The Washington Capitals made their way to the east coast of Florida following their 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night. They next face the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The team held practice Monday afternoon at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
LINES AND PAIRS AT MONDAY’S PRACTICE
As per Samantha Pell of the Washington Post, Sonny Milano was elevated to the top line during today’s practice rushes. Milano skated with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov in the later parts of Sunday night’s game in Tampa.
The full lines were not provided, but here are the projected lines with the elevation of Milano to the top line.
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Sonny Milano
Marcus Johansson – Dylan Strome – Conor Sheary
Connor McMichael – Lars Eller – Anthony Mantha
Aliaksei Protas — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson — John Carlson
Martin Fehervary — Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin — Trevor van Riemsdyk
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Extras: Alexander Alexeyev, Joe Snively
Suspended: Nicolas Aube-Kubel (2 more games)
Injuries: Dmitry Orlov, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie, Connor Brown, Beck Malenstyn.
Dmitry Orlov (lower body, IR) is not practicing today.
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 14, 2022
Capitals bench boss Peter Laviolette entered the league’s Covid-protocol on Friday. There has been no update on his status for Tuesday night’s game against the Florida Panthers.
SHEAR MADNESS
Conor Sheary scored his sixth goal of the season on Sunday against Tampa Bay, marking his second-straight game with a goal. Sheary’s six goals this season rank second on the Capitals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (8).
With nine points (6g, 3a) in 17 games, Sheary is on pace to record 28 goals and 43 points this season. Should Sheary maintain his scoring pace, he would establish a new career high in goals (2016-17: 23) and match his point total from last season. Five of Sheary’s six goals have come at five-on-five, which leads the Capitals and ranks tied for 15th in the NHL. Sheary’s only goal not scored during five-on-five play was a shorthanded goal on Oct. 24 at New Jersey, which marked his first career shorthanded goal. Through 17 games, Sheary ranks second among Capitals forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:13). Prior to the start of this season, Sheary averaged 0:14 of shorthanded ice time per game in his career. [More here].
STAT OF THE DAY – THE HITS KEEP COMING
Who’s leading the Capitals in hits? The following graph plots each of the Capitals skaters hits per 60 minutes of ice time. [Click to enlarge].
Beck “The Check” Malenstyn (no surprise) and Matt Irwin have the team’s highest hits per 60 minutes of ice time. However, their total games played (sample sizes) are rather low. Garnet Hathaway and Nic Dowd (no surprise again) lead the regular starters.
Martin Fehervary has toned it down a bit so far this season, having led the team in hits last season, but is still tops among all defensemen.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Hendrix LaPierre scored his third goal of the season last night in the Bears 4-1 win over the Laval Rocket. More here.
Hendrix Lapierre gets it started, his third of the season. He has goals in back-to-back games. #ALLCAPS #HBH pic.twitter.com/FW15z5Ki7z
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) November 13, 2022
Alexander Suzdalev scored his 10th goal of the season on Sunday night against the Saskatoon Blades.
Bedard with the zone entry & Suzdalev with the snipe.
Down by 1 with plenty of time left!#ItsGoTime | #REGvsSAS pic.twitter.com/aH0RJmA78O
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) November 13, 2022
Suzdalev remains a consistent starter at left wing on the second line, although he is often given shifts with Conor Bedard as the game progressses.
