Wounded and Reduced to Pulped State
Fiery Game Recaps and Playoff Insights
Hump day's showdown might've been less brutal than Monday's encounter, but the Capitals still clinched the hits battle. On Wednesday, the Caps unleashed 33 hits compared to Montreal's 24, boosting their lead to 75-57 after two games.
Martin St-Louis, our head honcho, contemplated whether his players were doling out too many hits. "Is it too much? I seriously don't know. I recognize you gotta give some," he mused during a discussion about excessive hits.
On the flip side, Mike Matheson felt the Habs players were hit sufficiently. "It's playoff-level hockey. If you don't enjoy getting hit, you're in the wrong business," he fired back.
After two games, Alexander Carrier and Kaiden Guhle have faced the heaviest blows (14 and 9 hits, respectively), with Matheson following close behind (7 hits). Adorning the blue line with Arber Xhekaj wouldn't necessarily change the hit distribution, theoretically, as he'd likely be locked in the third pair. Consequently, the Capitals' forwards could continue pulverizing the Habs' top 4 defensemen.
Weathering the storm, the Canadiens have kept the Capitals' offense at bay, conceding only 5 goals in two games (excluding the empty-net goal in the final seconds of Game 2).
Patrik Laine, one of the Canadiens' top scorers, found himself on the bench for the third period of Game 2. Asked about his situation, St-Louis emphasized the need for "more from everyone, not just one or two guys." Laine remains the only Canadiens player yet to be hit after two games, as per NHL records.
On the injury front, a potential game-changer is on its way, as Aliaksei Protas is slated to join the Caps in Montreal. On Thursday, Protas, a 6'6" giant, skated solo, recovering from a foot laceration sustained during the regular season. Protas ended the year third in goals (30) and points (66) for the Capitals.
Traveling with an injured player doesn't always signal a quick return. An example is Kirby Dach, who's expected to miss the entire season, but accompanied the Canadiens to Washington for rehab purposes.
An evenly distributed ice time among forwards is anticipated with Protas' return, reinforcing the Capitals' depth upfront. In contrast, the Canadiens' forward ice time remains uneven, with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky averaging over 20 minutes, while Joel Armia and Emil Heineman both clock in under 11 minutes. For the Capitals, only Tom Wilson surpasses 20 minutes (20:08), and no one plays under 11 minutes.
Andrew Mangiapane succinctly summarized the Capitals' secret sauce: "It's what yields success. We have four capital lines, six rock-solid defensemen, and two goalies who keep our back every night. We've rolled with it all season."
Lane Hutson had an off-night, but he did illuminate one of the highlights with a nifty deke against his former teammate Ryan Leonard. The excitement of playing for a 2-0 series-leading team gives young players like Hutson licenses for learning mistakes.
"Each young player is bound to make mistakes without the puck," Spencer Carbery wisely reminded. "That's the reality of a young player in the NHL, especially at this time of year. Yesterday, Ryan attempted to hit Hutson, but it didn't work out. Incidents like these serve as learning opportunities."
In a playful pre-game ritual that's now become viral, forward Brandon Duhaime reads the starting lineup in the locker room before Game Day. Once he's done, he devours the paper bearing the players' names.
Jakob Chychrun, a childhood friend of Duhaime's, shared his insight into the ritual, "A good laugh! He's been like that since he was little. I've shared camaraderie with him for a long time, and I'm glad the team gets a taste of it too."
- In the ongoing NHL playoff series, Guillaume, being one of the Canadiens' players, remains the only one yet to be hit, as per NHL records.
- Alexander Carrier and Kaiden Guhle, top 4 defensemen for the Canadiens, have faced the heaviest blows in the games so far, with each facing 14 and 9 hits, respectively.
- With Aliaksei Protas, a 6'6" giant and third in goals (30) and points (66) for the Capitals during the regular season, expected to join the team in Montreal, the Capitals' forwards could potentially continue hitting the Montreal defense hard, especially since Protas' return might equalize the ice time among forwards.
- As the Canadiens' forwards face a continuous barrage of hits from the Capitals' forwards, Martin St-Louis, the head coach, emphasizes the need for "more from everyone, not just one or two guys" to counteract this trend.
