Photo: @Capitals
Saturday was day 5 of the Washington Capitals training camp at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. As was the case in previous days, the camp was divided into two separate practice sessions, but today also include the team’s first intrasquad scrimmage, which was held in between the two practice sessions.
PRACTICE
T.J. Oshie, Ilya Samsonov and Alex Alexeyev missed Saturday’s practice. This was the first practice missed by Oshie and the fifth consecutive day missed for Samsonov and Alexeyev.
TJ Oshie, Ilya Samsonov and Alex Alexeyev will not participate in practice today, per team.
This is the first day of training camp Oshie will miss. Samsonov and Alexeyev have not hit the ice at camp so far.
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) July 18, 2020
Team White Group
The forward lines and defensive pairs for the first practice group.
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Hagelin-Eller-Kovalchuk
Gersich-McMichael-Pinho
Kempny-Carlson
Siegenthaler-Jensen
Holtby
Copley
Team Red Group
The forward lines and defensive pairs for Team Red, which practiced after the intrasquad scrimmage. (T.J. Oshie did not practice).
Vrana-Backstrom-Boyd
Panik-Dowd-Hathaway
Malenstyn-Maillet-Sprong
Dillon-Orlov
Fehervary-Gudas
Lewington
Vanecek
Scrimmage
The Capitals held their first intrasquad scrimmage between practice sessions on Saturday. The Capitals broadcast the scrimmage via the team’s twitter page. You can watch a replay below.
Let’s take a live look from a robotic camera inside MedStar Capitals Iceplex for today’s Phase 3 Scrimmage! https://t.co/8IW7Mr0yM4
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 18, 2020
Capitals’ prospect Daniel Sprong had a good showing, scoring two goals, and Travis Boyd added and empty net goal for the Team Red 3-1 win.
.@sprong97 with not one but ✌️ sweet goals in today’s Phase 3 scrimmage pic.twitter.com/7RxnQrBAHK
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 18, 2020
Alex Ovechkin scored the lone goal for Team White. Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov had the assists.
Todd Reirden
Reirden called today’s scrimmage a “good day for us”. He said players were “excited about today” as it was the first time for 5-on-5 action. The bench boss complimented players and how the overall pace was fantastic. More scrimmages will take place, especially for special teams. He said it’s “fun” to watch a scrimmage as a coach. Reirden noted some staredowns occurred adding, “Here we go! We’re getting back to normal.” (More here.)
Nick Jensen
“Personally, I felt like I was starting a good stride,” Jensen said in reference to playing some of his best hockey of the season right before the NHL Pause. The 29-year old defenseman picked up eight points (all assists) prior to the four-month stoppage. He “doesn’t know what it’s going to be like” when the league resumes play soon, but it’s all about getting back to that “peak” quality of play. (More here.)
Michal Kempny
Kempny said that he feels better “for sure” after having time to work out, unlike last summer, when he had to rehab from a torn hamstring procedure he had in April 2019. He admitted that this season was hard for him both “physically and mentally,” but he worked hard during the pause and said he was happy about the workouts he did. “I’m pretty happy about how I feel right now,” Kempny said. (More here.)
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Kuznetsov said that he will “definitely” bring his PlayStation to the NHL bubble in Toronto, “but [I’m] ready to play hockey.” He just got a new stick from the store, so he is looking forward to trying that out. Kuznetsov “just hope(s) there will be good food,” and there will be a feeling of home inside the bubble. “Food will be a big change for us,” as he is used to a mix of healthy and unhealthy ones from during the pause. (More here.)
Jakub Vrana
This season, Jakub Vrana set career highs in both goals (25), even strength goals (24) and assists (27), despite having 13 games remaining on the schedule. Vrana was on pace to score 28 even-strength goals over an 82-game season and become one of two players in NHL history to reach the mark while averaging less than 15 minutes per game (Vrana: 14:53 TOI; Chicago’s Dominik Kubalik had 26 even-strength goals this season while averaging 14:22 TOI this season). Vrana’s 24 even-strength goals were tied for the 11th-most in the NHL. (More here).
By Jon Sorensen
