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Beck Malenstyn Remains In Lineup: Notes From Capitals Practice

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Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals returned to MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Tuesday for an optional skate following their 6-3 victory over the Devils on Monday night in New Jersey. The team held one final full practice Wednesday morning before departing for Texas in advance of their tilt with the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

PRACTICE LINES

Beck Malenstyn, who made his first start of the season against the Devils on Monday night, remained in the lineup on Wednesday morning.

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Conor Sheary
Marcus Johansson — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas — Lars Eller — Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

BECK THE CHECK

Head coach Peter Laviolette discussed the Capitals forward lines and Malenstyn during his weekly radio appearance on 106.7 The Fan Wednesday morning.

“I really liked his game. I think he had six hits. That line generated offense, I think they had one or two goals, and he chipped in with an assist and six hits. That’s exactly what we were looking for him on that line, because of what we expect from that line, the defensive draws and going against top opponents and the physicality in which they need to play with.”

DEFENSIVE MISCUES

Laviolette said, defensively, the team is still missing significant assignments on the backend.

A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES

In the “sight for sore eyes” category, Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom both skated before practice on Wednesday.

Per a team spokesperson, this was the first time Backstrom and Wilson took the ice in their respective rehabs. They aren’t yet ready to fully resume skating and it will be another few days before they do so again.

STAT OF THE DAY – CHARLES IN CHARGE

We’ve discussed the use of the ‘expected goals’ stat for assessing the performance of forwards, but the stat is also quite useful for assessing goaltenders. The expected goals against (xGA) stat indicates the quantity and quality of shots and resultant “expected goals” a goaltender has typically yielded based on historical data.

The following graph plots the goals differential – ‘expected goals’ against minus actual goals against (xGA – GA) for each of the league’s goaltenders with a minimum of two games played. [Click to enlarge].

Charlie Lindgren has the 11th-best goals differential at 2.97. That means he’s allowed 2.97 goals less than is “expected”. Darcy Kuemper currently sits at -2.30, meaning he’s yielded 2.3 more goals than expected.

SHAVINGS

  • John Carlson collected his 599th career point on Monday at New Jersey, recording the primary assist on Alex Ovechkin’s eventual game-winning goal. Carlson is now one point shy of passing Michal Pivonka for the fifth-most points in Capitals franchise history and becoming the first defenseman in franchise history to reach the 600-point mark.

By Jon Sorensen

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.





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