The Washington Capitals went 2-1 this week with home wins over Philadelphia and Las Vegas before losing Saturday night in Montreal 6-2 to the Canadiens. Washington crept a point closer to third place in the Metropolitan Division, now trailing the New York Islanders by four points. The Caps have just two games this week, Tuesday at home against Utah and on the road Saturday March 7th against Boston. Here are some things to keep an eye on this week.
The offense needs to come to life.
Washington outshot all three of its opponents last week, but despite that, could only manage 8 goals in in three games. If the goaltending is good, the Capitals are fine, but Charlie Lindgren had an off night against the Canadiens which led to Washington getting blown out.
Washington doesn’t have a lot of time to make up ground. Last year, the Capitals benefitted from offensive break out years from Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael. Both are behind last year’s scoring pace and need to pick it up.
Will the trade deadline bring help?
The deadline is on the way with the window closing at 6 pm on Friday. Team president Brian McClellan has said the team would like to acquire a top six forward but those don’t grow on trees and the Caps don’t have a lot of assets to offer.
Of the top 50 potential trade chips, per The Athletic, only John Carlson is identified as a potential trade prospect. As one of just three holdovers from the 2018 Stanley Cup Champions, it’s unlikely Washington would be open to parting with him. That leaves draft picks as an option but the of potential candidates ranges from aging veterans to young players running out of chances to fulfill their potential. Are the Caps really in position to part with draft capital (no pun intended) for that?
It’s a scoreboard watching week.
Three of the most likely teams to be overtaken by the Caps, the Islanders, Penguins, and Bruins all have one more game this week than Washington. In addition, the Pens and Bruins play each other mid week so the chances of gaining ground are good. Still, there will be some tense moments if those games are close in the third period.
Bob Matthews is a 33 year veteran broadcast journalist, spending the last 29 years of his career in Virginia. Bob has covered both news and sports stories and for the last three seasons, the Washington Commanders. He looks forward to continuing to provide coverage to Sportsjourney.com both on the website and through his podcast, The Bob Matthews Show.
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