Matt Niskanen is finally showing Caps fans why he was worth so much in the off-season.
Since Mike Green went down with another injury 3 games ago, Niskanen has tallied 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) including 3 last night in a 5-2 win over the red-hot Islanders.
Niskanen scored the first goal of the night, on the power play, and picked up two assists in 22:35 of ice time.
While Niskanen is finally putting up the points Caps fans were expecting him, he has quietly had a very solid season. Despite being a -2 (which means absolutely nothing), Niskanen has been great defensively. Normally paired with Karl Alzner, the two have been the most consistent pairing the Caps have had all season. Now that Green is out, Niskanen is seeing the power play time that he was getting in Pittsburgh, and that has made a huge impact.
In 22 games, Niskanen has 2 goals and 9 assists.
Mike Green has the potential to be one of best puck movers in the league. He has fantastic hands and sees the ice very well, but his inconsistency can make fans, and coaches, go crazy at times. The thought of having a deeper defensive unit meant that Green would find better opportunities to create offense, and while he has done that at times, he's been very quiet lately especially after a good start to the season.
Since the summer, Green has been the target of trade rumors, and now that Niskanen is emerging as the potential go-go-guy, Green could find himself expendable. Once he returns from injury, it will be interesting to see how Trotz uses both players, and if GMBM starts shopping Green.
The Caps, in the early goings last night, played like crap. Despite two goals from Niskanen and Marcus Johansson, they gave up 2 goals in 25 seconds to the Islanders. The Caps finally woke up in the second and Alex Ovechkin scored against Chad Johnson in what ended up being the game winner (his fourth GWG of the season).
Braden Holtby played well, stopping 26-28 shots including 9 of 11 in an Islander-controlled first. Holtby has won 5 of his last 8 games, giving up 2 or less goals in 7 of them.
Washington capped off the night with Joel Ward and Evgeny Kuznetsov tallies. Kuznetsov was promoted to the second line, while rookie Andre Burakovsky dropped down to the fourth between Jay Beagle and Brooks Laich, who returned from his shoulder injury.
The Caps may look to stick with these line combinations tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs
More to come...
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