The Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers are headed back to the Sunshine State for Game Five of their first-round series. Caps forward Tom Wilson has missed nearly all of the series after getting injured just a few minutes into the first period of Game One.
Head coach Peter Laviolette told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that the rugged winger is still “day-to-day” with the lower-body injury but will make the trip with the team down south. Whether or not that’s just as a spirit boost for the rest of the roster is still up in the air.
“Right now it still remains day-to-day with him,” Laviolette said postgame on Monday. “I understand that’s not the answer that you guys want but that’s actually where it’s at. There’s no question you miss a guy like Tom in a series like this that’s physical, it’s full of hits. He’s a big body, he plays a lot of minutes, plays a lot of different positions but injuries are part of it. Our team is moving forward in these games without him and I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
Even without Tom on the ice, the Capitals have remained very physical in the series. Only the Nashville Predators, who were just swept by the Colorado Avalanche, have more recorded hits (215) in the first round than the Caps (203).
“I think (TJ Oshie) is playing really good hockey right now from a physical standpoint, an offensive standpoint, from an effort standpoint,” Laviolette said Tuesday. He’s a guy that’s very noticeable every game. Especially when you take a guy like Tom out of the lineup, you’re looking for that physicality and you’re looking for that energy.”
Laviolette added, “We’ve had a lot of guys stepping up with the physical play to try and help out with some of that. Certinaly TJ has had some big hits in the series, Ovi’s had some big hits in the series. The guys that we count on to play physical like Martin (Fehervary) and Hath)have done a good job. Dowder had a couple big hits (too).”
Another big part of Wilson’s game that has been so valuable for the Caps this season has been his work on the penalty kill where he is always one of the first forwards to jump over the boards. During the regular season, his 1:36 of shorthanded ice time per game was only bested by Lars Eller (1:39), Carl Hagelin (1:54), and Dowd (1:57) among forwards. The Panthers have gone 0-for-13 with a man advantage in the series and are the only team in the first round without a power-play goal.
“Hath’s always had a pretty big role but now you see TJ Oshie, who is a real smart player and a good penalty killer, he’s taken on more minutes,” Laviolette said. “Conor Sheary is back in the mix, he’s taken on more minutes. We’re just utilizing more guys but not having Willy there, that always hurts but when somebody’s out, somebody’s gotta step up.”
The Caps and Cats will do battle next with or without Wilson at 7:30 PM on Wednesday in Sunrise.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
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