Lars Eller will miss tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks due to an upper-body injury. The Danish center is considered day-to-day.
The Capitals announced the news to traveling media before the game.
In his place, Aliaksei Protas will center the third line with Marcus Johansson and Anthony Mantha on the wings.
By Ian Oland 10 months ago
The Washington Capitals have weathered an unfathomable amount of injuries to start the season, and now they may be faced to grapple with another one.
The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reported on Twitter that third-line center Lars Eller left the ice before the Capitals began their morning skate. He did not return.
Eller’s absence prompted Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette, perhaps just temporarily, to give a big promotion to one of the team’s rising prospects, Aliaksei Protas.
By Ian Oland 10 months ago
The Washington Capitals thoroughly outplayed the Metropolitan Division-leading New Jersey Devils on Saturday night when considering every major offensive statistic. The Capitals dominated the Devils in 5v5 shot attempts (60-33) and scoring chances (34-19). The Capitals generated 4.2 expected goals to the Devils’ 2.2 per HockeyViz.com. And at all strengths, the Capitals had 81 attempts to the Devils’ 38, putting 38 shots on goal to the Devils’ 29.
The Capitals got blown out where it matters though — the scoreboard — 5-1. There are some explanations that are obvious. Vitek Vanecek had a revenge game and went into god mode, posting one of his best outings of the season. The Devils’ blocked 26 of the Capitals’ shot attempts, clogging up the center of the ice. And New Jersey capitalized on what chances they did have, shooting 17.3 shooting percent during the game.
Those are all things that made the game frustrating to watch as a Capitals fan. You want to excuse the game as unlucky and say to yourself — if the Capitals played every game like this, they’d be one of the top teams in the league.
But I’d caution you to do so. While there are legitimate excuses for some of the Capitals’ scuffling early this season (injuries to Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom, and Dmitry Orlov to name a few), I’ve also noticed strategy and deployment decisions that are hampering the team. I thought Saturday’s game against the Devils was a case study for some of those issues.
So let’s talk it out.
By Ian Oland 10 months ago
The Washington Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Friday. They got bounces, they found the back of the net with ease, and they played a passionate brand of hockey.
The two teams’ rematch two days later in Tampa was exactly the opposite. The Capitals gave up four goals to the Lightning before they even got a shot on goal in the first period. They were never in the game and lost 6-3.
In the locker room, acting head coach Kevin McCarthy and several other players including Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway, and Charlie Lindgren excoriated the team’s performance.
The Washington Capitals are “dealing with a few things in the room” as head coach Peter Laviolette has said many times in the past. Multiple key pieces of the team’s roster have missed recent practices due to injury or illness.
Saturday morning’s skate before the team’s final preseason matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets shed some light on those situations. TJ Oshie (upper-body) and Dmitry Orlov (lower-body) took the ice in non-contact jerseys. Lars Eller (illness) was a full participant in the optional skate.
Laviolette, per The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir, announced that even with their involvement in the skate all three would not play in the game against Columbus.
By Chris Cerullo 12 months ago
Washington Capitals forward TJ Oshie suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s latest preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old winger then missed Thursday’s practice and head coach Peter Laviolette announced to the media that Oshie is considered day-to-day and will likely miss the Caps’ final exhibition game on Saturday.
Friday, Oshie took the ice before the team’s regular practice in a non-contact jersey and got in some light skating and stick-handling work.
The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir also reported that defenseman Dmitry Orlov (lower-body) and center Lars Eller (illness) missed Friday’s practice entirely. Orlov was also absent on Thursday. The team has listed both as day-to-day.
By Chris Cerullo 12 months ago
Tuesday afternoon, Medstar Capitals Iceplex was invaded by an army of heckin’ good boys and an unbelievably adorable floof named Arthur for the annual Capitals Canine Calendar photoshoot.
To raise money and awareness for less fortunate animals, the Capitals partnered with Wolf Trap Animal Rescue to produce this year’s canine calendar. This year’s edition will be available for purchase later this year for $20 and the proceeds will benefit both WTAR and the MSE Foundation.
Like in years past, some players brought their families and pets to participate, while others were matched with some of WTAR’s rescue animals.
The creative directors for this year’s shoot were Taylor Wilson, Annie van Riemsdyk, and Paige Dowd. They helped coordinate the shots throughout the day and somehow managed to maintain order in all of the chaos.
Below are my photos from the day and some information about the pups and kitties who participated.
By Alan Dobbins 12 months ago
The Washington Capitals have just two preseason rehearsal games remaining on their schedule before they’ll take on the Boston Bruins to open the regular season. Head coach Peter Laviolette will have to iron out the kinks in his lineup before that October 12 date.
Tuesday, he tweaked his forward lines again at practice. This time changing the shape of his middle-six forward group.
By Chris Cerullo 12 months ago
With Capitals’ Training Camp set to open next month, players are trickling back to the area and are beginning to ramp up their on-ice workouts.
Friday, a large group of Capitals and a former member of the 2018 Stanley Cup team held an informal skate at Capitals MedStar Iceplex according to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir. The group spent their time doing some “intense” drill work.
By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago
Lars Eller bounced back from a down year, but did he bounce high enough?
By Peter Hassett 1 year ago
