It’s time for another Washington Capitals weekly update. The trade deadline was this week, and three players were dealt to new teams. The remaining group says they’re going to try to make the playoffs. On Saturday morning, Ineffective Math projected the Capitals have a 21.1% chance to qualify. Washington has 20 games left in the regular season. After Saturday’s games, the Capitals are fifth in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind fourth place and five away from tying for third. With five points the Capitals would also be tied for the top Wild Card Spot. Only three points separate the Capitals from the second Wild Card. Next, the Capitals will be on a road trip through the Canadian Plains and the Pacific Northwest. Here is the Washington Capitals weekly update for March 3rd to 9th.
Washington Capitals Weekly Updates: March 3-9
Who’s Out, Who’s Still Around
The Trade Deadline is one of the biggest news periods on the hockey calendar, so it’ll go first. General Manager Brian MacLellan made three trades for future assets this week before the deadline. A few players mentioned as possible targets remained with the Capitals. Forwards Nic Dowd and Max Pacioretty, both sought after by other teams, were not traded. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren, another player other teams were interested in, is staying with the Capitals for the rest of the season as well. Each of them will become a free agent this offseason. Washington also signed defender Rasmus Sandin to a 5-year contract extension. He will make $4.6 million each year until 2029.
The first trade sent Anthony Mantha, the Capitals second-leading goal scorer at the time, to the Vegas Golden Knights. Washington retained 50% of his cap hit and received draft picks for Round 2 in 2024 and Round 4 in 2026. Later in the week, Joel Edmundson went to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a Round 3 pick in 2024 and a Round 5 selection in 2025. Washington retained 50% of Edmundson’s salary and did the same in its final trade. The last exchange sent Evgeny Kuznetsov to the Carolina Hurricanes. Washington received a 3rd Round draft pick for the 2025 draft. MacLellan turned three players over 27, the NHL’s average age from all rosters, into five picks in the next three Drafts. The Capitals own 26 total picks in the next three years.
On-Ice Results
The Capitals played three games this week and earned four points. Despite losing to the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 Sunday, Washington outscored their opponents 12-6 overall. Three of those goals came on the power play. Hendrix Lapierre scored in back-to-back games. Both those games were wins in which the Capitals scored a power-play goal. Charlie Lindgren went over 130 minutes without letting in a goal. He has started every game since February 27. Alex Ovechkin reached the top 15 in all-time regular reason points. He is currently tied with Mark Recchi for 14th.
A Stumble on Sunday
The Capitals lost to the Arizona Coyotes for the second time this season to start the week. Even though the coaching staff used the footage from December to prepare, the Capitals went down by two in the first half of the game. Despite a power play goal by Sonny Milano, Washington could never generate momentum against the Coyotes. Arizona scored twice more after Milano to lead 4-1 at the second intermission. By this point, John Carlson and Tom Wilson had both received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and Wilson had to serve a 10-minute misconduct. Anthony Mantha scored on the power play to start the third period but the Capitals couldn’t put anything else together. Washington allowed an empty-net goal and lost 5-2.
Back on Track
The Capitals had three days off and sent Mantha to Vegas before their next game. They faced the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team in a similar situation to the Capitals season trajectory. Pregame, Washington’s record was 28-23-9 and Pittsburgh’s was 28-24-8. Though the start seemed like a bad omen–Connor McMichael received a penalty on the opening faceoff–the Capitals took control of the game on that penalty kill. Tom Wilson, who a few minutes later drew a four-minute penalty, scored off his own rebound from a rush with Beck Malenstyn. Washington added four more goals in the second period, including Nick Jensen‘s first of the year and Ivan Miroshnichenko‘s first in the NHL. Milano added a sixth and Lindgren made 39 saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Eleven Capitals skaters recorded a point.
On Saturday, Washington faced the NHL-last Chicago Blackhawks. Hendrix Lapierre scored in his second consecutive game to give the Capitals a lead in the first 10 minutes. Within two minutes, Michael Sgarbossa doubled the Capitals lead. After the first period, Washington was up 3-0 and would have been up by 4 if not for an offside challenge won by Arizona. Milano scored in the second period. He has scored in every game in March so far and six of his 10 goals have come since the new year. The Capitals reached 26 shots on their opponent for the third consecutive game in the win. Tyler Johnson scored for the Blackhawks in the middle of the third period but they had no chance to get any closer than that.
Injury Updates
All three of the players currently out with injuries have made progress since last week. Martin Fehervary, T.J. Oshie, and Nic Dowd all wore regular jerseys to participate in Saturday’s morning skate, but none are ready to play yet. Dowd has been day-to-day with an upper-body injury since February 20th. Oshie left the game on February 21st with a non-contact injury and was week-to-week. Fehervary has been out the longest; he was hurt on February 17th and his week-to-week recovery included some scheduled days off the ice. Coach Spencer Carbery said Saturday morning that all three players will travel with the team on the upcoming road trip to the west.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
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