Winners of nine in a row, the Washington Capitals meet their rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on Monday.
It’s a chance for the red-hot Capitals to extend the winning streak against a team that has lost three in a row.
An important question for Washington heading into this match-up is whether defenseman John Carlson will be healthy enough to play after leaving Sunday’s impressive win over Philadelphia with an apparent injury following the first period.
Trotz did not say much about Carlson’s injury other than to say it’s possible that he’ll play against the Penguins on Monday.
“He’s coming with us,” Trotz said. The Caps departed immediately after Sunday’s win for Pittsburgh.
“The trainers worked some magic,” the coach added, “so he’s a possible.”
So, an encouraging assessment, perhaps? Further to that, reports out of Washington state the Capitals won’t recall anyone from the AHL.
The Capitals have been rolling over the competition during this streak. Carlson, 27, is an integral member of their lineup. He has 25 points in 43 games but he also leads the team in ice time, playing on both the penalty kill (ranked second in the NHL at 86.5 per cent) and power play (ranked 15th in the league at 18.5 per cent).