The Capitals winger is starting to find his game under Carbery. Is it enough to silence the critics and trade rumors that have plagued him the last few months?
WASHINGTON — After a ruptured eardrum left him dizzy, vomiting and without hearing for a week, Anthony Mantha was excited to find balance again — literally and figuratively — and pick up where he left off for the Washington Capitals. Prior to being struck in the head, Mantha was starting to put the pieces together, and Saturday was no different.
Playing top-6 minutes with Connor McMichael and T.J. Oshie, Mantha led his team with six shots, and beyond that, he was one of the more noticeable top-6 forwards on offense. And for head coach Spencer Carbery, it just goes to show that Mantha's trending in the right direction.
"It just shows his commitment... it's so emblematic of what he's putting in right now," Carbery said of Mantha's performance, which resulted in a number of high-quality chances.
Not only is Mantha playing with speed, winning puck battles and using his 6-foot-5 frame and reach to his advantage, but he's also playing with confidence.
"I think I'll just keep going that way, and things were kind of getting up [before the injury]," Mantha told The Hockey News. "I was playing the right way, not playing much in my zone, which is always a bonus if you're finding the puck in the o-zone."
The last handful of games for No. 39 have been a stark contrast from the inconsistency that had plagued him over the last couple of seasons and put him at the center of numerous trade talks.
This season is the biggest of Mantha's career yet, as he's set to hit free agency in the offseason and is coming off a big summer of chances that saw him drop significant weight and promise to put up top-6 numbers.
It's exactly what he was brought in to do when Washington flipped Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik and draft picks for him back at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline. And under a new coaching system, Mantha's getting there.
"I thought he picked up right where he left off. He had some momentum in the season going, and then he gets hit with the puck in the ear. Thankfully, it was only just a handful of games that he missed," Carbery explained. But you sometimes worry like, 'Is it gonna take him a little bit to get back up and running and playing at that level?' And I thought he picked up right where he left off."
Mantha, who started the year as a fringe forward just sneaking into the lineup, is doing everything he can to earn the coaching staff's trust, and he's got it. Now, it's just a matter of running with it.