Brooks Orpik will be out of the lineup for the next three games after being suspended by the NHL for a flagrant head shot on Pittsburgh's Olli Maatta in Game 2.
And that puts coach Barry Trotz in a tough spot. Orpik is a go-to guy. He plays upwards of 20 minutes a night as part of the team's top four. He's a stalwart on their top-ranked penalty kill. And he's one of their most consistent physical presences. As the temperature of this series rises, he's a guy you want on the ice, not in the press box.
NHL playoffs: Analytics predict East's second round. Matt Niskanen, John Carlson, and Karl Alzner will be asked to assume most of Orpik's minutes, and that extra work makes them vulnerable, especially as the series progresses. Dmitry Orlov came off the ice at practice this morning before Mike Weber, so it looks like he'll step in for Orpik.
Orlov was scratched for Game 2 after a Game 1 miscue. He misread his coverage and laid out partner Nate Schmidt in the neutral zone, clearing a path for Pittsburgh to attack and score its second goal. How much of a leash will he have in this one? The Caps need Orlov to soak up about 12 minutes of action. Anything less and you'll know how much Trotz trusts him.
Maybe it was too much to hope for a repeat of that legendary series when the two combined to score 16 goals, including the double hat trick in Game 2. But after two games in this series, neither has made much of an impression with the puck. That's not to say they haven't played well. Ovechkin has been the more noticeable of the two. He picked up an assist in the opener, and generated a couple of dangerous chances via partial breakaways in Game 2.
But he's been largely silenced by blueliner Kris Letang and the Crosby line, which has controlled the bulk of possession when they've been on the ice together. And he's been reduced to a bystander on the power play. The Pens' penalty killers are taking away the cross-ice passes that he feeds on for one-timers, shrinking those two minutes into a four-on-four battle while Ovi watches idly from the far circle.
Crosby is —3 in the series after he and his linemates were on the ice for all three of T. Oshie's goals in Washington's 4—3 Game 1 win. But he's earning his keep by paying attention to the details. He wins draws, he's tough along the walls, and he's forcing the Caps to spend too many exhausting minutes battling below their own face-off dots. It's not glamorous, and it's not going to show up on the highlight reels, but it's effective.
Seems like only a matter of time though before one of them makes an impact on the scoreboard. And whichever one breaks through first is likely to swing the tide in favor of his team. With no Guentzel in the lineup, the slumping Kasperi Kapanen was elevated to the first line with Sidney Crosby. Danton Heinen got the scoring started late in the first period after some give-and-go passing from John Marino. Heinen has been returning to his Boston Bruins form this season and that goal was his eighth on the year.
Today: pic. Kuznetsov would score to make it before Lars Eller potted on with their goalie pulled to inch closer at With Maatta out, indications Monday morning were that Derrick Pouliot , 22, will take his lineup spot and play in his first Stanley Cup Playoff game, but Penguins coach Mike Sullivan would not say whether Pouliot or Justin Schultz will get the call.
The criteria that we used when making lineup decisions is which guy we think is going to help us on a given night, depending on matchups we want or aspects of our game that we think their skill sets can fulfill our needs.
Dmitry Orlov will take Orpik's place after being a healthy scratch for Game 2. Orlov played all 82 games during the regular season and the first seven of the playoffs, but he was scratched following a rough Game 1. Orlov will get an opportunity to rebound Monday.
So I think [Orlov] knows there's good trust and I think he'll come in and play very well for us. The Capitals have a lot of experience playing without Orpik, going while he was out for 40 games during the regular season because of a lower-body injury, and playing the final three games of their first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers without him because of an upper-body injury. We encourage you to review it carefully. The NHL uses cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies.
Enter Search Term. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results.
0コメント