The Washington Capitals held an optional gameday morning skate at 11:30AM PT at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Tuesday. They begin their annual slate of games in the northwest tonight when they face the Canucks. Puck drop is set for 10PM ET.
FORWARD LINES AND DEFENSIVE PAIRS
There were no line rushes this morning due to the optional skate. The forward lines and defensive pairs at yesterday’s practice look to be set for tonight against the Canucks.
Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano— Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson — 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: Joe Snively, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Alex Alexeyev.
Injuries: Tom Wilson (ACL), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), Carl Hagelin (hip), Connor Brown, Beck Malenstyn (finger), and Dmitry Orlov (lower-body)
Capitals had an optional morning skate here in Vancouver. Lines from practice yesterday should hold up for tonight’s game vs Canucks. pic.twitter.com/U4yHUSwjQi
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 29, 2022
The Capitals visit the Vancouver Canucks tonight at Rogers Arena for the second and final meeting between the teams this season.
‘NUCK CITY
The Capitals defeated the Canucks 6-4 on Oct. 17 at Capital One Arena, overcoming a two-goal third-period deficit with four unanswered goals in the final frame. Alex Ovechkin recorded four points (2g, 2a) in the comeback win and Evgeny Kuznetsov registered three third-period assists, including his 500th career point. More here.
The #ALLCAPS enter tonight’s #CapsNucks tilt 4-0-1 (.900 points percentage) against the Pacific Division this season, including a 6-4 win over Vancouver on 10/17.
— Harrison Brown (@HarrisonB927077) November 29, 2022
Over their past nine games (3-5-1), the Capitals have a +8 goal-differential in wins but a -17 goal-differential in losses.
STAT OF THE DAY – NETMINDING PROWESS
Today’s stat of the day is courtesy of JFreshHockey. It lists the goals saved above expected (xGA – GA) for all 32 teams.
The Capitals goaltending tandem remains in the top-10 at +6.9 goals saved above expected. Anything over 0 is good.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Alexander Suzdalev attempted The Michigan again this past weekend. I’ve had the pleasure of watching all but a couple of his games so far this season, and by my count, this was his 4th attempt. He came very close on this one, and for him, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.
Alexander Suzdalev tries The Michigan. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/CNsecTsU9k
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) November 26, 2022
Hunter Shepard has stopped 56 of 58 shots faced (.966%) in his last two starts and was named player of the game in both starts. He now leads the AHL in GAA (1.69) and is tied for first in sv% (.940%).
By Jon Sorensen
Wow. Hunter is a beast. His NCAA numbers were no fluke.
Any idea why he’s so good? What is it that is exceptional. He wasn’t drafted…
i noticed he’s 27. If he was 24…. His window isn’t that big. I hope he gets a shot with the Caps. It’s an asset to have an older goaltender who can step in in an emergency (which it may be if one of our ‘tenders goes down. The age would make him more level headed in that situation you would think.
He’s just a late bloomer, with modest size for a goalie (6’0 or maybe 6’1 depending on which site you look at).
Looked up his history. Early November 1995 birthdate, so he missed the draft cutoff and would have been older than most kids in that draft, not that it would have mattered since he didn’t have the pedigree at that time that would have gotten him drafted.
First records are from the NAHL when he was already 18-19 years old — i.e., his initial draft year — so he likely went from MN high school to the NAHL then to Minnesota Duluth. His 1st year in the NAHL was not great — .878 save %. The next year it jumped to .926, which is probably how he got the offer from Duluth.
By the time he got to college he was almost 21, which is over the draft age limit. Only 2 games that first year, then was the #1 his last 3 years there. Graduated in ’20, meaning he was 24 going on 25 at that point, but had established himself enough to get a pro contract.
Bottom line: 27 is prime age for hockey player, including goalies. If he turns out to be an NHL #1 within the next couple of years he would still be good enough for long enough that he’ll have been worth whatever investment/risk the Caps have made in him.
More on Shepard
https://novacapsfans.com/2022/11/24/hunter-shepard-making-strong-case-for-capitals-3-goaltender-role/
We jinxed him though, has yielded two goals in first period so far. He really had no chance on both.
Whats SUz’s ceiling? Do most think he can make the jump?
Just 18 but he is oozing raw talent, a very creative player on the ice. He was originally listed as a first-rounder by central scouting but fell in the weeks leading up to draft. Haven’t been able to ascertain why. He looks like he could be a good one.