Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden would not say if John Carlson will play in the Caps’ first round-robin game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
Reirden spoke to reporters on Zoom before the team’s scheduled practice where Carlson was expected to participate.
Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden may have tipped his hand on how he’d like his top six to line up in the 2020 playoffs.
According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson skated together on the first line while Nicklas Backstrom skated on the second in the team’s first session today. Backstrom appears likely to skate with Jakub Vrana and TJ Oshie, who were on the first line of the second practice group with Travis Boyd.
Todd Reirden spoke to the media on Monday. The Capitals head coach talked about the precautions his family has taken due to his son’s immune system disorder as well as what he’s doing to relate with his players during the coronavirus pandemic.
Reirden also shared is thoughts behind how he’d like the 2019-20 season resume if it is at all possible. Alex Ovechkin recently shared that he’d like the playoffs to start immediately even if it’d deny him the opportunity to reach 50 goals again.
Todd had a more conservative idea.
Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden held a conference call with reporters Monday morning. It marked the first time he’s spoken to the media since the coronavirus outbreak suspended the NHL’s 2019-20 season.
Reirden said during the call that he’s sheltering in place with his wife Shelby and his 17-year-old son Travis, who has an immune system disorder. “We’ve had to be careful about what we bring into the house” to keep him safe, Reirden said.
But all that extra time at home has meant more TV time and the Reirdens have watched some eclectic programming.
The Washington Capitals are 14-15-1 in their last 30 games (under .500) and have given up three-plus goals in ten straight games.
Wednesday, 24 hours after losing to the Flyers 5-2, the Capitals lost in overtime to the New York Rangers 6-5 after Mika Zibanejad scored his fifth goal of the game.
Capitals head coach Todd Reirden spoke to the media afterward and answered three questions. Reirden was asked nuanced things by reporters but used the opportunity to speak broadly about the team’s struggles.
Here is Todd Reirden in his own words.
Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk first arrived in the NHL during the 2001-02 season as an 18-year-old. One of his teammates on that expansion Atlanta Thrashers team was journeyman defenseman Todd Reirden, who at the age of 29, was nearing the end his career.
Kovalchuk, who could barely speak any English, became unlikely friends with Reirden that year. The mentorship was one of the reasons why Reirden got into coaching.
The two hockey lifers were reunited on Tuesday after a deadline day deal 19 years later – one as a player and the other as head coach.
Kovalchuck and Reirden spoke about their friendship with reporters after Kovy’s Capitals’ debut at the team’s morning skate.
For most of the year, the Washington Capitals have been the NHL’s best team. But since coming back from their eight-day break (bye week plus the All-Star Break) on January 27, they’ve looked like a shell of their former selves.
The Capitals have lost four of their last five games and six of their last nine overall. They’ve given up the first goal six straight games. The bad stretch of play has erased their cushion atop the standings and knocked them out of first place in the Eastern Conference. With a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins will take the Metropolitan Division lead from the Caps. Washington sits only eight points ahead of division-rival, Philadelphia, for the final playoff spot in the East. Every game matters here on out.
On Sunday, Peter published his snapshot, a statistical analysis of the team, and it points to a team-wide problem (minus Braden Holtby who has been brilliant lately).
But what do the players and coaches think? After the Capitals lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Monday (they fell behind 3-0 before clawing back late in the third period), TJ Oshie, Lars Eller, John Carlson, and Todd Reirden all spoke to the media and shared their insight. Players and coaches usually aren’t the best at articulating or diagnosing problems to the media – there’s inherent pressure to not reveal much tangible information and keep things in the room – but I found the interviews to be more illuminating than usual.
Here are the Capitals in their own words about their recent stretch of poor play.
By Ian Oland 6 months ago
Tuesday after practice, Todd Reirden spoke about all the happenings of the day from Martin Fehervary’s surprise call-up to Ilya Samsonov’s injury.
At the end of his press conference, Reirden was asked about a humorous play involving Evgeny Kuznetsov against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sunday. In the second period, Kuznetsov tried to go onto the Penguins bench after he noticed the Capitals had too many men on the ice.
The ploy didn’t work, but it did get a massive chuckle out of his head coach.
After an inspiring outing against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, Braden Holtby gave up three first period goals and five overall to the Nashville Predators, earning his eighth loss in the last 13 games. But it was his gaffe on an early third-period powerplay that Holtby believes deflated the Capitals and gave Nashville the momentum to complete their comeback and win.
“It’s just a play that can’t happen,” a dejected and soft-spoken Holtby said in the locker room after the game. “It’s what killed us.”
After a strong game in net against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, Capitals head coach Todd Reirden confirmed to the media on Tuesday that Braden Holtby would be the starter for their game against the Nashville Predators. Ilya Samsonov had won five of the Capitals’ eight games before the bye week.
“Braden’s going to play again tomorrow,” Reirden said to the media on Tuesday, when asked whether Holtby would start against the Predators. “Liked his game a lot [Monday]. Think he’s definitely earned that opportunity after the last game. Want to get him right back in there. It was a response game for him after the break, and that’s as good as maybe we’ve seen him in the third [period] this year.”
By Donya Abramo 6 months ago
