Washington Capitals: Top 5 preseason predictions
The Washington Capitals 2019-20 regular season is just two weeks away.
In the meantime, the Washington Capitals have been hard at work at their facility MedStar Capitals Iceplex. We’re just one game into the preseason and it was a thriller. In this piece we’ll predict what happens over the course of these next five games.
There’s just two more at Capital One Arena beginning tonight against the St. Louis Blues in a potential opening night preview and a matchup of the last two Stanley Cup champions. Then it’s those bunch of jerks.
The Carolina Hurricanes come to town Saturday which is, ironically, two weeks before the Capitals home opener. I’m sensing a trend here.
Anyway, the Capitals won their first preseason game on Monday night against the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a game where they rallied a few times. Damien Riat was the first to score for the Caps.
After Alexander Nylander scored to retake the lead for the visitors, Travis Boyd tied it. Boyd has a chance to earn a spot in the opening night lineup, a chance to center the third line.
Aliaksei (The Viper) Protas gave Washington their first lead before the Blackhawks tied it. It went to overtime and Tom Wilson won it.
If that can be how every preseason game ended sign us up! That’s more for the thrill of a regular season feel than fanfare.
#5 Christian Djoos will impress
One defenseman on the hot seat is Christian Djoos but it wasn’t necessarily his fault. Part of it was injury and the other was how Jonas Siegethaler earned a spot in the lineup. Now the two will dish it out for that third and final blueline pairing.
Aside from the significant injury, Djoos was scratched from the lineup as a result of some tough breaks plus Siegenthaler. His injury came on his thigh and he missed up to two months. Djoos is still a good defenseman and he helped the Capitals win the Stanley Cup his rookie season and over the summer he got a raise.
Djoos was awarded via arbitration a $1.25 million extension. He trained in both his home in Sweden as well as the informal workouts, been a full go at training camp and played in Monday’s preseason game against the Blackhawks. He assisted on Travis Boyd’s power play goal, another player looking to fight for his place in the lineup.
He’ll not only have to compete against Siegenthaler but possibly prospects Alex Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary as well. Djoos will keep working to outperform the competition and you’ll see a breakout game from him soon.
#4 Travis Boyd will record a hat trick
Evgeny Kuznetsov is serving a three-game suspension due to conduct inappropriate to the NHL. As a result, there’s a position on the third line center up for grabs with Lars Eller (assuming he’s healthy) moving up for second line responsibilities. One player that I think has the best chance of making that spot in the lineup is Travis Boyd.
How does Boyd get there? He needs a good preseason and so far he’s had one goal on the power play. I strongly believe he’ll have a multi-goal game or even a hat trick in one of these upcoming preseason games, earning a spot at the third line center position.
One time when Boyd played in the AHL for the Hershey Bears, he recorded a hat trick just before he was called up to the Caps in the 2017-18 season in their run to the Stanley Cup.
With his daughter Hayden in the hospital, Boyd scored four goals and dedicated the game against the Laval Rocket to his number one fan.
Overall, it’s important for Boyd to have a good preseason after the team signed two players worthy of the fourth line but the Kuznetsov suspension does open the door for Boyd to make the lineup now.
#3 Brett Leason and Aliaksei Protas will connect for a goal
Brett Leason and Aliaksei Protas know each other the most this training camp compared to their new teammates and fellow prospects. Perhaps they could one day be a future Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, though those guys are in a category of their own. You get the point.
Both were teammates with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They led them to a 54-10-2 record in the regular season with Leason scoring 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points. Protas added 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points including a 47.7% success on face-offs.
In the playoffs, the duo connected eight times and I predict you’ll see the pair connect at least once or twice. Their efforts helped lead the Raiders all the way to the Ed Chynoweth Cup, Prince Albert’s first Cup in 34 years.
https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1173754539738112000
Both players will suit up in tonight’s preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, however, they will not skate on a line together. Instead Leason will play on the fourth line in his preseason debut. Protas will man the fourth line and had a good game Monday night recording three points with one goal and two helpers.
#2 Vitek Vanecek or Ilya Samsonov will record a shutout
Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov represent the future of the goaltending in the Washington Capitals system. Each one could even vie for the backup goaltending job as early as this season given the tight salary cap the Capitals are dealing with.
Both netminders will split the crease in tonight’s preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, likely starting with Vanecek and ending in Samsonov. Let’s compare and contrast the two.
Vanecek finished with a 21-10-6 record with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in 38 Bears games last season. He was selected by the Caps in the second round in 2014 at the 39th overall pick.
Samsonov was Washington’s first rounder a year later at 22nd overall. He is coming off his first professional season adapting to the North American version of hockey that includes a smaller rink and more physicality.
Samsonov finished with a 20-14-2 record with a 2.70 GAA and .898 save percentage in 37 games with the Hershey Bears.
Vanecek has nine career shutouts with the Bears. Last season, Samsonov was tied for eighth in the AHL in shutouts with three.
We’ll likely see one of them pitch a shutout or perhaps combine for one in tonight’s game. The question is, who does it first?
#1 Alex Ovechkin’s pregame meals will be his Ovi O’s cereal
Move over Wheaties! We have a new breakfast of champions. That’s right, Alex Ovechkin launched his very own cereal exclusively sold at Giant grocery stores across the Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Delaware area.
Ovechkin has toured around the D.C. area, stopping at public schools, visiting a local hospital as well as trading his skates for a cashier job for a day at a D.C. Giant. He’s posted videos on social media of himself eating the cereal. Fans have came out to Giant stores in droves and it’s demand is so high that they’re hard to find!
Ovechkin will be suiting up for tonight’s preseason game and believe it or not is set to embark on his 15th season. He’s got goals of chasing a second Stanley Cup as well as Wayne Gretzky’s goal scoring record and he’ll use this preseason to add his cereal to his pregame meal.
Yes that includes adding it to the food he already consumes from Mama Lucia’s. Don’t worry though as they say, the Russian machine never breaks.
If Ovechkin has a good game tonight and if he does if coach Todd Reirden decides to play him in another game, let’s maybe sell the Ovi O’s all season long?