The Washington Capitals have had an uneven start to 2024. The team is 2-2 despite being out-scored in those games 18-13. They’re being led in five-on-five scoring by their fourth line, which has tallied 4 of the team’s 9 goals in those games.
In Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings, head coach Spencer Carbery tried some mid-game adjustments to his top-six and had some success after reuniting Alex Ovechkin with Dylan Strome on the first line. Strome scored his 15th goal of the season in his first shift back with The Great Eight.
While Ovechkin did not practice on Wednesday, Carbery seemingly wants to go back to that combination if the line rushes are any indication.
Here’s what the full lineup looked like at the skate.
Lapierre/Phillips-Strome-Wilson
Pacioretty-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Protas-McMichael-Mantha
Malenstyn-Dowd-NAK
Fehervary-Carlson
TVR-Jensen
Edmundson-Bear
Ovechkin and Strome have been successful playing with one another at five-on-five no matter who the right wing on their line is. In their minutes together (314:46), the Capitals have seen 52.9 percent of the shot attempts, 56.2 percent of the expected goals, 55 percent of the scoring chances, and 56.2 percent of the high-danger chances.
Strome leads the team with 15 goals this season while Ovechkin is riding a five-game point streak. Tom Wilson appears likely to draw in as the other wing on the line despite what appears to be a broken nose. Wilson was a full participant in Wednesday’s skate while wearing a bubble shield to protect his face.
Rookie forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Matthew Phillips filled in for the absent Ovechkin as placeholders. Even if Ovechkin is not deemed available against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, one of the two rookies will still likely be taken off the roster as TJ Oshie will be in need of a roster spot.
Oshie will be back in action, per his wife, for the first time since December 16. The new second line that Carbery has placed him on has obviously never skated together as Pacioretty made his Capitals debut while Oshie was still on the shelf.
However, Kuznetsov has paired well with Oshie this season in over 142 minutes of five-on-five ice time. As a duo they’ve seen 54.1 percent of the expected goals and 52.3 percent of the high-danger chances. The hope will be that Pacioretty’s addition will pump up the just three goals they’ve scored.
“TJ has a similar impact [as Pacioretty],” Carbery said Wednesday. “Hopefully, if they’re able to play with Kuz, they can maybe help him a little bit as well. Giving him a couple of guys that have a real presence to them and have high expectations. Kuz will need to get his game up to that level to be able to contribute, keep up with those guys, and make sure that they’re an effective line.”
The team’s bottom-six will remain the same. While their production has fallen off some in recent games, the third line still sports the two top, five-on-five scorers on the Capitals in Aliaksei Protas (17) and Anthony Mantha (14). The fourth line has combined for 11 five-on-five points (4g, 7a) in the first four games of January.
On defense, nothing has changed from how the Capitals lined up against the Kings. Trevor van Riemsdyk and Nick Jensen haven’t been paired up a ton this season, mainly due to TVR’s right-handedness, but their results together show that maybe an extended look at a partnership should be considered.
In 54:25 of five-on-five ice time with one another, the Capitals have seen 62.7 percent of the expected goals, 59 percent of the scoring chances, and 68 percent of the high-danger chances.
Ethan Bear is preparing for his sixth game with the Capitals after Carbery was critical of his recent play. Bear has skated on average 17:40 of ice time per game to start his Capitals tenure.
The Kraken will come into Thursday night’s matchup as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They’ve won seven games in a row and their two losses in their last 10 games have both come after regulation.
Their recent surge has seen them move into a tie with the Edmonton Oilers for the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference. Similarly, the Capitals are just one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, with four games in hand, for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
