Peter Laviolette has gotten very creative with his lineup decisions of late. The Caps got back both Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson from injury at the same time and that has forced talented regulars out of action.
It has also meant that a forward group that once had balance and more defined roles has been thrown into disarray. That has led to the Capitals’ head coach healthy scratching a handful of NHL players that normally expect to play whenever they are available.
While speaking on 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies on Wednesday, the veteran bench boss went into what that process has been like and player reaction to the constant lineup movement.
“There’s no way around it right now when three players [come back],” Laviolette said. “Oshie came back and has been back for seven or eight games now. Backstrom and Wilson are back for three games each. The lines are gonna shift.
“We have 14 NHL players that have all played here and contributed and been good players for us,” he continued. “There’s not a guy that had been sitting out or somebody called up from the minors just here as an extra in case somebody gets hurt. All the guys in the lineup have contributed up until the point of those guys returning to the lineup. [They’ve] played really well giving us an opportunity to fight our way back into a playoff spot and up the standings with that strong month of December.”
The Caps finished that month of December with an 11-2-2 record. At five-on-five they saw 51.3 percent of the shot attempts, 56.5 percent of the expected goals, 52.6 percent of the scoring chances, and 53.7 percent of the high-danger chances go their way. The team also saw great results in terms of their five-on-five shooting percentage (9.2%) and especially their five-on-five saving percentage (93.6%). Both marks ranked firmly in the top half of the league.
Through eight January games, those numbers have dipped. The Caps are 3-4-1 and have seen 52.7 percent of the shot attempts, 51.9 percent of the expected goals, 51.4 percent of the scoring chances, and 50.5 percent of the high-danger chances. Their five-on-five shooting percentage is also down to 8.2 percent and their five-on-five saving percentage has clicked down to 90.2 percent.
Wilson and Backstrom returned on January 8 and the team’s lineup has changed in every single game since then. Players like Anthony Mantha, Lars Eller, and Dylan Strome have been healthy scratches in those five games.
“Right now we’re managing the depth of our organization,” Laviolette said. “For me, I didn’t have any reason to take anybody out. I think it’s uneasy – just one guy at a time here and we’ll just kinda move through until we figure it out. With regard to the lines, there are some things that I like. I had really liked for two games in a row Backstrom, Milano, and Wilson together so I’m trying to see if there’s a little bit of chemistry there.”
Laviolette kept that Backstrom line together against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night but made a couple of pretty drastic alterations to other lines. Those changes included Nicolas Aube-Kubel going from being a healthy scratch since January 6 to a top-line assignment with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov being demoted to fourth-line center.
The Caps created the third-most high-danger chances in a single game that they have this season (21) but fell to the Wild 4-2 on home ice.
“Last night we put together a lineup after playing the night before where we wanted speed and physicality,” Laviolette said. “Kubel fit the bill. It was more about what he would bring to the table and I thought he played a pretty good game. I think he had four or five hits. His line had one of the goals and he was a big part of that.
“Sometimes you look at the opponent, sometimes you look at the situational play of a power play player or a penalty kill player,” he continued. “With 14 players and at the time five centermen, things are going to switch, people are going to switch positions, and that’s really the only way you can keep that depth.”
Scratching players that are used to playing night in and night out is something that Laviolette equates to just simple math. The Caps are simply the healthiest they have been this season.
The bench boss brought that up when the Junkies asked him if any of his players have “balked or quibbled” with any of his recent decisions.
“Yeah, I mean listen, they’re all professional athletes,” Laviolette said. “They want to play and I love that. [If] somebody is upset that they’re not in the lineup, I don’t have a problem with that. They want to play, they want to help, and they want to contribute. But, again, 14, it’s just simple math here. My Division III Westfield State college education, it’s 14 NHL players and 12 NHL roster spots. Two have to come out every night.”
The next iteration of Laviolette’s line combos will be sent out in Arizona against the Coyotes on Thursday night. Six of the team’s next seven games will come on the road as they look to both turn around their fortunes in the month of January and find a stable lineup.
The Caps currently sit four points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card spot.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
