Caps take on Avs without Ovechkin

Nov. 21 against the Colorado Avalanche at Capital One Arena

Time: 19:00

TV: MNMT

Radio: 106.7 Fanen, Kasketter Radio 24/7

Colorado Avalanche (10-9-0)

Washington Capitals (13-4-1)

Less than a week after claiming a 5-2 victory over the Avalanche in Denver, the Caps will aim to sweep the season series with the Avs when Colorado makes its only visit to DC of the season. The Avalanche are here Thursday night, providing the opposition for the opener of Washington’s two-game homestand.

After going on a three-game Western road trip in just four nights, the Caps returned home Tuesday atop the Metropolitan Division standings. But there is little joy over these achievements in the district. Caps captain Alex Ovechkin, off to the best start of his 20-year NHL career, was injured Monday night in the third period of the tour’s final game in Utah. Ovechkin’s lower-body injury has him out week-to-week, meaning his upcoming absence from the Washington lineup will likely be the longest of his NHL career.

Early in the third period of Monday’s road trip finale in Salt Lake City, Ovechkin and Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain collided near the Washington blueline, resulting in a lower leg injury for Ovechkin, who was down on the ice briefly before skating carefully. to the bench. He stayed there briefly before traveling down the tunnel and he did not return.

When they flew home from Salt Lake City on Tuesday, the Caps announced that Ovechkin was week-to-week with a lower leg injury. That ailment could result in the longest injury layoff of Ovechkin’s career, which is just six games as it stands now. Back in November 2009, Ovechkin missed six games with an upper-body injury, marking his longest continuous absence from the Washington lineup in his 20-year NHL career to date.

As for the current lower leg ailment, we may know more on Thursday. Ovechkin was examined by team doctors on Wednesday.

“Our doctors are evaluating him today,” Caps coach Spencer Carbery said. “So we’ll get a better idea of ​​the timeline (and) extent of damage (Thursday).”

Throughout his career, Ovechkin’s remarkable durability has been as evident as his goal-scoring talents. He has missed a total of 59 games, but only 35 of those have been the result of injury. He has had six suspensions in a total of 10 games, he has had three personal absences in a total of seven games, he has had three sick absences – all for COVID-19 – in a total of six games. Finally, he was scratched from the final regular season game—a makeup game with an earlier suspension—of the 2015–16 season. That leaves 15 injury absences in a total of 35 games. The longest of those previous injury absences was a six-game stretch in November 2009 when he was sidelined with an upper-body injury.

None of his current teammates were even in the NHL back then. The idea of ​​Ovechkin missing that many games in a single stretch is completely foreign to them.

“It’s unbelievable,” says Caps defenseman John Carlson, the second-longest current Capitals behind Ovechkin. “I had a little bit of déjà vu just about being in the locker room, like before we go on the ice. Almost every time he is there. His personality, his presence, his leadership, his skills – they will all be missed.”

“It’s weird,” says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. “Ever since I’ve been here, it seems like he’s in every night. He’s obviously extremely durable, and it’s going to be weird not having him around. But at the end of the day, it’s a team game. I think we are deep this year and hopefully everyone can step up and just take a little bit off.

The team is definitely deep this year, and the team’s team play has been very on point in the first 18 games. The Caps will lean on those aspects of their makeup as they “move forward” — to borrow from the captain’s own unique parlance — without their superstar winger.

“I think what’s made us successful this year is the team play,” Wilson says, “and each line has an identity and the group plays really well together. And that doesn’t change that. I think ​​it puts more emphasis on just continuing to do what we’ve been doing and working for the guy next to you.

“And we want to play for him as well. He’s our captain; he leads the way every night and he’s been a superstar carrying a load for so many years. When he’s out, we’ve got to make sure that we play to the standard that he would appreciate.”

During Ovechkin’s NHL career, the Caps have amassed a 26-28-5 record in the 59 games he has missed. But since the start of the 2021-22 season, they are 4-13-0 without him.

At Wednesday’s practice, the Caps did not tip their hand as to which player could end up taking Ovechkin’s spot on the team’s top line. But Carlson slides from the top of the zone on the power play to Ovechkin’s vacated left point office, and Jakob Chychrun will occupy Carlson’s former position at the top of the umbrella.

Given the way the Caps are rolling at the moment – ​​they’re 4-0-1 in their last five games – they might not be upsetting much of the rest of the streak. Ovechkin was placed on injured reserve and Sonny Milano was moved from IR to long-term IR. Washington recalled winger Ivan Miroshnichenko from AHL Hershey, and he’s certainly an option to step right into Ovechkin’s spot on the team’s top line with Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome. But there are also other possibilities.

Andrew Mangianpane had some shifts in that role after Ovechkin’s departure from Monday’s game, and he set up a Protas goal with a nice play in the third period. If the Caps are set on having a real shot at that line, Taylor Raddysh is another option. But the Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Raddysh line has been consistently solid all season and while Carbery prefers to have wingers on their strengths, it’s not a requirement.

“No, but it would help,” Carbery says, asked if he thinks Ovechkin’s replacement should be a real shot. “I have said that before; I prefer wingers who play their ‘on’ sides. I like Protas on the left side, so putting another lefty over there on the right side (is not preferable). But it’s not the be all, end all. So if there’s a better fit – whether it’s Mangiapane – we’ll find out (Thursday). We’ll figure it out.”

Since falling to the Caps last Friday in Denver, the Avs have played just once. They opened their current four-game road trip Monday in Philadelphia with a 3-2 win over the Flyers. Cale Makar scored twice for the Avs in the middle period and Colorado opened up a 3-0 lead in the third period on a Casey Mittelstadt strike in the front half of the final frame. But a pair of Philly goals less than two minutes apart in the third made things interesting late.

Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen — who was pulled early in the second period of Friday’s game after getting booed for three goals on six shots — picked up the win in Philly with a 24-save effort.