The Washington Capitals have continued to struggle as they enter the second month of the regular season, thanks in large part to the absence of key centerman Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Caps have now gone 1-4-1 since Dubois sustained a lower-body injury on October 25, adding a 3-2 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning to their slump on Saturday.
Head coach Spencer Carbery has continued to tinker with the team’s forward corps while Dubois recovers, both to determine who takes on Dubois’ immediate duties and what those ripple effects mean further down the lineup. That experimentation continued Saturday when Carbery tested Justin Sourdif at third-line center against Tampa, a move he told reporters he’d hoped would help spark the team.
Capitals’ middle six against Tampa
“We’re just trying to find the combination in our middle six,” he said. “With Dubois out now, it’s just been a challenge, whether it’s (Connor McMichael) in the middle, and Sourdif, (Hendrix Lapierre). So we’re trying to figure out what that’s going to look like moving forward, whether Mikey can handle the Dubois sort of role, and what our third line looks like: is it Lappy? Is it Sourdif? How do we get Sourdif more involved and more impactful in a game? So those are things that we talk about and look at and dissect and make decisions.”
McMichael has had a noticeably quiet season so far after a high-flying start to the 2024-25 campaign saw him score 27 points (15g, 12a) in his first 30 games. This fall, he’s recorded just four points (1g, 3a) in 14 games.
Carbery previously tried Sourdif in the 3C role last month, though he eventually moved him back to the wing.
“I liked him a lot (at center),” Carbery said then. “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.”
Sourdif’s line with Ryan Leonard and Hendrix Lapierre struggled on the scoresheet, giving up Tampa’s first goal of the night 6:07 into the first period, but Carbery was didn’t have major qualms with the trio’s play, though Sourdif (7:31) and Lapierre (8:30) were the only Caps skaters to play under 10 mins of ice time.
“I thought they were okay tonight,” he said. “I mean, the first goal is unfortunate, but Lappy and Leno just both get buried behind the net and just can’t recover and get back. It’s unfortunate, because I thought the rest of their game was okay. I didn’t think there were any real issues with it. It’s just the one goal that ends up hurting them.”
With Dubois expected to remain out of the lineup for an “extended period of time,” the Capitals will need to find a solution down the middle, whether inside the organization or outside of it.
