The Washington Capitals have had a season full of ups and downs. Some players have taken tremendous strides in their development, while others have underperformed. Today, we will look at the biggest surprises thus far for the Capitals this season.
Our analysts will break down who has stepped up and what their expectations are gearing up for the second half of the campaign.
Jacob: Hendrix Lapierre
While the sample size was small, Hendrix Lapierre took tremendous strides into becoming one of the centers of the future for this organization. He was called back on October 29th after the Capitals placed Nic Dowd on injured reserve and Sonny Milano was out due to an illness.
Lapierre got limited playing time in his first four games with D.C. but was making a lot of strong, subtle plays. He started to find his offensive touch after a three-point game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 18th. He was centering a line with Milano and Aliaksei Protas, and the trio had eight points (three goals, five assists).
He continued to get better and was utilized throughout the lineup. The Quebec native talked throughout the season about how winning the Calder Cup with the AHL’s Hershey Bears helped his confidence, and the results were indeed evident in the games he played this season. He scored seven points (two goals, five assists) in twenty-five games.
Lapierre has been a delightful surprise this season and one Capitals fans should be looking forward to as the future No. 1 center.
Diane: Goal-scoring of Dylan Strome and Anthony Mantha
Dylan Strome‘s current tally of nineteen goals for the season is poised to surpass his personal best. Last year, he notched twenty-three goals with Washington, marking a career-high. Before that, in the 2021-22 season, he netted twenty-two goals with the Chicago Blackhawks. He may surpass the 30-goal mark for the 2023-24 season.
Meanwhile, Anthony Mantha has emerged as a pleasant surprise in goal-scoring. Bouncing back from a lackluster performance last season, where he managed only eleven goals, he has already reached fifteen goals this season. With the Capitals potentially considering selling at the deadline, Mantha could be a valuable trade asset to secure an early draft pick or promising prospect.
Harrison: Charlie Lindgren’s Play
I was not sold on the 30-year-old after he finished last season 13-11-3 with an .899 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average in thirty-one games. Lindgren also entered this season with just sixty games of NHL experience, primarily being an AHL goaltender throughout his professional career. His performance in a 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on opening night this season left me wondering whether Lindgren was the suitable backup for Washington after all.
Since returning from injury in November, he has been great and pushed Darcy Kuemper for the No. 1 job in Washington. Lindgren is 9-6-4 with a .916 save percentage (ninth in the NHL, including .930 at five-on-five), 2.59 goals-against average (12th), two shutouts (tied for seventh), and a 7.84 five-on-five goals-saved above average in 21 outings this season.
He has handled most of the starts recently, and the team chose to start him in both games of a home-and-home set against the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers a few weeks back despite both games being played on back-to-back afternoons. Lindgren was spectacular in the Capitals’ 4-0 win over New York on December 9th (when he made 31 saves) and 3-0 victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights on November 14th (35 saves).
By Jacob Cheris, Diane Doyle, and Harrison Brown
