The Washington Capitals are expecting some bumps while their lines settle in, and Wednesday night’s home opener offered a clear example of that process in real time.
For coach Spencer Carbery, the roughest stretch belonged to the third line of Ilya Protas, Aliaksei Protas and Jordan Kyrou, which was on the ice for a minus-3 showing in Washington’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. That included both goals that turned a 4-1 lead into a 4-3 game as Pittsburgh grabbed momentum back in the second period.
The numbers were ugly enough on the surface. Over 7:39 at 5-on-5, the line posted a Corsi-for percentage of just 20 and a shots-for percentage of 16.67.
Still, Carbery wasn’t ready to write off the group based on one night.
"A little unlucky," Carbery said. "I don't love the stat line, but I don't think when I go back through the film, it's going to reflect that.
I thought they did some good things... I thought their line was okay.
I know minus-3, but like I said, I'll have to go back through the film and see how it looked."
He also called the game a "great learning experience," especially for Ilya Protas as the 20-year-old keeps adjusting to life at the NHL level full-time.
One moment Carbery singled out came on Pittsburgh’s second goal shortly after Washington went up 4-1. Ilya Protas tried to hold the puck in at the blue line, but the play broke the other way into a 2-on-1, and Tommy Novak finished it off on a rebound. Carbery wants that sequence to stick with the young center as a lesson moving forward.
In Other News...
Capitals Got An Encouraging Sign In A Tighter Win Over Rangers
A tighter-than-it-looked 3-1 win over the Rangers gave Washington more than two points in the standings. Boone Jenner and Timothy Liljegren both found the net for their first goals with the Capitals, while Tom Wilson sealed it with an empty-netter. Logan Thompson also delivered a steady night in goal, turning aside 22 shots and giving the Capitals the kind of backbone they needed in a game that stayed close for most of the night.
The result offered an encouraging snapshot of where Washington can lean when the margins shrink. New scorers are always a bonus, especially when they come in a game with that much pressure attached to every shift, and Thompsons performance helped keep the Rangers from turning the contest into a late scramble. The only lingering question from the night came from the other crease, where New York had to adjust in the middle of the game. [Read more 🡒]