It seems like a trap game from the start. The Capitals played the Philadelphia Flyers last week and then two days later had a showdown with the unbeaten Detroit Red Wings. Everyone is looking forward to their game in western Canada this Saturday with the Vancouver Canucks, last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners and Stanley Cup runners-up. Well, at least fans and media are. The players can’t afford that bit of luxury.
“We’re not worried about Vancouver,” Washington forward Brooks Laich said. “There’s a good team in Edmonton that’s waiting for us. We’re not worried about Vancouver yet.”
That’s a smart move. Because these aren’t last year’s Oilers – the club that finished with an NHL-worst 62 standings points. And the one that was no different in 2009-10 when Edmonton also ended the year with 62 points. But the rebuilding Oilers have used these down seasons – they haven’t made the playoffs since a surprise run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006 – to acquire top, young talent in recent years.
Taylor Hall. Jordan Eberle. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Magnus Paajarvi. Sam Gagner. They range in age from 18 to 22 and are the future of Edmonton. Hall and Nugent-Hopkins were both drafted No. 1 overall. But there are some solid veterans around them. A return to the playoffs might be a bit much. But there appears to be a bright future in Oil City.
“Every year is different. They’re second in the league in [preventing] goals,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “The one thing about the Oilers from the [19]80s to now is they can skate. And they’re filled with enthusiasm and they’re filled with hope. And they’re playing pretty good. So right now they’re right there. And they’re going to be gunning for us.”
That’s because Washington enters its brief, two-game trip to western Canada with a 7-0-0 record – the last of the NHL’s unbeaten after they beat Detroit 7-1 on Saturday at Verizon Center. But things always seem tougher out west. The buildings are almost always full. The ice is usually pristine and plays faster. If there is any talent at all on the other side in a given year, winning in Calgary or Edmonton or Vancouver is a coup for Eastern Conference teams. Before beating the Oilers 4-2 on Dec. 19, 2009, the Caps hadn’t won in Rexall Place – the old Northlands Coliseum – since Feb. 7, 1996.
Edmonton still struggles to score goals, ranking dead last out of 30 teams with 1.88 goals per game. But they are 4-2-2 through eight games. They held on to beat rival Vancouver at home on Tuesday – a game the Caps’ coaching staff hoped to catch in person after an early flight out from Washington. The Oilers embarrassed Nashville in a worse-than-it-sounds 3-1 game on Oct. 17. They beat the New York Rangers – another playoff team last spring – 2-0 on Oct. 22. They beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on opening night in a shootout, 2-1. That’s a 4-1-1 record at Rexall Place.
“I tend to watch them a little more when they’re on TV than any other team because they’re my hometown team that I grew up watching,” Caps forward Jason Chimera said. “They got a lot of young guys that are playing well and playing hard. They’re a fast team. They got a lot of small forwards that can really move and are playing well. They’re defense is playing good right now and [goalie Nikolai] Khabibulin is as good as any goalie out there.”
Indeed, the Oilers are allowing just 1.50 goals per game. That’s tied with the Los Angeles Kings as best in the league. Khabibulin, 38, is 3-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage. Not even red-hot Washington goalie Tomas Vokoun (6-0, 1.80 GAA, .944 save percentage) can match those numbers.
But will the young forwards produce? Nugent-Hopkins already has five goals and three assists in eight NHL games. Hall has two goals and five assists. Eberle has just one goal, but six assists. And they play on the same line together. And they ran Roberto Luongo from his crease on Tuesday against Vancouver as Edmonton scored three times during a five-shot stretch in the second period. The Lottery Line? Awesome.
There are some injury issues. Defenseman Ryan Whitney suffered what’s believed to be a sprained knee against the Canucks. Gagner, who has yet to dent the scoresheet this season thanks in part to playing in just two games, is fighting a high ankle sprain.
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