Washington drew an advantage when Pittsburgh sat a handful of its standouts over the weekend just passed, yet the Capitals now find themselves hoping Philadelphia can't cash in on much the same circumstance once Monday evening arrives.
With top billing in the Metro already secured by Carolina, bench boss Rod Brind'Amour is seizing the moment to grant a handful of his everyday contributors a night off versus Philadelphia. For Washington that creates a serious headache: a Flyers victory of any kind, whether in 60 minutes, overtime, or the skills competition, knocks the Caps out of contention.
As relayed by Walt Ruff, who covers the Hurricanes, the names below are pegged to be scratched when Carolina visits the Flyers:
- Andrei Svechnikov
- Jaccob Slavin
- Seth Jarvis
- Shayne Gostisbehere
- Sebastian Aho
Three of those skaters, namely Jarvis, Svechnikov, and Aho, sit among the club's four most prolific scorers, and Aho heads the entire roster, with 27 goals plus 53 helpers across 79 outings adding up to 80 points. On the back end, Gostisbehere tops Carolina's defensemen in production, his 13 goals and 37 assists over 54 contests totaling 50. Slavin, regarded as one of hockey's elite shutdown men, logs an average shift load of 21:19 each night.
In comments to Ruff, the coach explained the decision was about letting the guys mend up a touch more and, naturally, grab something of a mental breather too.
Carolina's likely deployment for the April 13 tilt with Philadelphia
Ehlers
Blake
Stankoven
Hall
Carrier
Martinook
Kotkaniemi
Jankowski
Robinson
Brind'Amour
Deslauriers
Nadeau
Nikishin
Chatfield
Miller
Reilly
Walker
Legault
Andersen
Bussi
While those marquee names rest, Carolina is reinserting Jalen Chatfield, a top-pairing rearguard, after he sat out a pair of contests with a lower-body ailment. Starting netminder Brandon Bussi has been on fire as well, taking all five of his most recent appearances.
For Philadelphia's part, the team has dropped eight in a row and lost 16 of the past 17 meetings with Carolina, seven of which were decided in the extra session or a shootout.
Should the Flyers prevail, their season total would reach 96, whereas Washington tops out at 95, and only if the Caps beat Columbus on Tuesday evening.
To stay breathing, the Capitals require Carolina to hold Philadelphia to a lone point. Even then, they'd additionally need the Flyers dropping a regulation decision to Montreal's Canadiens come Tuesday.