Now that we know Mike Green is playing for the Caps tonight against the Calgary Flames, time to ask what to expect. The answer: Your guess is as good as mine. Washington is 8-0 with Green in the lineup this season, but even teammate John Erskine said last week that’s a pretty irrelevant stat given the sample size. Green has three goals and three assists in those eight games, including the overtime game-winner in the season opener against Carolina. He punked the Red Wings to the tune of two goals and two assists the night he first hurt his ankle (Oct. 22) – one of the best games of his career.
But he is returning to a team with the same personnel and yet a different style of play. Caps coach Dale Hunter has made progress installing his 1-2-2 defensive system. Green has tried to watch as much video as possible to pick up on things and several good practices in a row over the last 10 days have helped.
“It’s going to be different. But I got to start somewhere,” Green said, later adding that “it’s going to be a learning experience for me. I hope nobody else expects me to be able to pick it up just like that. And if I do it’s a bonus.”
But he’ll get it. It’s a system based on man-to-man principles that should play to Green’s strength as a skater once his confidence in that balky groin returns. But it doesn’t seem to be there yet. Washington general manager George McPhee called Green “80 percent” during a radio interview with 106.7 – The Fan last week. Hunter deemed him “100 percent” during his Tuesday morning chat with reporters. Green himself refused to use a number.
“Not butterflies. I think it’s just more you’re unsure,” Green said. “You haven’t played a game in forever and not only that, with last year I haven’t played consecutive amount of games for a long time. So this will be a great day for me, but very unsure of how it will go. You never know. Got to play it safe.”
Green and Hunter weren’t saying when asked about his minutes tonight. Safe to say it won’t be 25. Teammate Karl Alzner pointed out that the plan before the season was to help spread that ice time among all the defensemen and not wear Green down as much with heavy 30-minute nights. So if you’re expecting vintage Green jumping up into the play and covering territory all over the ice, that guy probably won’t be there. At least not this soon. And given Green’s history with injury comebacks you can’t blamed him for some trepidation.
After taking a puck to the right side of his head last Feb. 6 against Pittsburgh, Green missed a game and then played against the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 12. Afterwards, he experienced more concussion symptoms and sat out five more games. He took two shifts – two shifts! – against the Rangers on Feb. 26 when Derek Stepan popped him with a shoulder to the jaw in retaliation to what he thought was a cross check moments earlier. Green didn’t return until the playoffs.
Then an ankle injury against Detroit led to six games on the shelf. He played eight shifts upon his Nov. 11 return against the New Jersey Devils before an awkward Ryan Carter hit caused the groin injury. To be fair, when Green returned from his concussion for the playoff series against the Rangers he made it through. But by the end of the Tampa Bay series in the second round he was in serious pain thanks to a hip injury and had to sit out Game 4 against the Lighting – ultimately, Washington’s final contest of last season.
“I think that you got to ease yourself in,” Green said. “I don’t think I’m going to be jumping up all over the ice or what not. I think it’s important for me to get my game back and it’s better that I try to do that slowly rather than quickly. I don’t intend on being up and down the ice tonight. You got to get into game shape.”
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14
