Capitals training camp preview

Ovechkin, Carlson continued excellence, Kovalchuk impact among keys to watch

By Tom Gulitti

@TomGulittiNHL NHL.com Staff Writer

July 08, 2020

With training camps set to begin on July 13 as part of Phase 3 of the NHL Return to Play Plan, NHL.com is taking a closer look at each of the 24 teams in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

Today, the Washington Capitals.

The Washington Capitals were 41-20-8 (.652 points percentage) and will play in the round-robin portion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in the Eastern Conference against the Boston Bruins (44-14-12, .714), Tampa Bay Lightning (43-21-6, .657) and Philadelphia Flyers (41-21-7, .645) to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Capitals finished first in the Metropolitan Division for the fifth straight season but were inconsistent. After going 26-6-5 in their first 37 games, they went 15-14-3 and didn't win consecutive games in regulation following a four-game winning streak from Jan. 13-27.

Through Dec. 22, Washington led the NHL in scoring at 3.54 goals per game and was eighth at 2.76 goals-against per game, 10th on the power play at 21.8 percent, and second on the penalty kill at 85.7 percent. After Dec. 22, it was eighth in scoring at 3.28 goals per game, 29th at 3.44 goals-against per game, 24th on the power play at 17.0 percent, and 19th on the penalty kill at 78.7 percent.

"Certainly, [the way we played] after the start of the season and training camp will be a point of reference for us because of how we got out of training camp and started the year," coach Todd Reirden said. "I really liked a lot of the things our team showed and how we played, and that will be key for us to get back to that as soon as possible once we get back up and running."

Left wing Alex Ovechkin was one of the Capitals' most consistent players again and tied David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins for the NHL lead with 48 goals. John Carlson led NHL defensemen with an NHL career-high 75 points (15 goals, 60 assists).

Player to watch

Ilya Kovalchuk was acquired in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 23 to provide scoring depth. The forward, who has 443 goals in 926 regular-season games in 13 NHL seasons, isn't the elite scorer he was before he left the NHL in 2013 and played five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League, but the 37-year-old can contribute from the third line (or higher) and the second power-play unit. Kovalchuk scored four points (one goal, three assists) in seven games following the trade and is trying to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.

WSH@NYR: Kovalchuk wires home blistering slap shot

Biggest question

Can the Capitals defend well enough? Although goalie Braden Holtby (25-14-6, NHL career-worst 3.11 goals-against average and .897 save percentage) contributed to Washington's struggles, the 30-year-old was solid over his final 11 starts (5-3-2, 2.75 GAA, .911 save percentage) before the NHL paused the season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. But the defensive problems continued. The acquisition of defenseman Brenden Dillon in a trade from the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 18 should help, but the Capitals need to recapture the commitment to team defense that helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Injury updates

No injuries to report.

Fresh face

Rookie Video: WSH@NYR: Kovalchuk wires home blistering slap shot played six NHL games this season (one assist, minus-2, average of 15:59 of ice time) and the Capitals view him as a future top-four defenseman, but the 20-year-old could get a chance to play if others struggle. A second-round pick (No. 46) in the 2018 NHL Draft, Fehervary played most of his first season in North America for Hershey in the American Hockey League, scoring 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 56 games.

Telling stat

Since Ovechkin's first Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2008, he leads the NHL with 65 goals in 128 postseason games and in goals per game at 0.51 (minimum 50 games). Ovechkin is tied for eighth in NHL history in goals per playoff game (minimum 100 games).

WSH@BUF: Ovechkin dekes, nets short-side wrister

They said it

"I feel like we have as good a chance as anybody of winning a Cup. That's a bigger incentive and reason for us to want to play again. That window won't last forever, so you always want to be playing because of that." -- center Lars Eller