The Washington Capitals returned to MedStar Capitals Iceplex for practice on Saturday following a day off for the team on Friday. They return to action on Sunday when they host the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 1PM.
SATURDAY PRACTICE
T.J. Oshie is still out with an upper body injury. Oshie logged six shifts and 6:07 of time on ice in the first frame against the Lightning before leaving with an upper body injury. He’s day to day. [MORE HERE]
Trevor van Riemsdyk is out at least a week with an upper body injury.
Sonny Milano (upper body) practiced in a regular jersey this morning. Milano says he’s feeling better and was cleared for contact today, but hasn’t talked with trainers about his status for tomorrow.
Charlie Lindgren didn’tpractice today due to an illness.
DARCY KUEMPER
Darcy Kuemper has recorded a 2.47 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage over his last four starts, dating back to March 23. During the four-game stretch, Kuemper has stopped 28 of 32 high danger shots against at five-on-five (.875 HDSV%) and has a high danger goals-against average of 1.03 (per Natural Stat Trick).
Kuemper started 11 of Washington’s 14 games in March and posted a 2.63 goals-against average and .920 save percentage, despite facing the second-most high danger shots against (89) in the NHL (per Natural Stat Trick). [MORE HERE]
STAT OF THE DAY – DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS PERFORMANCE
Today’s stat of the day is an update on the Capitals defensive pairings deployed since the return of John Carlson (4 games). The graph plots the total time on ice (TOI), offensive zone shift start percentage (OZS%), expected goals differential (xGF – xGA) and expected goals for percentages (xGF%) for each pair deployed during five-on-five conditions.
The Jensen-Sandin and van Riemsdyk-Alexeyev pairings continue to work well for the Capitals. The top pairing of Carlson and Fehervary continue to lag in the negative with regards to goals differential, but they are nearing net zero.
[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
Ryan Hofer opened his 2023 postseason with a goal in game 1 of the Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver Giants series on Friday night. The Blazers took game 1 by a score of 8-0.
Hofer makes it 5-0 🔥🔥#WHLPlayoffs #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/K89E3rWa8G
— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) April 1, 2023
Haakon Hanelt had a primary assist in Gatineau Olympiques open game of their first round series with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
🚨 Will Chisholm! C’est 6 à 1!!!#goOLgo♠️ pic.twitter.com/SavzQTjunl
— Olympiques de Gatineau (@OlympiquesGAT) April 1, 2023
The skates worn by Ethen Frank for the “fastest skater” competition at this years AHL All-Star weekend were donated to the Hockey Hall-of-Fame on Wednesday. Frank and the Bears made a stop at the Hall following Wednesday’s 3-1 matinee win over the Marlies in Toronto. [MORE HERE]
SHAVINGS
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What main issues will NHLPA’s Marty Walsh tackle first? [TSN]
- ABC’s NHL viewership continues to outpace last year. [Sports Media Watch]