Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Capitals returned to MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Tuesday for an optional skate following their 6-3 victory over the Devils on Monday night in New Jersey. The team held one final full practice Wednesday morning before departing for Texas in advance of their tilt with the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
PRACTICE LINES
Beck Malenstyn, who made his first start of the season against the Devils on Monday night, remained in the lineup on Wednesday morning.
Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Conor Sheary
Marcus Johansson — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas — Lars Eller — Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway
BECK THE CHECK
Head coach Peter Laviolette discussed the Capitals forward lines and Malenstyn during his weekly radio appearance on 106.7 The Fan Wednesday morning.
“I really liked his game. I think he had six hits. That line generated offense, I think they had one or two goals, and he chipped in with an assist and six hits. That’s exactly what we were looking for him on that line, because of what we expect from that line, the defensive draws and going against top opponents and the physicality in which they need to play with.”
DEFENSIVE MISCUES
Laviolette said, defensively, the team is still missing significant assignments on the backend.
#ALLCAPS Peter Laviolette tells @JunksRadio defensively, “still some miscues, we’re missing guys point blank in front of the net that we’ve gotta clean up, we gotta do better in that area. If we can eliminate some of that, continue to score, I feel like we’ll win hockey games”
— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) October 26, 2022
A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES
In the “sight for sore eyes” category, Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom both skated before practice on Wednesday.
On the ice this morning ahead of Capitals practice: Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. pic.twitter.com/4jWR2Vloya
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) October 26, 2022
Per a team spokesperson, this was the first time Backstrom and Wilson took the ice in their respective rehabs. They aren’t yet ready to fully resume skating and it will be another few days before they do so again.
STAT OF THE DAY – CHARLES IN CHARGE
We’ve discussed the use of the ‘expected goals’ stat for assessing the performance of forwards, but the stat is also quite useful for assessing goaltenders. The expected goals against (xGA) stat indicates the quantity and quality of shots and resultant “expected goals” a goaltender has typically yielded based on historical data.
The following graph plots the goals differential – ‘expected goals’ against minus actual goals against (xGA – GA) for each of the league’s goaltenders with a minimum of two games played. [Click to enlarge].
Charlie Lindgren has the 11th-best goals differential at 2.97. That means he’s allowed 2.97 goals less than is “expected”. Darcy Kuemper currently sits at -2.30, meaning he’s yielded 2.3 more goals than expected.
SHAVINGS
- John Carlson collected his 599th career point on Monday at New Jersey, recording the primary assist on Alex Ovechkin’s eventual game-winning goal. Carlson is now one point shy of passing Michal Pivonka for the fifth-most points in Capitals franchise history and becoming the first defenseman in franchise history to reach the 600-point mark.
#ALLCAPS Bogdan Trineyev (#88) returns to Dynamo Moscow lineup after stint with VHL squad. pic.twitter.com/BAFMoxGR5d
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) October 26, 2022
By Jon Sorensen
wow, Samy is 3rd!
I wouldn’t be shocked if he turns in a very good season. He’s very talented, but fragile. If it goes south in Toronto, it will go south hard.
“Darcy Kuemper currently sits at -2.30, meaning he’s yielded 2.3 more goals than expected.”
The stats are taken from all his games, but the eye test tells you that he’s allowed to many rebounds, but that as he’s gotten more time on the ice, there has been slow but stead improvement. It’s been said by one of you local analysts that he compares to Holtby in being a ‘slow starter’. I can see that in Kuemper. I wonder if a graph of his games would show what my eyes are telling me. The Holtby comparison relaxed my concern when I heard it. It made sense for a goalie that plays many games throughout a season. I think he’s fine, and certainly there’s no concern on my part. Lets see as the season progresses how his numbers change.
Your eye test somewhat reflects Kempers rebound attempts – he’s yielded the 25th most. It’s early, and I agree, Kuemper’s “eye test” suggests he’s improving.
Wish Lavy would play Charlie a little more!
John Carlson with the Larry Murphy type respect. O Cap fans…..
Interesting analogy.
Weren’t excessive rebounds a problem with Darcy last year? I seem to remember reading that when the Bolls played them.
I think we could have a Grubby/Holtbeast goalie competition.
I always felt that Holtby rusted too quickly — a week off, some time injured, a week at the All Stars, and he lost ground and had to take time to make it up. I hope Darcy isn’t like that.
Generally I can’t stand listening to the 23 hour a day football talk station. But I would tune in for Caps interviews, anyone got a schedule on when the players/coach call in?
Coach is typically Wednesday mornings between 7-8.
Last season Carlson called in as well. Is just the coach so far this season?
I believe Lars Eller is the other player this season. Thursday’s or Fridays? He’s ok, but somewhat of a yawn as far as interviews go.