WASHINGTON, DC — Alex Ovechkin (and his sons) took center stage for the Capitals’ home opener festivities, but the line of Alex Tuch, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Tom Wilson stole the show once the puck dropped.
Tasked with defending against the Penguins’ top line, the Dubois trio successfully shut down Sidney Crosby and company on Wednesday night. Not only that, but they had also had plenty of time for offense of their own, scoring a goal apiece in the Capitals’ 5-3 victory.
“I thought they were outstanding tonight right from their first shift,” said head coach Spencer Carbery. “Just did such a good job of creating turnovers on the forecheck, putting their D under pressure, holding onto pucks, had multiple long O-Zone shifts. And then, you know, against 87.
“So anytime that you can do those types of things consistently and win that matchup, it’s a huge benefit for our team.”
Wilson was the first of the three to strike just over the halfway mark of the first period. Facing pressure from Tuch along the boards, Pittsburgh defender Kris Letang dumped the puck past the goal line, where Dubois was waiting. Dubois fed the puck to Wilson in the slot, who sent the puck past goaltender Artur Silovs for a 2-1 Capitals lead.
Dubois added another goal to Washington’s total just under five minutes into the second period. Once again, Tuch forced a turnover, this time from Silovs in the trapezoid. Wilson passed the puck to Dubois from behind the net, and Dubois scored on a one-timer while Silovs was still clambering back into position.
Less than 10 minutes later, Tuch completed the combined hat trick on perhaps the most egregious offensive opportunity of the night. He intercepted a cross-ice pass from Declan Carlile that was meant for Erik Karlsson, sending Tuch and Wilson off to the races for a two-on-none.
Wilson (1g, 2a) and Dubois (1g, 1a) both ended the game with multi-point nights, while Tuch’s offensive pressure was a major factor in all three plays.
“He’s really smart,” Wilson said of Tuch. “Obviously, he’s got a ton of skill, but he puts himself in the right spots to create offense. I think we took care of our own end for the most part, and then when we get to the O-Zone, it’ll happen for us.”
Dubois and Wilson had experience playing together last season, but Tuch spent the preseason adjusting to both new linemates and a new position, moving to Dubois’ left wing to leave space for Wilson on the right. Now three games into the regular-season calendar, the new roles have begun to really click.
“I think we’re starting to find our groove a little bit,” Wilson said. “I don’t know how much Tuchy’s played (on his off side), so I think getting more familiar with that, just using our size, using our speed. I thought we made good plays and put ourselves in opportunities to take advantage when they made mistakes.”
Meanwhile, Crosby recorded one of the worst nights of his career, on the ice for four of the Capitals’ five goals. Wednesday marked only the sixth time that Crosby has gone -4 or below and scored zero points in his 1,424-game career, per TNT.
Asked if Crosby, now 39, was still enough of a threat that the Capitals had to account for him in their pre-scout, Carbery replied, “Oh yeah.” Crosby proved a formidable enough threat for Carbery to put extra priority on keeping him on the ice against the Dubois line.
“Tonight I was trying to go a little bit harder with the matchup,” he said. “Like some nights I’ll pick the spots. But tonight was a little bit harder, where I really wanted Dubie to play against Sid as much as they could.
“So I’ll miss them (for) a rotation. Like to start the second period…they start on the power play so Dubie doesn’t get out there. So they’re sitting for three and a half minutes and I can feel it. They’re kind of like, ‘God, I want to get out on the ice.’ But I’m waiting for Sid and those guys to get (out).”
That choice more than paid off for Carbery and the Capitals. While the Dubois line was on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals had a whopping 71.9 percent of expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick, with a 8-6 advantage in scoring chances and a 4-2 advantage in high-danger chances.
Wilson acknowledged some luck in the lopsided matchup on Wednesday, but noted that the line’s strong fundamentals helped lead to those opportunistic breaks.
“I think there was obviously some good bounces, some good fortune, but I think you earn that to a certain extent,” he said. “You’re playing the right way. You’re making clean plays for the most part, and (it) gives yourself a chance to put it in the back of the net when you get an opportunity.”
This year’s Capitals squad has enough forward depth to spread the burden around all four lines, but the Tuch-Dubois-Wilson line will likely get many of the season’s most difficult assignments. So far, they’ve more than risen to the occasion.
“I’m playing with two good players,” Wilson said. “The expectation was high. We have to help our team win games.
“Tuchy was a great add. Dubie, as far as a 200-foot centerman, he’s one of the best in the game. So we’re hopefully going to make it hard on any team’s top guys, and then when we get the puck, we can take advantage.”
