ARLINGTON, VA — Justin Sourdif got his first look down the middle this season with the Capitals looking for a spark. After a dismal start against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, Sourdif took shifts at third-line center in the second half of the game as head coach Spencer Carbery shuffled the team’s lines.
The Capitals couldn’t pull off a comeback against Vancouver, but Carbery saw promise in Sourdif’s performance despite a critical tripping penalty in the third period. And though Washington has primarily used him as a fourth-line winger so far, where he has yet to record a point, Sourdif could soon move to the team’s middle six.
“Yeah, I liked him a lot (at center),” Carbery said of Sourdif on Monday. “He’s a natural centerman. That’s what he grew up playing. That’s what he’s played his whole life. He’s been moved to the wing in Florida’s organization for parts of his time in the American League, he can play the wing, but we think there’s potentially a centerman there at the NHL level. And so I liked it a lot. I’m looking for any opportunity I can get him in the middle of the ice to see what that looks like.”
A third-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2020, Sourdif spent time at both positions while with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, something Washington brass got to see up close in May when he faced the Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division Finals. Capitals assistant general manager Ross Mahoney cited both Sourdif’s positional versatility and his strong play in Hershey when discussing the decision to acquire him this summer for the relatively high price of a second and sixth-round pick.
Sourdif has played largely with Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime on the team’s fourth line, where he has posted encouraging underlying numbers. With Sourdif on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals have seen 60.9 percent of shot attempts, 59.6 percent of expected goals, 61.8 percent of scoring chances, and 72.5 percent of high-danger chances, all despite Sourdif starting 92 of his 97 shifts outside of the offensive zone.
In six games so far, Sourdif has recorded eight shots on goal, 18 individual shot attempts, eight individual scoring chances, five individual high-danger chances, nine hits, and drawn two penalties. He’s added dynamic speed to the Caps’ bottom-six, topping out at 22.11 miles per hour, per NHL EDGE, and has been able to get chances on odd-man rushes, though he’s struggled to finish.
While it’s too early to draw firm conclusions from Sourdif’s play down the middle on Sunday — he spent under five minutes at center, all while the Capitals were trailing — the early results were promising. His line with Aliaksei Protas and Ryan Leonard out-chanced the Canucks 3-1 while at the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
His performance also impressed Carbery, even with the relatively small sample size.
“I thought yesterday was a good opportunity. He plays with a ton of pace, straight line, and he gets into a couple really good situations that are — he’s just off on that last play or last shot, but he’s into some really good spots. So that’s something that I’m looking at.”
Sourdif could get another chance at center as soon as Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Carbery confirmed after the team’s morning skate that “there’ll be things moving around” in the lineup against Seattle, though he declined to provide specifics.
The Capitals could use another centerman in the mix with Pierre-Luc Dubois set to miss his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. Hendrix Lapierre has centered Washington’s third line with Dubois out, but he’s had an uneven start to the year and was a healthy scratch on October 12 before Dubois’ injury saw him re-join the lineup.
Evaluating Sourdif’s start more broadly, Carbery has been largely happy with how his season has looked so far, especially as he gets used to the team.
“I think each day, (he’s) more comfortable in and around the rink with the coaches, with his teammates. Systems becoming more seamless for him. Really liked his game, last game. I think he’s been, for the most part — I think out of the six (games he’s played), maybe one off game that wasn’t great, but the rest pretty solid, so that’s a real good start in a new organization.”
Carbery also pointed out Sourdif’s relative inexperience at the NHL level. Sourdif, 23, spent three seasons in the AHL to start his pro career while with the Panthers organization but had played just four NHL games before coming to DC.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself this is a rookie,” he said. “You have to put him in the same breath as Leno (Ryan Leonard) from an experience standpoint. I mean, he’s got less experience than Leno, right? He played three NHL games. Leno played 20.
“Lappy (Lapierre) has played way more games than Justin Sourdif, but I think we’re sort of grouping (Sourdif) in as an NHL veteran because we knew he was going to be here, and we traded a second round pick for him. But he’s still a young player getting used to the league. And so for him to come in and play as well in six games and five of them good, or whatever you want to chalk that up, it’s pretty impressive.”
