“It was good to see him get that shutout,” says Caps winger Brett Connolly. “It’s obviously a big moment for him. He has played so well this year, and it seems like we play well in front of him, too, so that’s good. We have a lot of confidence in him back there. He has proven to our team that he can shut the door like he did and it’s great to see a guy who works extremely hard every day get rewarded with a shutout. Everyone is extremely happy for him for sure.”
Copley has given Washington a chance to win in each of those 11 starts, despite losing his first one by a lopsided 6-0 count to the Devils in New Jersey on Oct. 11. He has earned six of his eight wins on the road, and he has delivered a consistency that many other teams are aching for in their backup goaltenders.
“He has been fantastic, really fantastic,” says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen. “I don’t know anything about goalie, but that has to be a really tough job, just to stay focused. It seems like goalies like getting in a rhythm, and you never get in a rhythm as a backup. So he has done a good job of working his tail off at practice, he is fun to be around at the rink, he never complains, does extra work, and when he gets in there he is ready to go and do a job. So good for him. That’s nice to see him get rewarded with a shutout.”
Copley becomes the 28th Caps goaltender to record a shutout. He joins Brent Johnson (4/1/06) and Braden Holtby 1/7/17 as the third Washington netminder to shutout the Sens in their own barn.
Exactly two weeks earlier in Columbus, Holtby blanked the Blue Jackets by an identical 4-0 score. It marks the first time since 2011-12 the Caps have had two different goaltenders deliver road shutouts in the same season. Michal Neuvirth blanked the Jets in Winnipeg on 12/15/11 and also shutout the Habs in Montreal on 1/18/12. Tomas Vokoun also whitewashed the Canadiens in Montreal that season, on 2/4/12.
Video: Caps Postgame Locker Room | December 22
Sweeping Up – Winning games on back-to-back nights is a difficult task in the NHL these days. The quality of the league, the teams and the competition has never been better, and it’s hard enough to win any one game, let alone two in as many nights, especially when travel is involved as it almost always is where back-to-backs are concerned.
In downing the Sens on Saturday, the Caps swept a weekend set of back-to-backs. They did so last weekend, too, and Washington also swept its previous set of back-to-backs during its Thanksgiving weekend mentors’ trip. That’s three straight sweeps of back-to-backs, and to illustrate just how difficult that feat is to pull off, it’s the first time in more than 27 years that the Capitals have managed to do it.
“I personally think it’s just a mindset,” says Niskanen of playing the second half of back-to-backs. “No excuses – get yourself ready to play. Everyone has to do it at various points in the season; the second night of a back-to-back can’t be a throwaway every single time. You’ve got to find a way to be competitive and win some of them. The last couple, we’ve done a better job of it.”
Washington is a perfect 6-0-0 in the front end of back-to-backs this season, and it is now 3-2-1 on the backside after losing three straight second half games to start the season.
“I think it has been a little bit systematic,” says Caps coach Todd Reirden of his team’s recent success in the second half of back-to-backs. “We do make some systematic adjustments in the second of back-to-back games that we haven’t done in the past, so I think that has helped us. The understanding in game one of playing the right way sets you up for success in game two, not that you ever look past the game that’s in front of you.
“And then – to me – it all comes back to the leadership. It absolutely comes back to the leadership in the room and on the bench. Tonight was one of our best games in terms of that, and I couldn’t be prouder of our guys for rallying behind it.”
Having played Friday at home against the Sabres, the Caps arrived in Ottawa in the wee hours of Saturday morning. On short rest and with a welcomed four-day holiday break looming at day’s end, they made sure they didn’t overlook or underestimate the Senators.
“It was an easy game to check out and say, ‘Oh, let’s see how it goes,’” says Reirden, “and everyone was invested right through our whole lineup tonight in playing the right way, for each other. It was probably one of the games I could be happiest about this year.
“We knew going into the game that no team had done that in [27] years in this organization, being able to have three in a row of back-to-back wins, and that’s longer than some of these guys have been for. Our team seems to rally around different things like that. There isn’t going to be a trophy for that or anything. What it does say is [something] about our professionalism, how our guys are maturing and growing and getting better in back-to-back situations, which are trying and are more mental tests than physical tests sometimes. I’m really proud of them.”
Video: Todd Reirden Postgame | December 22
A Lew Debut – Blueliner Tyler Lewington made his NHL debut on Saturday night against the Sens, some five and a half years after the Caps expended a seventh-round draft choice (204th overall) in the 2013 draft to bring the rugged defenseman into their system. He has been a intergral piece of the AHL Hershey blueline corps since turning pro in 2015-16, and he earned his first recall to the NHL a week ago.
With his parents and sister in the stands looking on, Lewington, a 24-year-old native of Edmonton, also became the first player in Washington’s franchise history to sport sweater No. 78.
“It was definitely an honor to put the jersey on and get in a game here,” says Lewington. “The guys made it so easy for me to come in and play my game. They made me look good.”
The Caps scored to take a 1-0 lead on Lewington’s first shift in the league, and he picked up a hooking minor late in the second period. At night’s end, he had a shot on net and four hits in 13:07 of ice time, all at even strength.
“My family is here, it’s special that they could get down here and watch,” says Lewington. “It’s been a long road and a lot of work went into it, but it finally paid off and it’s a pretty good feeling.”
Video: [email protected]: Copley scrambles to make multiple saves
This One Goes To Eleven – Caps winger Jakub Vrana scored his 11th goal of the season on Saturday, lifting him into second on the team in that category this season. Vrana executed a swipe and snipe; stealing the puck from Sens winger Mark Stone deep in Ottawa territory and then beating Ottawa netminder Mike McKenna from the slot.
The 2017-18 season was Vrana’s first in the NHL, and he finished with 13 goals in 73 games. Just 35 games into the ’18-19 campaign, he is now two goals shy of matching that career best.
The 400 Club – On the same night in which Lewington made his NHL debut, Caps defenseman Dmitry Orlov played in his 400th career game on Saturday night against the Sens. Orlov is the 14th blueliner to play in as many as 400 games in a Washington sweater.
Video: Copley earns first shutout as Capitals blank Senators
Down On The Farm – The AHL Hershey Bears hosted the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday night at Giant Center, and for the second time in three games, the Bears absorbed a five-goal loss at the hands of the Phantoms.
Three nights after a 5-0 whitewashing from the Phantoms in Allentown, the Bears took a 6-1 loss to Lehigh Valley on Saturday. With two seconds remaining in the first period, Hershey winger Riley Barber scored his 11th goal of the season with help from Ryan Sproul and Cliff Watson. Barber’s goal tied the game at 1-1, but it turned out to be the high point of Hershey’s evening.
By The Numbers – John Carlson led the Caps with 23:21 in ice time … Alex Ovechkin led the Caps with six shots on net and 11 shot attempts … Tom Wilson led the Caps with six hits … Michal Kempny led the Capitals with three blocked shots and also scored his third goal of the season, a single-season career best.
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