Ivan Miroshnichenko is set to play in his first career NHL playoff game on Friday night against the New York Rangers. Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery spoke on Miroshnichenko’s upcoming debut during his pregame media availability Friday after sitting the rookie forward out of the first two games in the series.
Miroshnichenko’s absence from the team’s lineup also extended into the end of the regular season. The young Russian has sat out since skating just six minutes against the Ottawa Senators on April 7. Still, Carbery wasn’t concerned about any sort of readjustment period as returned to play.
“I think I’ve seen it go both ways,” he said Friday. “And our experience this year, I’ve seen it more in the positive way of being able to hit the ground running and the time off, or having not played, actually coming back in: there’s a jolt of energy, enthusiasm, highly competitive play from the guys that have been thrust into those.
“Miro is a mature young man, has played enough games at this level, has watched the series closely. We’ve talked to him a lot about what’s going on. He’s been (to) all the meetings, even some individual meetings on his own. So I don’t expect it to be a huge shock, him getting into the game and being completely overwhelmed. I’m looking for him to give us some good minutes and provide us a lot of energy in our lineup.”
Miroshnichenko took rushes on the team’s fourth line with Nic Dowd and Beck Malenstyn at practice on Thursday, replacing Nicolas Aube-Kubel on the right wing. Aube-Kubel took the scratches’ skate on Friday with defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell.
The newly formed trio did spend some time together during the regular season, posting poor results albeit recording only a 15-minute sample size. With them on the ice together at five-on-five, the Capitals saw negative differentials in shot attempts (-13), scoring chances (-7), and high-danger chances (-4), per Natural Stat Trick.
“So we played that line in Carolina,” Carbery said. “And even though (the) game didn’t go our way, I thought that line did a lot of good things and I thought he fit in pretty well with the identity of that line. And he even, I noticed in that game and going through his shifts, was smart enough to alter his game a little bit and adapt to, ‘Okay, this is how these guys play. This is what I need to do. I need to make sure pucks advance. I need to move my feet. I need to make sure I’m on top of the forecheck. I’m reloading. I’m in good positions above the puck.’ So I felt like he fit in really well in that role, and that’s all we’re looking for.”
The 20-year-old winger will be the eighth different Capitals skater to make their NHL playoff debut in the series. Miroshnichenko amassed six points (2g, 4a) in the 21 games he played during the regular season.
The Capitals’ 2022 first-round draft selection has played in high-stakes moments before, both at the international level and for his junior team in Russia, but has never taken a stage as big as the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“He doesn’t have to save the world,” Carbery said. “We don’t expect him to come in and be the best player on the ice or do anything spectacular. We’re just looking for energy, competitiveness, and him to give us solid minutes inside of our lineup.”
