In December, Peter Laviolette was enthusiastic about the NHL’s new pandemic rules requiring coaches to wear masks because of the added privacy it would give him. “Nobody will see what’s coming out my mouth,” the intense bench boss joked. “My mother will be happy.”
On Tuesday, there was no hiding Lavy’s f-bombs as Capitals players started practice not as sharp as he would have liked.
By Ian Oland 2 years ago
The Washington Capitals will turn to rookie Vitek Vanecek for the eleventh straight game on Tuesday with Ilya Samsonov still out of the lineup.
Vanecek, who was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month in January after not losing in regulation, has cooled off considerably in February. Vanecek is 0-3 in his four February starts, giving up 3.75 goals per game and posting a .846 save percentage.
Despite Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noting that Vanecek looks “worn out by the workload” in his latest 31 Thoughts column, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette will turn to the 24-year-old again against the Penguins.
If you go the NHL’s stat site, go to teams, and then sort by goals against per game, you see the Capitals right near the top: 3.77 per game, second highest in the league, behind only Ottawa.
That’s atrocious. It paints a picture of the Capitals — now nursing a four-game losing streak — as a disaster. But I don’t think that picture is accurate.
By Peter Hassett 2 years ago
Peter Laviolette has coached against Alex Ovechkin since the Russian superstar entered the National Hockey League in 2005-06. Laviolette was the bench boss for two teams that frequently played Ovechkin’s Capitals during the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes (Southeast Division) and the Philadelphia Flyers (Atlantic/Metropolitan). He got very familiar with Ovechkin as an opposing player.
Since being named head coach of the Capitals in the fall, Laviolette has gotten to know Ovechkin better as both a team captain and a person. And in a conversation with 106.7 The Fan’s Sport Junkies earlier in the week, he revealed what things stood out.
Monday against the Bruins, Tom Wilson fought for the first time this season. The 6-foot-4 Wilson threw hands with 6-foot-2 agitator Trent Frederic, who had 148 PIMs with the AHL Providence Bruins last season.
At the time, the Capitals were leading 3-2 with 11:11 remaining in the third period. The Capitals would go on to lose the game 5-3.
By Ian Oland 2 years ago
The Washington Capitals have yet to lose a game in regulation. Winning some unlikely games and snagging a ton of loser points in overtime have put them in a cushy position in the league-wide standings: first.
That will not last. Even though this is the Weird Year, and even though the Caps have been terrifically fun so far, they’re probably not the best team in the NHL. It’s too early to draw strong conclusions, but that’s one thing we can know with some confidence.
And there are more — trends or patterns or glitches that are worth nothing, even if we’re duty-bound to put a super big caveat on everything.
By Peter Hassett 2 years ago
New Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette is clearly a Man Of Fashion, but a year removed from the game has Lavy not at peak packing form.
Monday, during an interview with 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies, Lavy spoke about a recent mishap he had during the Capitals’ season-opening, four-game road trip, which had him steamed.
Peter Laviolette’s notorious across the NHL for his less than revealing interviews, but Monday while speaking with 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies, the Capitals head coach showed some candor.
For instance, when asked about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ five-on-three shorthanded goal that they scored against the Capitals last week, Laviolette said the play made him feel so sick, and not in the good way.
To be precise, it made Lavy want to retch. Blow sick, unbelievable chunks. Hurl. Do this in emoji form: 🤢🤢🤮.
The Washington Capitals have struggled defensively early in the season. With a skinnier roster than usual to choose from, Peter Laviolette is making some changes.
Saturday, the coach tinkered with his defensive pairings, promoting Zdeno Chara and bumping Nick Jensen to the extra pairing.
The Washington Capitals will be without Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, and Ilya Samsonov for the next week of games at least after the Russians broke NHL protocol by hanging out in a hotel room together during their recent road trip.
“Right now the players are in quarantine,” Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said. “At this point, I believe it’s four games and then under review so we’ll go from there. There’ll probably be an announcement at some point.
“Those are four big pieces for us, important pieces,” Laviolette said. “They’ll be missed.”
By Ian Oland 2 years ago
