The Washington Capitals faceoff tonight against the Calgary Flames at 9pm in Calgary to kick off their first road trip of the season.
The Caps are coming off a great start to the season, going 3-1-0, with their only loss coming to the red hot San Jose Sharks. Besides the 5-0 blowout, the Capitals have been in control for much of the season, playing the Trotz-style of hockey much more fluidly.
Washington has also benefitted from the arrival of two key players in T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams. Williams has been solid, registering two assists in his four games. His two-way game is exactly what the Caps needed to balance out the top two-lines.
As for Oshie, he has been red hot playing along side Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom, who is back from off-season hip surgery that kept him out of the teams first 3 games.
Backstrom scored the game winning goal and picked up 2 assists in his first game back on Saturday against the Hurricanes.
The Caps hope to keep up the momentum going into Calgary tonight. The Flames have gotten off to a rotten start, but that doesn't mean Washington can sit back and put on cruise-control. The Flames are a very talented team with the likes of Sean Monahan, Johnny Goudreau and Jiri Hudler.
Washington has had a year to learn from their mistakes in the Trotz-era. Last year was a learning experience for both coach and players which almost resulted in an Eastern Conference Final berth for the first time since 1998.
“This year is more of a refresh,… said Caps forward Brooks Laich. “By the end of last season it was sort of in our bodies. Now it’s just training the brain again. We’ve learned the systems, we’ve learned the culture and now we want to take it to another level.…
Barry Trotz knows that the Caps need to continue their strong start if they are to gain any ground in the tricky Metro Division.
“If you don’t get off to a good start you’re chasing the eight ball all year. If you’re not in the playoffs by Thanksgiving the odds of getting in are pretty small. Last year we weren’t and we beat the odds a little bit.…
Washington also plays back-to-back games in Vancouver and Edmonton on Friday and Saturday, which means we will probably see the season debut of Philipp Grubauer. Grubauer signed a two-year deal in the offseason to solidify his role of backup with the Caps this year.
Braden Holtby was asked to play back-to-back games last year 7 times, mostly due to the fact that backup Justin Peters struggled mightily, going 3-6-1. Grubauer is an upgrade from last year and should see 15-20 games depending on how much Trotz wants to rest Holtby without messing with his rhythm.
More to come...