Washington still short-handed coming out of the break Rested and relaxed after the NHL’s All-Star break, the Capitals will have to flip the switch fast with two critical Southeast Division games coming up on the road and just 34 contests left in the regular season.
Only defenseman Dennis Wideman made the trip to Ottawa for the All-Star Game after star left wing Alex Ovechkin decided against playing there in the wake of his three-game suspension last week. Ovechkin will not be available Tuesday at the Tampa Bay Lightning or for Wednesday’s game against the Florida Panthers. Neither will Nicklas Backstrom, who did not skate Monday and remains out thanks to his Jan. 3 concussion. Defenseman Mike Green is slowly recovering from sports hernia surgery and is not expected back until the end of the month.
Washington (26-19-3, 55 points) enters the game vs. Tampa Bay (21-23-4, 46 points) in third place in the Eastern Conference and in first place in the Southeast Division. But it is ahead of Florida (22-15-11, 55 points) only based on a tiebreaker, and both No. 8 New Jersey and No.?9 Toronto are at 55 points, too. The margin for error is small.
“You look at your division, and you want to win that, but there’s bigger goals around here — at least there was at the start of the season — and from my perspective they haven’t changed,” forward Brooks Laich said. “We’re in an OK position. I don’t think anybody’s really jumping off a wall at the position we’re in. But the good sign is there’s still room for improvement. Our best hockey is still ahead of us. We haven’t played it yet.”
The Backstrom news was troubling considering coach Dale Hunter said his star center didn’t skate at all over the All-Star break.
The Caps signed enforcer Joel Rechlicz to an entry-level contract Monday and immediately recalled him from Hershey of the American Hockey League. Hunter called Rechlicz a “game-time decision” against the Lightning, but his presence on the roster alone indicated he will play. No player in the AHL this year has as many penalty minutes as Rechlicz’s 184. And he has only played in 27 games with the Bears.
Regardless, Washington’s top players will need to find a way to put more shots on goal in the coming weeks, especially without Ovechkin until Saturday’s game at Montreal. The Caps have been outshot in 16 of the last 17 games — and each time by seven shots or more. That’s one of a laundry list of items that need improvement as the team gets ready for its Stanley Cup playoff push.
“I think we really have to find the balance between defense and offense,” Laich said. “At times we’ve been really offensive, at times we’ve been really defensive and we just haven’t been able to strike that perfect balance.”
