Andre Burakovsky isn't a household name. On team with Ovechkin, Backstrom, Holtby, Oshie, Williams, Orlov, and Carlson, he has all the star-power of a Trump Inauguration.
Last year, he scored 17 goals. This year he has 11. At regular strength, he is the Capitals' eigth most used forward. So when I tell you he will be out 4-6 weeks, your response might be 'so what?'
The thing is, Burakovsky is a huge part of the depth that makes Washington so great. He will be greatly missed.
Other than Lars Eller and Brett Connolly, Burakovsky is the Capitals best possession forward at 54%. He has a ridiculous GF% of 66%. That's no coincidence, as those are the players he plays with the most. It also happens to be one of the best third-lines in the NHL.
Burakovsky has a p/60 rate that ranks him 19th in the NHL (500 mins) (5v5) ahead of Matthews and just behind Ovechkin. Of his 11 goals, nine are at even strength.
Basically, he's a massively underrated player who could easily play on the first line of most teams in the NHL.
The Capitals are going to miss Burakovsky, but on the bright side, four to six weeks from now should still get him back in time for the first-round of the Playoffs.
Andre Burakovsky should be a more well known player. He's very good and the fact the Captials play him on their third line is one of the reasons they're the best team in the NHL.
Not like the Capitals aren't a great team, but other than John Carlson, this is their first blow to their amazing depth all season. I think they'll be fine.
all stats corsica.hockey
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The Caps will be host to the Ducks tonight and they'll put their streak of ten straight games scoring five goals at home on the line.
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