ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals took a bit of a beat during their practice on Saturday, as assistant coach Ray Bennett officially sat down with his new team to go over the power play, which took center stage on Saturday.
Washington worked on special teams for the first time, deploying what they hope will be 1A/1B units this coming season.
The first unit was quite familiar, as Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Tom Wilson, Alex Ovechkin and Jakob Chychrun stayed together. The second unit then saw a lot of change, with Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Ilya Protas, Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson taking the ice. Tuch and Wilson are also a top penalty kill pairing.
For the coaching staff, it was important to have that familiarity on one of the units and bring that group together to have a clean slate, which is why it was important for them to keep that top unit together.
"A lot of communication, a lot of barriers are broken down," coach Spencer Carbery pointed out. "They know each other extremely well."
Both units appeared to click well as they adapt to changes under new power-play coach Bennett, who stressed the need to . In particular, the second unit, despite having a handful of new faces, found chemistry quickly, as Hutson confidently quarterbacked while Kyrou took on half-wall duties and Alex Tuch operated from the bumper spot.
Both Chychrun and Hutson are expected to lead the charge as offensive catalysts, and when it comes to entries, an issue that the Capitals struggled with greatly last season, Kyrou is expected to be a major help.
On the penalty kill, Justin Sourdif, Aliaksei Protas, Boone Jenner and Anthony Beauvillier were the main penalty-killing forwards. Jonny Brodzinski also cycled in to help there.
The rest of practice consisted of 5-on-5 work with the same combinations that the team started camp with. One line that continues to stand out and find quick chemistry is the third line of the Protas brothers and Kyrou.
Washington will have its first taste of preseason action on Sunday as the team heads north to take on the Boston Bruins. It will be a mixed group of veterans and prospects taking the ice.
