In the midst of the Washington Capitals’ 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, one storyline went unnoticed. After missing the last five games due to a lower-body injury, Martin Fehervary suited up, and it allowed the Capitals to run their full six-man defensive core for the first time all season. They have not been able to do that due to Joel Edmundson missing the first 14 games due to a broken hand. 

“We know [Rasmus Sandin] and [John Carlson] can play together at any point in the game where we feel like we really need an offensive zone shift,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said on Tuesday. “But I think that the stability of [Fehervary] and [Carlson] and then, where [Nick] Jensen and [Trevor van Riemsdyk] fit, we’re sort of toggling through that as [Edmundson] comes back.”

The pairings that the coaching staff envisioned over the summer were as follows:

Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson – Trevor van Riemsdyk

 However, once Edmundson had surgery on his hand, which forced him to sit out for 4-6 weeks, the Caps had to adjust on the fly and call upon some of their young defensive prospects. Some fared better than others, but three in particular earned the right to be in the lineup at the start of the campaign.

Carbery praised Lucas Johansen, Alex Alexeyev and Hardy Häman Aktell for stepping up and playing reliable minutes when called upon. 

“I think they’ve done a great job as young defensemen being put in right away into some really difficult situations, playing some minutes, playing against some good teams, playing in some tough matchups and have been able to produce from a standpoint of playing winning hockey,” Carbery said prior to Monday’s game against San Jose. “Of being able to be reliable, being able to help the team win a game 2-1 or 4-3 on the road or whatever it might be, they deserve a lot of credit for that, and now they’re going to continue to build on their individual if they get an opportunity to get into the lineup which inevitably will happen.”

Now with everyone healthy for the time being, Carbery says that there is going to be competition between those three. 

Johansen specifically took a huge step in his development this year. He had been dealing with a lot of injuries throughout his professional career, so to see him step up and play outstanding defense, was good to see. 

Lucas Johansen: “He’s Gone Through A Lot Of Bumps Along The Road, But He’s Just Kept His Head Down And Continued To Work

The 26-year-old blueliner was promoted to the top pairing with John Carlson against the Vegas Golden Knights and played a career high 20:11 of ice time against the New York Islanders. Johansen has one point through six games with Washington this season. 

Quality from JoJo defending 1-on-3 pic.twitter.com/7yyVXa9EKh

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 15, 2023

Alexeyev struggled defensively so far this season through the 10 games in Washington. He has struggled to get the puck out of his own end and has not been positionally sound. He was a minus-2 against the Florida Panthers and eventually got benched after allowing his second goal of the game. However, he scored his first NHL goal against the Buffalo Sabres and looked rather decent for the rest of the contest. 

Alex Alexeyev scores his first NHL goal vs Sabres (22 nov 2023)

 Häman Aktell was a pleasant surprise this year. He made the team out of training camp after having two points (one goal, one assist) in the preseason. The Swedish blueliner earned his first NHL point with an assist back on Oct. 29 against the Sharks. Through six games with the big club, Häman Aktell had an xGF of 3.11. He eventually got sent down to the Hershey Bears and has two points (one goal, one assist) in six games. There are some things defensively he needs to clean up. Sometimes he was caught flat-footed at the blue line and that led to odd-man rushes the other way.

Overall, Johansen, Alexeyev and Häman Aktell will be critical components to the future of Washington’s blue line. 

The Capitals will take on the Los Angeles Kings tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST. 

By Jacob Cheris