The Washington Capitals will wrap up a four-game road trip against all Western Conference competition on Saturday. After going 0-3 and being outscored 14 to 5 in their previous three outings, the Capitals have made their way to Dallas to play a very good Stars team that has won seven of their last 10 games.
Despite the 6-2 shellacking from the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, head coach Spencer Carbery didn’t announce a ton of lineup substitutions in his pregame media availability.
The only change from that night will be Ethan Bear coming back out of the lineup and Trevor van Riemsdyk going back in. The two defenders have alternated healthy scratches on this trip.
Bear skated 16:12 of ice time in the loss to Colorado and recorded an assist on Dylan Strome’s second goal late in the third period. The most notable play that could have led to him stepping back into the press box for Saturday’s contest was an undisciplined, delay-of-game penalty that he took in the second period.
With the Capitals behind just 2-0 early in the second frame, Bear, with no resistance, flipped the puck into the stands and put Colorado on a second consecutive power play. Nathan MacKinnon would score his second of the night just 38 seconds later and that would turn out to be the game-winning goal.
Nathan MacKinnon is really good at hockey. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/w83UzDOgAu
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 25, 2024
“I think a good way to put it is, you just can’t crack at any moment,” Carbery said Friday. “You can’t crack and you can’t have those moments where there’s a big hiccup or you take a bad penalty and now next thing you know you’re down and chasing the game.”
TVR draws back in after getting pounded by the Minnesota Wild in his last game. In his 14:58 of five-on-five ice time against Minnesota, the Capitals were outscored 3-0, out-attempted 19-11, and out-high danger chanced 5-0.
“It’s not ideal for TVR to go into a game and then come back out,” Carbery said Wednesday. “Thought he struggled last night and it’s hard to do that. You go back in and now all of a sudden you’re trying to get into a rhythm and you sat. There are significant challenges with that and I understand that. But, at the same time, it’s competition. It’s difficult on those guys but they gotta seize their opportunity.”
On the season, TVR has seven points (7a) in 38 games and is skating on average 18:20 of ice time per game. He does not have a goal yet this year despite scoring a career-high seven in 75 games last year.
The only other lineup decision that Carbery announced was that Charlie Lindgren is going to be right back in net. Lindgren gave up all six goals to the Avalanche. The rough night was his first giving up more than three goals after 10 straight appearances under that mark.
Dallas has won two in a row with their last game coming on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks. Carbery challenged the stars on his roster to lead by example and come out with a good showing against one of the league’s best before the Capitals don’t play again until February 6.
Outside of getting performances from the big names, the rookie bench boss also emphasized starting fast.
“Our first period, to play well and get off on the right foot but also to score that first goal, it’s important,” Carbery said. “Not just to play with the lead and lead to success overall but to give our group a little bit of confidence. To get on the board and feel good about ourselves. Trying to play from in front will be important.”
Puck drop is at an unusual 2 pm ET. Here’s how to watch.
