The Washington Capitals have won four of five games as they prepare to host the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night for the first of two meetings between the clubs this season.
In the Capitals’ 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, their blue line powered the offense with four goals — two from Jakob Chychrun and one apiece from John Carlson and Martin Fehervary.
Strong production from the back end has been a major storyline for Washington this season, as the club sits tied for first in the NHL with 64 points from defensemen and leads the league with 19 goals from the blue line.
“We use our (defense) a lot in a lot of the things that we do offensively, so they touch the puck a ton,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said when asked about the surge in scoring from the defense. “We got some good players back, so that helps as well.”
With NHL parity at an all-time high — just five points separate Washington, which holds the first wild-card spot in the East, from the bottom of the conference — goaltender Logan Thompson credits team-wide commitment for keeping the Capitals above the playoff line.
“We’re just buying in. The first thing is just hard work. It’s not easy to play every other day in this league,” Thompson said. “Defense first. I’m a big believer in defense wins hockey games and I think that’s just a credit to all the guys in front of me.”
The Jets, meanwhile, find themselves outside the top eight in the Western Conference at the quarter mark of the season. The defending Presidents’ Trophy winners dropped both of their home games over the weekend, falling 4-3 to Carolina on Friday and 3-0 to Minnesota on Sunday.
“Let’s start with injuries, alright? Let’s not sugarcoat it … we’ve been getting hammered here,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said of the team’s struggles. “Consistency, whether that’s period to period or game to game, also has been something that I would say in this first 21 games has been lacking … we always took a lot of pride in staying in and winning one-goal games. Right now, that’s not happening.”
Winnipeg has been hit hard by injuries this season, losing Adam Lowry, Cole Perfetti and Dylan Samberg for extended stretches. Neal Pionk remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and Haydn Fleury is still in concussion protocol.
The biggest blow, though, has been the loss of star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner, who is expected to be out until around the new year following a minor knee procedure.
That absence has thrust backup Eric Comrie into a larger role — one teammate Jonathan Toews hopes can help rally the group.
“He’s been incredible when he’s come in for us,” Toews said. “We haven’t played great in front of him, but it’s something we can rally around … he’ll do anything for this team.”
Washington is also dealing with injuries of its own, with Nic Dowd day-to-day and Pierre-Luc Dubois on injured reserve following abdominal and adductor surgery.
