The Washington Capitals returned to MedStar Capitals Iceplex for practice on Saturday following their 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. They depart for Minnesota Saturday afternoon in advance of their tilt with the Wild Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
PRACTICE
Alex Ovechkin didn’t practice with the team today. Capitals said it was a maintenance day.
Nick Jensen (upper body) also didn’t practice on Saturday after not playing on Friday night against the Blues.
Darcy Kuemper left practice early, possibly dealing with an injury. The Capitals later reported it was an upper body injury for Kuemper.
Darcy Kuemper is leaving Capitals practice early. He looked like something was bothering him, spoke with trainers, went back out to stretch but headed to the locker room after Peter Laviolette went and talked to him.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) March 18, 2023
Caps coach Peter Laviolette didn’t have an answer as to whether Kuemper will be available to play in Minnesota tomorrow. Still being evaluated.
John Carlson practiced in a non-contact jersey once again on Saturday. Carlson (skull fracture, severed temporal artery) said he’s yet to be cleared but…
“I would like to play soon. That’s my goal. That’s what from earlier on had in mind. I think the major hurdles are behind me certainly and I think my expectation would be to play soon.”
STAT OF THE DAY
Today’s stat of the day revisits the performance of each and every Capitals line deployed in the 2022-23 season, and includes total time on ice and the expected goals for percentage (xGF%) for each line. Lines with players traded at the trade deadline have been removed. [Click to enlarge].
[The statistics used in this post are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick, MoneyPuck and the NoVa Caps Advanced Analytics Model (NCAAM). If you’d like to learn more about the statistical terms used in this post, please check out our NHL Analytics Glossary]
DOWN ON THE FARM
Alexander Suzdalev scored his 37th goal of the season on Friday night. The tally came on the power play in the third period against Moose Jaw. Suzdalev also had two assists in the game.
Alexander Suzdalev with his 37th goal of the season. Comes on the power play. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/7hT9E3kCFB
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) March 18, 2023
Ethen Frank scored his team-leading 26th goal of the season Friday night at Lehigh Valley.
Ethen Frank with his 26th goal of the season. Bears lead 1-0 after 20. #HBH #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/gbr9Eg9fw7
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) March 17, 2023
Tonight the Hershey Bears will induct their 2021 and 2022 classes into the Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame. The Class of 2021 is comprised of Barry Ashbee (player), Frederic Cassivi (player), John Henderson (player), Myron Stankiewicz (player), and John Travers (general); the Class of 2022 consists of Keith Aucoin (player), Brian Dobbin (player), Don Foreman (official), and Gregg Mace (general).
SHAVINGS:
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- Blackhawks captain ‘seriously considering’ retirement, sources say [Daily Herald]
- How The NCAA Tournament And Frozen Four Works. [Pension Plan Puppets]
- And finally, a reminder today is the 17th Annual Northern Virginia Game Worn Jersey Expo in Sterling Virginia. [NoVa Caps]
The Northern Virginia Game-Worn Hockey Jersey Expo is underway! Some beautiful displays and a lot of Caps gear available.@NoVa_Caps pic.twitter.com/QOPatMlg31
— KMack Sports (@KMackSports) March 18, 2023