Washington Capitals: Three Biggest Questions as we Approach the Regular Season

With the preseason officially underway, the Washington Capitals are a team of few questions. The line combinations that Peter Laviolette will likely begin the season with are going to be very similar to the lines we discussed back in the beginning of August.

With the divisions back to normal, a full 82-game schedule, and a fully vaccinated team, it’s about time we get back to some normality. Winners of the Metropolitan Division dating back to the 2015-2016 season, it’s no secret the Capitals are going to be a very competitive team in the Metro this year regardless of how things shake out over the next couple of weeks.

With that said, the Washington Capitals are coming off three straight first-round exits from the playoffs after their magical Stanley Cup win in 2018 and many are starting to wonder if the Capitals’ window is closed. The short answer is a resounding: no. The long answer is a bit more complicated and it ultimately will come down to two things: health and goaltending.

A season ago, the Capitals limped into the playoffs. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Lars Eller, Vitek Vanecek, Ilya Samsonov and Justin Schultz all missed time either late in the regular season or during the first round matchup with the Boston Bruins. It was clear that the Washington Capitals’ core was far from 100 percent. A year later, the Capitals’ biggest questions heading into the season are mostly injury related.

Nicklas Backstrom’s Health With a Side of Evegeny Kuznetsov

Nicklas Backstrom is one of the team’s most important players. Alex Ovechkin’s right-hand man for 14-years, the slick-handed Swede was banged up late last season and he is not yet ready to participate as the Capitals have him listed as week-to-week as he rehabs a hip injury.

Backstrom’s injury is a worrying development for the Capitals, Backstrom was the team’s most consistent forward through the 2020-2021 season, scoring 15 goals and adding 38 assists in 55 games. With Evgeny Kuznetsov coming off another disappointing season, it looked like the Washington Capitals might have to rely on the 33-year-old Backstrom to carry the load up the middle. Now, with his health in question, it’s more important than ever for Kuznetsov to return to his 2018 form and be the elite center that we all know that he can be.

It’s no secret that even with a healthy Backstrom, it is Evgeny Kuznetsov that transforms the Capitals from a very good team to a Stanley Cup contending team. The one-two punch of Backstrom and Kuznetsov is why the Capitals were able to march their way to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup win in 2018. This is a make it or break it season for Kuznetsov. Especially now with Backstrom’s injury, all eyes will be on the Russian playmaker to see if he can rise to the occasion. To his credit, Kuznetsov brought the right attitude with him to training camp.

“It was one of the years [2020-2021] you want to forget but at the same time you want to remember,” Kuznetsov said. “It is like when you lose the game in the playoffs or any Game 7, you sit in the locker room and feel that pain and next year you don’t wanna feel that pain again so you can use that as motivation, you can use that as a target, as a goal.”

It’s going to take a little while for the Capitals’ faithful to regain confidence in him but most importantly, Kuznetsov appears to have won the confidence of his head coach, Peter Laviolette.

“Evgeny and I have had about as honest a conversation as you can have since I’ve been here,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “He’s in a really good spot right now, he looks extremely fit, healthy, ready to play. I think his mind is in a really good spot and we’ll be counting on him. He’s really gonna get an opportunity to take hold and show what he can do.”

Kuznetsov is ready to prove himself and the fans in Washington are eager to see it. Is it October 13th yet?

The Left-Side of the Defense Rests on Michal Kempny’s Left Leg

The biggest question as far as lineup composition is how the left side of the Washington Capitals will look behind Dmitry Orlov. The Russian blue-liner looks poised to have a breakout season and will likely anchor the top pairing alongside John Carlson but aside from that, there are no safe bets. Michal Kempny, back from three significant injuries to his left leg is one of the front-runners to win an everyday spot. A crucial member of the team’s 2018 Stanley Cup victory, Kempny is finally healthy again and ready to make an impact. Over the off-season, Kempny began working with a new trainer, Dominik Kodras in hopes to return stronger than ever.

“I just felt that I needed some change in my stuff back home,” Kempny said. “It was tough decision to make but I’m glad I made it. I work with this guy right now. He’s really good. A lot of people back home coming to see him with tough history with injuries and stuff like that. He’s really good at it. We worked twice a day from the start. We did a lot of simple exercises to get my left leg back in balance and to be without any pain all summer. We worked really hard. We didn’t do any jumping, any running. We made some changes in my training. We just really focused on, to come back here, healthy, pain-free, and ready to go.”

Kempny, like Kuznetsov, has the right attitude heading into camp.

“I’m just focusing on my game and myself. I’m here 100 percent. I’m healthy. I feel good on the ice. I can’t wait to play the games, two preseason games. Only thing I can say is I did everything I could this summer to be in this spot. I’m just going to give everything I got every day here and go from there.”

If things work out for the Washington Capitals, Michal Kempny will turn the clock back to 2018 and Martin Fehervary will make the next leap in his development and be a full-time NHL defenseman, the Capitals will be one of the most well-rounded teams in the NHL. However, if things don’t work out as planned and Kempny can’t perform or Fehervary struggles to adjust to the NHL the Capitals suddenly will have a glaring weakness on their blue-line.