Ethen Frank was the entirety of the Washington Capitals’ offense on Sunday afternoon.
The 27-year-old winger scored both of the team’s goals in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings, preventing the Capitals from coming away from their back-to-back weekend completely empty-handed. Frank’s two goals were his 5th and 6th of the season, giving him 13 points in 25 total games for the Caps.
Frank notched his first marker of the game with 5:43 remaining in the first period, putting the Capitals up 1-0 after a dominant start to the contest. The speedy winger surprised Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson with his pace up the ice, causing the Swede to stumble, which provided Frank a clean lane to the net for a nifty backhand finish on goaltender Cam Talbot.
“I just saw a good opportunity for an odd-man rush with Stromer carrying the puck up ice and just tried to get on my horse,” Frank said postgame. “Got a good bounce with that defenseman falling and was able to take a deep breath a little bit, kinda relax, and just make a good move.”
After a second period in which the Capitals were unable to get on the board again and the Red Wings took a 2-1 lead on home ice, Frank responded with his second goal with 9:38 remaining in regulation. After John Carlson had the puck knocked off his blade, Frank picked up the loose biscuit and beat Talbot five-hole with a wrist shot from the high slot.
“Another great play by Stromer and Johnny on a little bouncing puck,” Frank said. “Saw a guy in red right in front of me, just tried to get it by him, and shoot it hard.”
Frank played Sunday’s game on a new line with Nic Dowd and Anthony Beauvillier, and the Capitals were fantastic at five-on-five with the trio on the ice. During their 11:16 of joint ice time, the Caps posted positive differentials in shot attempts (+14), shots on goal (+8), scoring chances (+9), and high-danger chances (+3).
The Red Wings did not record a single shot on goal with the line on the ice, let alone a scoring chance. They were the only line of the Capitals’ four forward groups that could claim that after 60 minutes of play.
“I think [we] just had a lot of support,” Frank said. “Dowder talks a ton, so before you even get to the puck, he’s letting you know whether you have time or whether he wants it low or high. Beau is just so crafty in the O-zone. He’s so good at holding onto pucks and spinning off defenders. It makes it really easy to play with those two.”
With the two goals, Frank is now scoring at a 20-goal, 43-point pace over a full 82-game schedule. Sunday’s game was also his 25th of the season for the Capitals, which is a new single-season career high for him after he played in 24 games for the club last year. He has also already set new career highs in goals (6), assists (7), and points (13).
“It’s huge,” head coach Spencer Carbery said of Frank’s production. “We’ve needed every bit of it. He gets us the point tonight, scores two massive goals. Stepping up big time for us, playing well, playing more minutes, playing an expanded role, and he’s earned every bit of that.”
“Part of my job now is to just do that a little more consistently and do it more often,” Frank said. “I think the streaks [without a point] have been a little too long for my liking, playing really well, and then a couple weeks go by without any goals or points. Just being able to do that more, I think, can help the team.”
The two-time Calder Cup champion with the AHL’s Hershey Bears is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He is currently making just $775k against the salary cap.
