Jakub Vrana took the next step toward staking his claim to a contract and NHL roster spot with the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
The 28-year-old Czech winger, who is at Washington’s Training Camp on a tryout basis, dressed for his third preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and did something he hasn’t done in a long while. With 5:59 remaining in the first period, Vrana received a nice backhand dish from linemate Connor McMichael and scored a goal for the Capitals for the first time since April 9, 2021.
“I think it started with the draw,” Vrana told Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken at the first intermission. “Johnny makes a nice play there in the middle up to Mikey and I saw the guys collapse a little bit. Their guys collapsed a little bit to the left, so I had some opening ice there, and Mikey saw me and made a great play to me. Puck was rolling — I just tried to shoot it and it went in.”
Vrana’s last goal before this preseason marker came against the Buffalo Sabres just three days before he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings at that year’s trade deadline. That goal, his 11th of the 2020-21 campaign, was assisted by Lars Eller and Justin Schultz in front of a nearly empty KeyBank Center due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vrana, McMichael, and Ethen Frank lined up as Washington’s second line against Columbus on Friday. Carbery moved McMichael to the center position after Hendrix Lapierre, who previously skated between the two wingers earlier in the preseason, had a slow start this fall.
The goal comes just days after head coach Spencer Carbery challenged Vrana to show him “something significant” and Vrana responded with an assist and impressive all-around game in a 5-3 win against the New Jersey Devils. Carbery admitted postgame that V had a “very strong game.”
v happy pic.twitter.com/jQPAUwSJoz
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 28, 2024
Washington has just a couple of roster spots up for grabs at this year’s camp, and Vrana is battling wingers like Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Pierrick Dubé, who were all also in Friday night’s lineup. Carbery previously mentioned his belief that none of the four candidates had separated themselves from the others, but Vrana has now had back-to-back showings in which he’s found the scoresheet.
“I think for all of us, coming in from the summer, I think game by game things get a little better,” Vrana said. “The guys start to get a little bit more comfortable on the ice with being in a game mode again and getting the summer off our bikes a little bit. I mean since [the first day of Training Camp], it’s been intense. And obviously today, yeah, we feel pretty good. I mean, we created a lot of chances; this one goes in. So far we have a 2-2 game.”
Friday night was Vrana’s second game at Capital One Arena while wearing a Capitals jersey. Last weekend, he played his first in nearly three and a half years (1,263 days).
Alex Ovechkin and Jakub Vrana have both scored in the same game. What is this? Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final?
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) September 28, 2024
Washington will have two more preseason games after taking on the Blue Jackets at home, which Carbery has said he wants to use as dress rehearsals for the regular season. The second-year bench boss hinted that the team’s two matchups against Columbus could have massive roster implications.
“Yeah, [Friday is an important game], and we head to Columbus, and we’ll spend a few days there,” Carbery said. “So, it is a big game. It’ll be a mixed group. It won’t just be the group from Boston, it’ll be a more mixed group.”
