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Preseason Thoughts: Protas + Goaltending |
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Hello All,
We are officially 10 days out until the start of the season for the Washington Capitals! The Caps kick off their season at home against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, October 12th. Let’s go!
Today I am briefly reflecting back on last night's preseason game against the Blue Jackets, but also touching on some general preseason topics for the Caps as we draw closer to opening night.
Preseason Game #4: CBJ 2 - WSH 1
Analysis - Aliaksei Protas with another stellar preseason game. Protas has played in every preseason game thus far and has consistently impressed. He is a serious contender to make this NHL roster. Although the Caps lost last night, the guys on the ice generally looked solid! Charlie Lindgren looked strong once again. Looking ahead, the Capitals will start to ramp up the TOI for the guys who are likely to be on the roster opening night. The final two preseason games are 10/05 vs DET and 10/08 vs CBJ. Opening night 10/12.
Preseason Thoughts:
Projecting the Lines - With Wilson and Backstrom out, the Capitals can play around a little bit with the lines. Prior to the preseason the lines may have projected something like this:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Brown
Mantha-Strome-Oshie
Sheary-Eller-McMichael
Johansson-Dowd-Hathaway
Strome and Brown new to the lineup and Protas soaring this preseason. Laviolette has been constantly tweaking the lineup at practice to get a feel for different looks. As recently as last week, the Capitals lines looked like this at practice:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Brown
Sheary-Eller-Oshie
Mantha-Strome-Protas
Johansson-Dowd-Hathway
Protas has been playing everywhere this preseason. He started at second-line center and had slightly more time on ice than first-line center Conor McMichael. Protas has worked a lot on his game this offseason, specifically his skating and it is showing. Protas is making a strong case for the opening night lineup. If that were the case, Conor McMichael may have to take a back seat, possibly even be sent back to the Bears? That would be wild.
Goaltending - The general vibe and thoughts around the Capitals goaltending is lightyears ahead of where we have been in previous seasons. No knock on Samsonov or Vanecek but they just never produced consistently in big moments for the Caps. MacLellan recently made these comments:
“I think we know what Darcy is and what he’s done and what he’s accomplished,” GM Brian MacLellan told reporters Thursday as training camp opened. “If you’re making a list going into free agency, you’d want the Cup, the experience, he’s got size, he’s got a track record, he’s played in different types of teams, too — championship-quality teams and non-playoff teams. So he’s got a wealth of experience that I think we’re all gonna benefit from.”
Carlson added this separately:
“His track record speaks for himself and then what he’s capable of,” defenseman John Carlson said. “I think those two guys [Samsonov/Vanecek] did a great job with the situation. I don’t think that’s probably the most ideal situation, but they both did great with it. I think it’s a lot more normal to be like this and lean on one guy and alter the playing time from more of a health and wellness perspective than going back and forth.”
Quotes taken from a recent article by Matt Weyrich at NBC Sports Washington.
Kuemper has already been impressive with the team. He has only played one game this preseason and it was 31:30 against the Red Wings on Friday Night. He went 9-9 on shots-saves. Charlie Lindgren is already proving to be a phenomenal backup. Lindgren has played in three games thus far and has gone 13-13, 10-10, and 18-20. That is 41-43 total. 41-43 in three games equates to a .953 SV%. Expect Kuemper to get a massive workload this season and be potentially top-10 or even top-5 in the league in games played. If Lindgren impresses in his backup role, the Caps would be wise to lighten Kuemper’s workload if possible. Kuemper is 32. It is well documented that goalies start to decline as they progress into their early to mid/late 30’s. All I am saying is let's not go full Connor Hellebuyck from 2021.
That is all for today. More stuff to come soon! Thanks for reading :-)
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