The Caps spent a little over an hour on the ice for practice this morning at Kettler Iceplex. Tomorrow begins a two-games-in-two-nights road trip to Boston and Ottawa. Flu-like symptoms continue to plague Washington as defensemen Scott Hannan and Tyler Sloan didn’t skate. Bruce Boudreau was hopeful that both would at least travel with the team to Boston. Sloan is technically still on injured reserve, but he is eligible to play whenever the team needs him. Or was until the illness struck. Boudreau listed both players as “game-time” decisions in Boston.
Forward Alex Semin skated before practice, but is still battling illness and a lower-body injury, according to Boudreau. Semin did not travel to Boston. He will skate Saturday morning at Kettler and then make a decision on if he can travel to Ottawa. But even that was a listed as a maybe.
One way to get going offensively – the Caps have scored nine goals total during their current seven-game losing streak – is using the power play. Unfortunately, that unit is scuffling, too, at 3-for-28 in these seven games.
“We do the same things and we either put it in or we miss,” Boudreau said. “It’s not like we’re not getting zone time. It’s not like we’re not crowding the net. It’s not like we’re not getting shots. We’re doing all those things. They just don’t seem to be going in.”
The Caps had three practices this week and devoted one of those to the power play. Yet even with this cold streak Washington is still scoring at a 21.2% clip with the man advantage. That ranks eighth in the NHL.
“I think the power play is what separates us most games,” said defenseman Mike Green. “When we get one or two on the power play we usually win. And lately we haven’t. It’s something we needed to work on and get back to the basics and go from there.”
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