The last week has seen the full range of these Capitals. Here is a team capable of fluid, seamless hockey, as it showed against the Devils and Canadiens, and here is a team capable of the complete opposite, as it showed in a fumbling loss to the Kings. And in both situations, as well as in every intermediate variation, here is a team who could be much improved by the presence of Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Washington may soon be in luck there. Dubois rejoined his teammates in a regular jersey for the duration of practice on Wednesday.
It was his first time doing so in nearly two weeks. The veteran center has missed the last five games with an unspecified illness and was able to return to the facility only in the last few days in a non-contact jersey. He remains on injured reserve. But his appearance at practice on Wednesday bodes well for a potential return in the Capitals’ next game on Saturday. (As does the fact that the team has already sent forward Jonny Brodzinski back down to AHL Hershey.) His recent absence has only underscored his value.
“When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best 200-foot centermen in the game,” said Capitals forward Tom Wilson. “I love playing with him.”
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That 200-foot skillset has been sorely missed. Dubois is an essential component of this offense and part of the first unit on the power play. He’s also the best defensive center on this roster. For a team still grasping at consistency, with a number of young players and new pieces, Dubois can offer a critical steadying force.
“Obviously, a huge piece of the team,” Washington forward Boone Jenner said of Dubois after the first game without him. “When you lose him, you’re losing a big presence up the middle that plays in every situation for us.”
Dubois had three points in the four games that he played before his illness. He’d entered training camp poised for a bounceback year after missing the majority of last season with injuries.
“This year, he came in, he was one of the best conditioned guys on the team,” said Wilson, a linemate of Dubois’. “I know he’s hungry. He wants to make some noise this year.”
Their line had been an early bright spot for the Capitals. With big offseason acquisition Alex Tuch flanking Dubois on the left and Wilson on the right, they offered a rare combination of size, dexterity and speed. All three players are 6’4”. Besides their height, they also share a certain versatility and vision, and they found chemistry together quickly. In their four games together, Tuch, Dubois and Wilson ranked higher in expected goals than any other line combination on the Capitals.
“I think we’re all kind of alike,” Tuch said of their line. “It’s nice playing with a lot of space out there. A lot of time and space. No one’s coming to mess with you.”
Dubois may or may not be slotted back in with Tuch and Wilson. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery has shuffled his lines as the roster has navigated other injuries and illnesses over the last week: Recent games have seen him split up Tuch and Wilson. That may be simply a temporary measure. (Carbery said earlier this week that his staff has been looking at its line combinations one matchup at a time: “We’ve got to just try to find a way to piece it together a little bit and go with the hot hand.”) But regardless of who he plays with upon his return, Dubois should provide a dynamic, meaningful boost.
The Capitals hope that will extend to the power play. It has continued to be a problem for this group: Washington ranks 31st in the NHL for time spent in the offensive zone during the power play. Almost no other team spends this much time getting bogged down on the other end of the ice and struggling with entry passes.
“It’s got to get better,” Carbery said after the loss on Tuesday, which featured an especially frustrating power play in the third period. “We’ll continue to tinker around with personnel, and look at some different things, starting different units. But it has to get better.”
To that end, Washington assistant coach Ray Bennett spent extra time with the power play units at practice on Wednesday. That group could finally include Dubois.
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