ARLINGTON, Va. -- About 35 minutes into practice Thursday, Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery cut short a drill and called the players over for a conversation.
Actually, Carbery did most of the talking and it wasn’t with his usual positivity. It focused mostly on the lack of energy and execution for much of the practice prior to that.
“Just frustrated with some of the things that I saw,” Carbery said.
Although Carbery said the timing was unrelated to the importance of the Capitals’ game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NHLN, NBCSP, TVAS), there was an urgency in his message.
Washington (27-22-9) trails Philadelphia (31-22-7) by six points for third place in the Metropolitan Division and has played two fewer games. So the Capitals have an opportunity to make up ground, but also a small margin for error with 24 games remaining and the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline looming March 8.
“It’s a good wake-up call,” Washington forward Anthony Mantha said. “Obviously, we didn't play well last game and then we get a day off and we come back and kind of have sloppy passes, sloppy plays. It's just a good reset.”
The Capitals are 4-1-1 in their past six games, but an 8-3 loss at the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday provided a reminder of what can happen when they stray from the details in their play.
Another performance like that could be a lethal blow to their chances of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and push general manager Brian MacLellan toward being a seller before the trade deadline to acquire pieces for the future.
"Massive. Massive,” Mantha said of the importance of the game Friday. “Everyone knows it. We're going to be ready. Obviously, Philly is playing some good hockey, too, and they're playing fast. So we need to be sharp mentally, physically, the execution needs to be on point and everyone in here knows that.”
Mantha is among the players Washington could trade before the deadline. The 29-year-old, who has had a rebound season with 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) in 54 games, is in the final season of a four-year contract and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
“Obviously, you just never know, but I try to go day by day and do my best, play for this team,” Mantha said. “That's who I'm playing for right now, and I'm focused on winning games here, being a good teammate and that's all I can do.”
Defenseman Joel Edmundson and forwards Max Pacioretty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel each is also a potential unrestricted free agent and could be traded. Forward Nic Dowd and goalie Charlie Lindgren, who each has a season remaining on his contract, also have been mentioned as possible trade targets.
Lindgren said he’s not thinking about anything beyond the game Friday.
“I'm just so present-focused on just the mission at hand,” he said. “Of course, we know where we’re at in the standings as a team, but it’s a next-game mindset. You can't really think about anything on the outside world because this league is too good. You've got to be all in.”
That was part of Carbery’s message as well.
“I think guys are pretty aware of the circumstances and the significance of tomorrow night’s game,” he said. “I don’t think you can build it up too much, not at this level.”
Though Washington might get some help with defenseman Nick Jensen (lower body) and forward Sonny Milano (illness) likely to return after each missed the past two games, Carbery was unsure if forward Tom Wilson would be available after he missed practice Thursday for personal reasons. Dowd (upper body) and defenseman Martin Fehervary (lower body) skated before practice and won’t be ready to play Friday, and neither will forward T.J. Oshie (upper body), who has yet to resume skating.
Looking for a spark offensively, the Capitals moved rookie center Hendrix Lapierre to the top line with Alex Ovechkin and rookie Ivan Miroshnichenko for practice Thursday. The 22-year-old, who has three goals in two games since being recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League on Feb. 23, is thrilled about the possibility of playing with Ovechkin against the Flyers.
“That would be unreal,” Lapierre said. “He’s a great, great player and I’m excited to see what we can do if we play together. I feel like he gets open, I’ll try to find him and same thing with ‘Miro,’ as well. I don’t know what it’s going to look like tomorrow, but it would be a pretty special opportunity to play with him.”
