Capitals face a crowded calendar over the last two months of the season

Capitals face a crowded calendar over the last two months of the season

As defenseman Karl Alzner scanned the NHL standings, he noticed other teams seemed to be gaining ground on the first-place Washington Capitals. Though it felt like he hadn’t played in ages, he knew the Capitals hadn’t gone through a serious losing spell, so how did the others catch up so quickly?

“You look at the games played, and it’s so different,” Alzner said.

While the second-place Chicago Blackhawks have played 55 games, the Capitals have played just 49, tied for the fewest in the league. Before the all-star break, Washington had seven breaks of three or more days, but facing 33 games in 65 days, the Capitals won’t get a break of more than two days for the rest of the regular season.

Washington has weathered injuries and suspensions to get to its impressive 36-9-4 record, but the weather has arguably been the team’s biggest adversary. A blizzard caused two games to be postponed until after the all-star break, creating a two-week stretch with just two games and increasing congestion in an already crowded second-half schedule.

With players just now rediscovering their game sharpness, the routine of playing every other night is a welcome change for now. But the scarce rest will also be a challenge; that can contribute to injuries, and the busy schedule leaves fewer practice days to help ease a player back into the lineup.

With a congested schedule to contend with, Barry Trotz plans to rest Braden Holtby a little more down the stretch. (Alex Brandon/AP)

“Ideally, I think you’d like to have maybe a game, one day [off], game, two days [off], game, one day, game, two days,” Alzner said. “That’d be perfect. . . . It was so nice when we had those days off, but obviously there’s going to be a time in the schedule when we’re going to be tired.”

As the Capitals were getting hammered by the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, down 4-0 through two periods, Capitals Coach Barry Trotz resolved not to yank backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Barring an injury, Trotz said, Grubauer was going to play the entire game, because the busy schedule will be especially taxing on top goaltender Braden Holtby.

Holtby is expected to play both games of Washington’s back-to-back matinees this weekend, though Trotz said Grubauer will get 25 percent of the starts the rest of the season. Holtby prefers fewer breaks; he’s statistically at his best with just one day of rest with a 1.84 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.

When he has more than three days of rest, Holtby has a 2.20 goals against average and .923 save percentage. He’s not the only Capital who thrives on getting into a rhythm by playing regularly.

“It’s a lot easier,” Michael Latta said. “You’re in constant game mode all of the time. Your focus never shifts. Always the day before a game and game day, you’re always preparing for the game. When you have a few days off, three days off or four days off, you’re like, okay, maybe I’ll have a cheap meal or let loose a bit. That’s just how it goes.”

Said Tom Wilson: “It’s just about taking care of your body. You know you’re going to be playing a lot of hockey, so maybe you just have one beer instead of three.”

Having fewer pure practice days complicates returning injured players to the lineup. When the Capitals had breaks in the schedule earlier this season, some players could skate in a few practices in a row before playing again. But with mandated days off per month and more games per week, practices now will resemble morning skates — shorter and less intense.

The Capitals have three injured players — Marcus Johansson, Jay Beagle and Brooks Orpik — and with fewer practices, Trotz said he will limit ice time in games as a way to ease players back into the lineup.

He also knows that a congested schedule could mean more injury woes are ahead.

“We’ve just got to get our game and rhythm, and playing every second day for the next two months, it’s going to be pretty easy to do,” Trotz said.

“I think that’s rhythm. Guys are going to get banged up during that time, and we’re going to have to adjust to it, just as we have all year.”