Got some clarification on why Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz played 3 minutes, 55 seconds of ice time on Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators. He isn’t hurt. And that wasn’t the plan going into the game, according to Washington coach Dale Hunter. In his postgame comments, Hunter told reporters in Ottawa that Schultz wasn’t a great “fit” for that particular contest. He used similar terminology after an optional skate on Thursday at Kettler Iceplex.
“It’s just a call of the game,” Hunter said. “It’s one of those things that it’s choices you make. We want Schultz to play more, but we decided that we were going with the other guys more.”
Local reporters also had a chance to chat with assistant coach Jim Johnson and get his take. Turns out, the Caps were leery of having Schultz on the ice against either Jason Spezza’s line or Daniel Alfredsson’s line and the Senators – with the last change as the home team – appeared to be aggressively matching. And even when Schultz and defensive partner Dmitry Orlov could get on the ice against the other Ottawa units, a penalty would short-circuit the shift. Orlov, however, rotated back in often during the first period with John Erskine and later Dennis Wideman.
That latter Orlov shift with Wideman lasted a full 50 seconds before Schultz finally joined in after a whistle. But 16 seconds later Nicklas Backstrom took a hooking penalty. Later in the first period, Schultz had literally just jumped onto the ice with Orlov when Ottawa took two penalties on the same play. That shift lasted four seconds. Schultz saw a 40-second shift late in the first, skated twice in the second period and just one time in the third.
“I just didn’t feel it was the right matchup for [Schultz] and for our team last night,” Johnson said. “Nothing against him. The time he played I think he played well. We’ve just got to continue to work with him and make him better and get him believing that he is the player that he was two years ago. Because I believe we can get there with him.”
A mainstay on the penalty kill in recent years, Schultz had just :12 of short-handed ice time on Wednesday. Then again, he did see 4:00 against Florida on Tuesday, 2:21 last week against Pittsburgh and :42 last Saturday vs. the Senators in a game where Washington took just one penalty. Schultz was scratched in Hunter’s first game against St. Louis.
Only once in his career has Schultz skated fewer minutes than Wednesday’s game. That was Nov. 24, 2008 against Minnesota, where Schultz broke a finger after playing just 3:09. A knee injury limited him to 3:55 once before in a Feb. 20, 2008 game against the New York Islanders. He missed two games. But the Caps insist Schultz isn’t being buried.
“It’s not that he doesn’t fit in with what we’re doing,” Johnson said. “He’s big, he’s got a good stick, he’s got a good reach. I’ve been working with his feet. I think his feet are good. I’d like to see him get a little bit more explosive and a little bit more aggressive in the corners and in front of the net. I think it’s a little bit out of his personality, but there’s no reason why we can’t get that out of him.”
Given the injuries to the blueline, Schultz is still expected to play on Friday night against Toronto. And the underlying defensive metrics appear solid. Schultz has a 2.22 goals against/60 minutes of ice time. Only Karl Alzner (2.00) is better among Washington defensemen. Schultz’s quality of competition (0.005) ranks 80th among the 151 NHL defensemen who have played at least 20 games. And in 25 games, Schultz still has a +1 plus-minus rating. So maybe things look worse than they really are. But there’s no question the 6-foot-6, 230-pounder could at least use a confidence boost at this point.
“It’s just giving [Schultz] that opportunity, letting him get out and do it and work with him in practice and get him believing,” Johnson said. “I don’t have a problem with him. I’ve always liked him as a player. I think he’s got good skill, good ability, and I’d like to see him – as I’ve told him – just be a little bit more aggressive, close on guys quicker and be a little bit more stronger to play against down in the corners and in front of the net. If he does that, he’s got a great stick, he’s got a good head for the game. To me, he’ll be a player that I expect to grow and grow big for us.”
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