Boudreau is rotating roster down stretch
Capitals rookie defenseman John Carlson had one of his better games in the NHL on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old was steady, avoiding the inevitable mistakes of a first-year player. He made good decisions. He played hard. He was physical. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau thought Carlson was his team’s best defenseman against the Carolina Hurricanes.
That’s encouraging for Carlson, who is trying to stick with the big club through the playoffs and not head back to AHL Hershey. But he still will likely sit out Friday’s home game against Tampa Bay.
That’s life on a stacked NHL roster. Carlson has done everything possible to stay in the lineup. But veteran defenseman John Erskine needs to play after getting scratched in three of the last four games. Unless Boudreau changes his mind, it’s just Carlson’s turn to sit.
That players are sitting even after good games “can be the hardest part,” said forward Jason Chimera, who was benched Wednesday. Forward Eric Fehr sat out the Carolina game, too, despite two goals and an assist in his previous four games. Forward Scott Walker was scratched four days after scoring twice in his Caps’ debut. Players say they accept the arrangement as reality on the NHL’s best team.
“But it’s not easy at all to do,” Boudreau said. “It can be done as long as we continue to win. If we start losing that’ll change in a heartbeat. … But I think the bottom line is everybody is committed on this team to winning. Everybody is willing to pay the price to win.”
The coaching staff is rotating 15 forwards and eight defensemen. Only 18 position players are active for an NHL game with two goalies. After the NHL trade deadline passed on March 3, teams were allowed to keep as many players on the active roster as they could fit under the league’s salary cap. Right now, Washington has 25. Defenseman Tyler Sloan and forward Quintin Laing have yet to appear in a game since the trade deadline. Carlson and Eric Belanger are likely scratches on Friday, according to Boudreau.
“I think everybody understands this,” said Caps captain Alex Ovechkin. “But if I see — and if different guys see — a player who didn’t play [and] he’s mad, have bad mood, you just have to talk to him and say ‘This is what we do right now.’ It doesn’t matter what it’s going to cost us. Right now what’s important is results.”
