The Washington Capitals will have a new look on defense when they take on the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night. Alex Alexeyev is set to get back into the lineup after sitting out of the last 24 games as a healthy scratch.
Alexeyev, the Capitals’ 2018 first-round draft selection, last played on November 24 against the Edmonton Oilers. The 24-year-old Russian blueliner will be back in action and Trevor van Riemsdyk will sit in his place.
Head coach Spencer Carbery announced the changes in his pregame media availability after the team’s morning skate.
“Yeah, [Alexeyev] hasn’t played in a long time,” Carbery said. “He’s worked his butt off every single day. He’s been a tremendous person, teammate, continuing to bide his time and wait for his opportunity, and it felt like he’s earned that to get back into the lineup tonight.”
Alexeyev has played in just 10 games this season and in those games has skated less than 10 minutes of total ice time, three times. His spot in the lineup has been impacted by various factors as the season has gone on.
First, the Capitals had three, young, left-handed defensemen on their roster in October. Alexeyev spent the beginning portion of the season battling for playing time with Lucas Johansen and Hardy Haman Aktell. While those latter two eventually made their way to the Hershey Bears, they played in a combined 12 NHL games before moving down to the AHL.
Veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson then made his Capitals debut in November after missing the first few weeks of the schedule due to fracturing his hand early in the preseason. Edmundson, another lefty, has been locked into a spot on the team’s backend ever since.
The Capitals next further added to their defensive depth by signing Ethan Bear to a two-year deal in December. Bear’s addition has forced more veteran names like van Riemsdyk and Nick Jensen to the edges of the roster and Alexeyev has clearly been behind both up until this point of the season. If Alexeyev is a straight swap for TVR, he’ll line up next to Bear against the Ducks.
One of the main sticking points appears to be Carbery’s desire to have all of his defenders play on their natural sides. TVR has already suffered a healthy scratch this season due to Carbery’s preferences and with Rasmus Sandin on the verge of a comeback from injury, Alexeyev would need a game sooner rather than later if Carbery wanted to line him up on his comfortable left-hand side.
On the season, TVR has gotten into 36 games which is the third-most on the team among all defensemen. In those games, he has recorded seven assists. With him now out of action against Anaheim, a solid, almost two-minute chunk of penalty-kill ice time will now need to be filled by other members of the roster.
Alexeyev has just one point in his 10 games this season. He scored his first NHL goal against the Buffalo Sabres back on November 22.
