Courtesy: Zimbio.com
Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green made the trip with the club, but his status remains up in the air as he continues to battle a lower body injury that could cause him to miss his team’s Friday night contest with the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
Many speculated that the injury Green has been dealing with was a groin problem, but head coach Adam Oates dismissed that notion at practice Thursday as he called the injury a “bruise”. Washington has some backup plans in case their are without their top defenseman as they may look to their AHL affiliate in Hershey for help.
The two top contenders were rookie Connor Carrick and Tyson Strachan as they are both right-handed shots and could fill the void left by Green. While they might not likely be the top defensive pairing with Nate Schmidt, they would compliment the young guy well. Another option for the Capitals is to possible bring Dmitry Orlov back up to try and replace Green against the Red Wings, but he’s a left-handed shot and despite being up with the club for an extended period over the last few weeks, he was a healthy scratch in seven consecutive games. Orlov was recently reassigned to Hershey earlier this week. Strachan ultimately won out and will make the trip to Detroit, but his status for gametime remains in the air.
If Green is unable to go, Washington’s task of defeating the Detroit Red Wings will be that much harder, but not insurmountable. Detroit is 21st in the NHL is goals scored per game, so they continue to rely on their defensive prowess to win them hockey games. If Washington has to direct any attention to the forwards of Detroit, it should be toward Henrik Zetterbeg and Pavel Datsyuk as they have a combined total of 19 goals and 41 points on the season.
This is a game Washington can win if they overcome the brawn vs. finesse matchup Detroit provides. This is a similar type of game as to one they must play against the New York Rangers where the scoring chances will be at a premium, so peppering the goaltender will be a must. If the Capitals want to win this contest, they should also watch their game film against the Minnesota Wild from earlier this month as like Detroit, they too are a frustrating team to face in terms of creating offensive opportunities.
