With veteran forward Mike Knuble possibly out for tonight’s Game 4 against the New York Rangers that means someone else gets an opportunity. Looks like that will be forward Eric Fehr, a 21-goal scorer last season who hasn’t appeared yet in this series.
Fehr has had a rough season. He missed 22 games with a shoulder injury after colliding with former teammate David Steckel during a Jan. 14 game against Vancouver. He didn’t return until March 9 and three times was a healthy scratch down the stretch. His production dropped to 10 goals and 10 assists during the regular season with 52 games played.
But Fehr has had his moments, too. He scored twice in the Winter Classic against Pittsburgh. And the last time he jumped out of the press box and onto the ice – that March 9 game against the Edmonton Oilers – he also scored twice. The Caps, struggling as always this season to score goals, could use his production tonight.
“We’re hoping for a return performance like last time when he scored two goals,” teammate Brooks Laich said. “He’s a big body, shoots the puck really well and I think he really brings us some depth scoring. He’s 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds and he’s tough to take the puck off. He goes to the net and obviously he shoots the puck really, really well.”
But being dropped into the middle of a playoff series is akin to those Coast Guard rescue divers who jump out of helicopters and into stormy seas. Fehr knows this. There is only so much time to ease into things, especially in a series where both teams have been throwing the body around. Giving – or taking – an early hit is probably the best way to get involved.
“Yeah, it’s been a very physical series,” Fehr said. “They got some big guys over there that like to lay the body, and we got some guys on our team that like to do the same. It looks like it’s been a lot of fun, and hopefully I can be a part of it.”
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