrana
27-Alexeyev
52-McIlrath
Out/Injured
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (hip)
77-Oshie (back)
VANCOUVER
Forwards
20-Heinen, 9-Miller, 6-Boeser
21-Hoglander, 40-E. Pettersson, 94-Karlsson
74-DeBrusk, 24-Suter, 8-Garland
34-Di Giuseppe, 53-Blueger, 63-Sasson
Defensemen
43-Hughes, 17-Hronek
27-Forbort, 73-Desharnais
25-E. Pettersson, 7-Soucy
Goaltenders
32-Lankinen
35-Demko
Extras
51-Friedman
Out/Injured
44-Sherwood (undisclosed)
47-Juulsen (undisclosed)
57-Myers (NHL suspension)
81-Joshua (lower body)