Tue. March 20 Dallas Stars @ Washington Capitals
Place: Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: NBCSWA, FS-SW+
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
NHL.COM
Dallas Stars 84-38-27-8 Last Game: Mar 18 Lost 4-2 against Jets
Washington Capitals 89-41-24-7 Last Game: Mar 18 Lost 6-3 against Flyers
8-Ovechkin 19-Bäckström 43-Wilson
65-Burakovsky 20-Eller 77-Oshie
13-Vrana 72-Boyd 10-Connolly
18-Stephenson 83-Beagle 25-Smith-Pelly
6-Kempny 74-Carlson
9-Orlov 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik 29-Djoos
70-Holtby (starter)
31-Grubauer
-- SCRATCH --
92-Kuznetsov (day-to-day, upper-body injury)
39-Chiasson
28-Jerabek
-- INJURED RESERVE --
-- 1st Powerplay Unit --
77-Oshie 19-Bäckström 43-Wilson ??
8-Ovechkin 74-Carlson
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit --
13-Vrana 20-Eller 65-Burakovsky
2-Niskanen 9-Orlov
Referees: Dave Jackson (#7), Garrett Rank (#8)
Linesmen: Brad Kovachik (#71), Libor Suchanek (#60)
1st Period16:04 Stars PP GOAL Seguin 1-0 DAL
2nd Period04:07 GOAL 77-Oshie, assists 8-Ovechkin & 20-Eller 1-1 TIE
05:32 GOAL 2-Niskanen, unassisted 2-1 WSH
11:48 Stars GOAL Radulov 2-2 TIE
13:41 PP GOAL 8-Ovechkin, assists 74-Carlson & 77-Oshie 3-2 WSH
18:15 Stars GOAL Benn 3-3 TIE
3rd Period15:01 GOAL 74-Carlson, assists 20-Eller & 8-Ovechkin 4-3 WSH
FINAL: 4-3 WSH
by Isabelle Khurshudyan March 20 at 12:24 PM
Defenseman Brooks Orpik a ‘game-time decision’ for Capitals game vs. Stars
Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik is a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game. He was out Sunday with a “lower-body” injury. (Joel Auerbach/AP)Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik, who missed Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers with an undisclosed “lower-body” injury, is a “game-time decision” for Tuesday’s contest against the Dallas Stars, Coach Barry Trotz said. Orpik participated in the team’s optional morning skate Tuesday, and if he were to draw back into the lineup, he would probably do so over Jakub Jerabek.
Sunday’s game was the first Orpik has missed this season, as he has averaged 19:46 on ice per game. He also plays the most minutes on Washington’s penalty kill. The Capitals take just 44 percent of the even-strength shot attempts when Orpik is on the ice, but his absence seemed to be felt in front of the net: The Flyers scored two goals with deflections in a 6-3 victory. Orpik, the Capitals’ most physical defenseman, typically is responsible for clearing bodies out of the high-danger area in front of the goaltender.
“There’s bite missing from our lineup, especially on the back end,” Trotz said. “We’ve got some good people back there, but they don’t have that natural bite that Brooks does. Brooks doesn’t possess the skills of a guy like Christian Djoos, and Djooser doesn’t have his skills, but when you put them together, they seem to work. There was two areas: on the ice around the net, that bite that you need especially with teams that are going to your net hard, and then probably more in the room. When our team needs a little tightening, it either comes from me or it’s going to come from your leadership, and I really feel when Brooks wasn’t in there, our room was way different. It was way different, so he’s a big piece of the intangible stuff you can’t put numbers to that help us go forward. It was noticeable. No question.
“That’s why probably a staff and a team have a bigger value for Brooks Orpik than fans or people that deal with numbers because you can’t really put numbers to that, unfortunately. I think if you could, then he’d do really well in those numbers, but you can’t. There was a big piece there that was missing.”
Center Evgeny Kuznetsov won’t play Tuesday night, missing his second straight game. Trotz said Kuznetsov skated on his own Tuesday morning and is expected to make the three-game road trip that starts in Detroit on Thursday night. Kuznetsov is the Capitals’ second-leading scorer with 21 goals and 50 assists. Washington’s power-play entries especially suffered without him.
“Kuzy’s gifted the way he can enter the zone and skate,” Trotz said. “It seems effortless when he skates and handles the puck. He’s got such a great feel for time and space, but he doesn’t feel the pressure. He’s so calm in those tight areas, that you’re able to enter with that speed and that high-end skill, so your breakouts and your entries are a lot better when he’s in the lineup than when he’s not, for sure.”
