The Washington Capitals made a few moves at this year’s trade deadline which have opened up spots in the team’s everyday lineup for younger talent that was previously blocked. The biggest example of that comes via defenseman Alex Alexeyev who has gotten into 11 of the team’s last 12 games after sitting out 42 of the first 55 to start the season.
This year marks the 24-year-old blueliner’s first as a full-time member of the Capitals after he has spent time with the AHL’s Hershey Bears in each of the last four seasons. Alexeyev credits hard work with skills coach Kenny McCudden for his growth as a player and for keeping him moving on the development path even while out of the lineup for extended stretches earlier in the season.
“Obviously, I’ve gotten better since the beginning of the season,” Alexeyev told the Capitals’ Mike Vogel. “I think I’ve improved in all the areas; better at defending well and making plays in the [offensive] zone. I had a lot of sessions with Kenny, and it helped me a lot, to improve my touches and shots and everything. He’s a great coach and he gives us great drills that we can use when we are playing in the games.
“I had a message at the start of the season to work on my touches and passes. Plus, we got a skills coach and I think you have to use that, and just get better every day.”
Alexeyev’s progress has been evident in March and it’s clear that he’s growing in confidence as each game goes by. The offensive side of his game is perhaps where he has shown that the most. He first opened some eyes with his assist against the Pittsburgh Penguins two weeks ago.
The Russian rearguard pulled off an impressive give-and-go move with Dylan Strome before rushing down the slot and feeding Sonny Milano with a precision pass. Milano rifled a one-time blast past goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to give Alexeyev just his second point of the year.
Alexeyev was at it again at the end of last week. He helped set up Alex Ovechkin’s game-winning goal against the Vancouver Canucks with a deft fake-shot pass to Connor McMichael.
“You’ve seen some of those plays that he’s made like [Saturday] night,” head coach Spencer Carbery said Sunday. “He chips in offensively with a great play. Osh sets that thing up but then he makes the next play to find Mikey and then they go backside to O. Foundationally, I think he’s done a real good job and that’s enabled him to stay in the lineup, play consistent minutes, and then add a little bit of doing something at the offensive blue line or getting into the rush like he did last night.”
While the extra offense is a big bonus, Carbery is more happy with what Alexeyev is doing on the other side of the puck.
“Solid, reliable play,” Carbery said. “That’s the most important thing for him to be able to do – give us solid, reliable play from a defensive standpoint of being able to close, shut down plays, spend as little time in the defensive zone as possible. Then it comes with moving pucks, his breakout touches being clean, finding an option when he’s got it, potentially advancing the zone when he doesn’t have anything. And I thought that, at the root of what he needs to do, he’s done that at a real high level.”
The Capitals are 16-6-2 in the 23 games in which Alexeyev has been in the lineup this season. They were highly successful at five-on-five with Alexeyev on the ice during their recent five-game road spell, seeing 61.7 percent of the expected goals, 57.1 percent of the scoring chances, and 65.1 percent of the high-danger chances in his minutes.
Alexeyev signed a two-year extension with the club this past summer and will still be a restricted free agent when his deal comes up at the end of the 2024-25 season.
