The Washington Capitals will hit the road once again to take on the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals (14-8-3) have won two straight games and are starting to find chemistry with all four lines. Here are the projected lines.
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Joe Snively – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas – Connor McMichael – Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Joel Edmundson – Nick Jensen
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
The Capitals placed forward Sonny Milano on injured reserve and recalled Joe Snively from AHL Hershey on Thursday morning. (More here.)
Charlie Lindgren is the first goalie off the ice at the Caps’ morning skate in Philadelphia
— Bailey Johnson (@BaileyAJohnson_) December 14, 2023
Washington’s offense has scored four or more goals in three consecutive games. Dylan Strome continues to score at will. He leads the team with 11 goals and scored twice against the Chicago Blackhawks. Meanwhile, the third line of Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael and Anthony Mantha has been spectacular. Protas is second on the Capitals with 10 points at even strength and Mantha is second on the team with eight goals at even strength.
Mantha in particular has been the standout on that line as he has goals in two straight.
“The chemistry has helped a lot and he’s a big part of that chemistry. So he’s part of that line and [McMichael] and [Protas] obviously are big parts of it as well,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said following Wednesday’s practice. “Like I said yesterday, he’s playing at a really high level. He’s doing a lot of little things away from the puck that are helping to give him opportunities offensively and give him opportunities to play with the puck as opposed to having to defend whether it’s in the neutral zone or defensive zone.”
Alex Ovechkin does not have a goal in 10 straight games. That matches his career-long drought he had back in the 2016-17 season. The 38-year-old winger is having the slowest start in his soon to be hall of fame career. He has a career-low 2.04 shooting percentage and only has five goals on the year, two of them empty netters and one on the power play. He currently leads the team with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists).
“I’ve felt like he’s in a good headspace. He feels as confident as ever. [He] knows that it’s only a matter of time before some of these chances start falling for him,” Carbery said. “Process, focus on the process. Focus on getting yourself into those spots, focus on having an o-zone shift, being good with your touches, and I think he knows that and knows that his opportunities and shots will eventually start falling and I think once they start [going in], it could snowball.”
Speaking of Ovechkin and the power play. During Wednesday’s practice, the Capitals’ captain was not in his office. He was stationed at the far faceoff circle and working his way into the high slot. The Caps’ power play continues to struggle and still remains dead last in the NHL at 8.4%.
“We’re just experimenting with some different stuff. I don’t know if it’ll look like that. We want to get some reps in looking at some different things… We want to start to experiment with some of that stuff, whether it’s with [Rasmus Sandin’s] unit, [John] Carlson’s unit, moving around a little bit,” Carbery said. “It’s something that I think is inevitable for our power play… is to make penalty kills’ second guess what’s going on.”
This change could not have come at a better time. Philadelphia currently boasts the fifth-best penalty kill in the NHL at 86.7%. Furthermore, they are second in the league with seven short-handed goals.
Max Pacioretty continues to progress from his Acillies injury and skated in a full practice for the first time in a non-contact jersey. Carbery said that he will start to travel with the team, and he could make his return in about 2-3 weeks.
Scouting Philadelphia
The Capitals visit the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Wells Fargo Center for the first of three meetings between the teams this season. The Capitals have a record of 9-3-0 in their last 12 games in Philadelphia. Including tonight’s contest, six of Washington’s next eight games and nine of their next 12 games will be against Metropolitan Division opponents. This season, the Capitals are 6-2-0 (.750 P%) against Metro teams, which is the highest point percentage in the division.
The Flyers (15-10-3) have exceeded their expectations so far this season. They are currently tied for second in the Metropolitan Division, with the New York Islanders, with 33 points. Philadelphia is coming off a 3-2 overtime loss against the Nashville Predators.
Sean Couturier has had a terrific comeback season, ranking second on the team with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists). The 31-year-old did not play last year due to multiple back surgeries.
Meanwhile, the Flyers’ young core is starting to blossom this season for head coach John Tortorella. Bobby Brink has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 23 games and Owen Tippett has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 28 games.
The Orange and Black are currently eighth in the NHL allowing just 2.71 goals per game.
Player To Watch
Rookie forward Tyson Foerster has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 27 games. Meanwhile, he has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last seven games.
Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center. The game can be streamed on Monumental Sports Network.
By Jacob Cheris