On Thursday, Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd spoke to the media following his return in Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings after a lower-body injury. He discussed his thoughts on how the Capitals have done with seven games in the books and what they need to do to strengthen their play.
Dowd said his injury resulted from a rush by getting “tangled up” with Calgary Flames center Blake Coleman in overtime in Saturday’s 4-3 loss. He missed Monday’s 7-5 win over the Ottawa Senators but noted he “felt good and confident” to play on Wednesday. Dowd said he probably could’ve taken another day, but felt strong enough to draw back into the lineup.
On the Capitals’ current record of 4-0-3, he said the team has “cleaned out some things from last year,” adding, “I think our d-zone’s been pretty good. That was one issue we had last year…guys getting spread out, teams were taking advantage of that, and mistakes would happen and there wouldn’t be anybody to help anybody…we’ve kinda nullified that issue, so I think that’s been good.”
“I think at times like we need to—I guess in a blunt way—not get bored,” Dowd said. He explained how the team must hold that lead and used an example from Wednesday’s game when they were up 2-0 and the third goal (scored by Detroit) changed the dynamic of the game. He also noted the Capitals’ penalty kill has had a “challenging start.” “I think we’re doing the right thing and potentially some unlucky bounces are occurring.”
The Capitals face off against the Arizona Coyotes, who are 0-5-1, Friday night (7 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington). Dowd said the team must stay consistent “the same every game.” “Every NHL team is very capable of winning games. That includes us…Coming into Washington is a fun place to play and teams enjoy doing that and are ready to play. We have to make sure that every single game we’re ready to play at our level.”
Nic Dowd addresses the media after returning to the lineup last night from a lower body injury. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/HF1e3MQwTx
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 28, 2021
By Della Young
