The chances to impress are dwindling to a precious few now. So with final cuts looming and the Capitals’ season opener just 10 days away there was plenty at stake for roster hopefuls during Tuesday night’s preseason game against Carolina.
In the end, it was the team’s youngsters who came through during a 3-2 overtime victory at Verizon Center. Rookie forward Nicklas Backstrom slammed home a rebound at 3 minutes, 36 seconds of the extra period after defenseman Mike Green drove hard to the net with the puck.
The Capitals have now won two straight preseason games to even their record at 2-2. They also won at Tampa Bay last Saturday, 2-1. But for the second time this preseason they blew a 2-0 lead against Carolina. The first game ended in a 4-3 loss on Sept. 16.
Thirty-one players remain in Washington’s training camp competing for 23 spots, including a glut of 10 defenseman. Only seven at that position will likely stick around for the opener at Atlanta on Oct. 5. But players on the bubble still have tonight’s game at Philadelphia and Friday at home, also against the Flyers, to secure a place. The final preseason game is Sunday against Ottawa.
“You just want to play as hard as possible, but not try to do too much, either,” said Green, the second-year defenseman who has put together a strong camp but is still angling for an NHL job. “It’s not up to me. It’s [management’s] hockey team. But I’m trying to make it hard on them.”
Green, who played 70 games with the Caps as a rookie, had his moments – both good and bad. He finished a beautiful pass from teammate Tomas Fleischmann at the 5 minute, 5 second mark of the first period, deftly roofing a backhanded shot over Carolina goalie Cam Ward. But that goal came 13 seconds after Green finished a stint in the penalty box for a delay of game. He later returned to the box in the second period for tripping and then assisted on Backstrom’s game-winning goal.
“Our ‘d’ on the penalty kill won that hockey game for us,” said Capitals coach Glen Hanlon, whose team killed off all six Carolina power plays.
Game Notes
» Special teams have been a focus for the Capitals all preseason. They were 1-for-6 on the power play Tuesday, the lone goal a rebound by F Victor Kozlov with assists to F Alex Ovechkin and D Tom Poti.
» Carolina forward Erik Cole scored his third goal of the preseason against the Capitals. But he was also in the penalty box for hooking in overtime that led to the game-winning goal from Nicklas Backstrom.
» Tuesday marked the debut of the sparkling new high-definition LED scoreboard at Verizon Center. The mammoth screen features four panels measuring 14 feet, 5 inches high by 25 feet, 2 inches wide.
