A skate on the top line in practice along with strong praise came from Capitals coach
While Calgary Flames fans questioned whether Matthew Phillips would ever receive a legitimate opportunity in his hometown squad, especially while Darryl Sutter was at the helm, there doesn’t appear to be such an issue for him with the Washington Capitals.
Phillips, who departed for the Capitals as a free agent, suited up for Monday’s practice holding a golden ticket most players could only dream about.
Phillips skated on a line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, who happen to be one-two on the franchise’s list of all-time point producers among all of their other accolades.
“Really cool, obviously,” Phillips told the media after the session. “Those are two legends. I’m just trying to keep up and do my thing.”
It remains to be seen whether that is an indication of where Phillips could be for Washington’s next pre-season outing, Tuesday in Boston, but the 25-year-old has caught the eyes of the Washington brass.
“He’s done a really good job through training camp and I think last game has put the coaching staff a little bit more on notice of what he does … and what he brings,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said in his scrum. “You’re starting to see a player that is obviously under-sized, but it doesn’t affect him a whole lot when it comes to his compete level, ability to get on the forecheck, win loose pucks. Yeah, he’s going to get bumped around a little bit, but we’ve just found his game to be really effective, keeping pucks alive, making plays when they’re available, being in spots. The structure part we’ve talked about, he’s been dialled in. He’s doing a good job of making a case for himself.”
Despite a litany of AHL success, Phillips skated in a grand total of three NHL games for Calgary, two last season, before departing with the hopes of a better opportunity elsewhere.
The 5-foot-7, 140-lb., forward who netted 36 goals and 76 points in 66 games last season for the AHL Calgary Wranglers, finished a nifty three-way passing play against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
For anybody who saw Phillips during his time in the Calgary system, the goal was not out of the ordinary, a stealthy shot from in tight.
“I think my game is more than just offence, but it always feels good to have one go in. I’ve have a couple of good chances so far,” he said.
If Phillips can earn a spot with the Capitals, who have Mitch Love — the Wranglers head coach the past two seasons — and former Flames associate coach Kirk Muller among their assistants, it would likely be down the lineup, with the hopes he can inject offence on the third or fourth line. But a look with the likes of Ovechkin and Backstrom, even if only in a practice, is not just for kicks and giggles. It's to see whether something clicks.
Carbery, who said Love has been a proponent of Phillips but allowed him and the rest of the staff to make their own decisions about the nifty forward, pointed out Phillips has another aspect of his past in his favor.
“Think about the last two years, how many wins has that kid been a part of? Winning hockey. They won more than 80 games over the last two years and he’s a first-line player in that lineup,” Carbery said. “So, what does that tell me? It tells me, A, he’s part of a winning team — which is OK, Captain Obvious — but, B, he’s making plays, he’s in winning games, he’s doing the things that it requires for a team to win. I have a lot of time for that. It doesn’t always mean that a player that has won a championship is going to be the better player, but it is the positive department for me.”
