He is likely the quietest player in an otherwise noisy locker room. But the Capitals quickly will notice Jeff Schultz’s absence as the big defenseman recuperates from a broken right thumb he suffered during Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder, who is expected to miss four to six weeks, took abuse from some fans early in his career for not dispensing enough highlight-reel hits. But that’s not his style. Schultz plays a strong positional game, blocks shots and kills penalties. It isn’t flashy, but it has been effective the past two seasons.
“He just hides out in the weeds and does his job,” said defensive partner Mike Green, who will instead play alongside new addition Scott Hannan, a veteran acquired via trade from Colorado last week, when the Caps take on the Florida Panthers on Thursday at Verizon Center.
Schultz leads Washington in short-handed time on ice with 101 minutes, 55 seconds — over 27 minutes more than rookie defenseman John Carlson, who is second at 74:10. Schultz also is second on the team with 63 blocked shots and ranks eighth overall in the NHL in that category.
| Caps notes |
| » Washington plays the Florida Panthers for the first time this season Thursday. The Caps swept all six games in the season series last year. |
| » Caps F Matt Hendricks was sent off the ice early during Wednesday’s practice with a painful bruise, according to coach Bruce Boudreau. |
| » D John Carlson took a shot off his left leg at practice and was seen limping in the locker room afterward. |
“It’s amazing that people see Jeff Schultz and think only that he’s big and he should be a crusher,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But he gets the puck, and he moves it, and he makes the right play, and his positioning is really good. And those things you miss.”
Overall, Schultz sees the third-most ice time on the team. Last season the 24-year-old led the NHL in plus-minus rating at plus-50. This season he is a plus-5 and has earned just 10 penalty minutes in 29 games. It is the second time a broken finger has sidelined Schultz. He missed 15 games in 2008 with the same injury.
“And the nice thing was we had some pairs going,” said defenseman Karl Alzner, who has teamed with Carlson most of the season, with Green and Schultz together and Tom Poti working with Hannan since his arrival. “Finally we almost had everybody healthy and ready to play if need be.”
Instead, the Caps are down Schultz — who likely will go on long-term injured reserve and must miss at least 10 games or 24 days — and Tyler Sloan, who practiced Wednesday but can’t play until Sunday because he also is on injured reserve. John Erskine has had a nice season and is expected to pair with Poti on Thursday. But the margin for error is gone if another defenseman gets hurt.
“The one good thing about that is you have Hannan now, who always leads his team in blocks and leads his team in short-handed playing,” Boudreau said. “It’s not ideal because you don’t have what you perceive as the lineup you want on the ice. But at the same time we’ve got a very valuable guy that we just made a deal for.”
