WASHINGTON >> Fresh from an energetic practice that followed a confidence-building win, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle struck an encouraging tone when discussing where his team’s play is at on its road trip and the level rising at each stop.
And then he waved a caution flag.
“We feel that we’ve been pretty good,” Carlyle said Friday. “But we’re playing a different animal tomorrow.”
The “animal” is the Washington Capitals and they’re on a rampage. They’ve won 18 of their last 21 games and are averaging 4.52 goals during their run. Within that are 11 straight victories at Verizon Center, where the Ducks will play Saturday night.
So good have the Capitals been that Philipp Grubauer has spun three shutouts during it. Grubauer is the backup to Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Braden Holtby. No doubt, this game has the Ducks attention.
“Yeah, it’s probably one that sticks out for sure,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “Especially the way they’re playing right now. They’re not just winning games. They’re beating people pretty bad. So it’s going to be a great test for us.
“We’re confident with how we’re playing right now. Certainly looking forward to the challenge.”
Confidence is essential because their opponent isn’t lacking any. The Capitals were the dominant team of the 2015-16 season but Pittsburgh ended their Stanley Cup dreams in the second round last spring. Watching the Penguins later hoist the Cup was like salt poured into the open wound.
It still stings. It also motivates. After a first third of the year that saw them get their share of wins but not operate at peak performance, the Capitals had an early December team meeting to iron out any issues that had developed and challenge each other.
“I think at the start of the season, we were still trying to find ourselves,” said Washington’s Justin Williams, a two-time Cup winner with the Kings. “We were an average team. But the fact of the matter is we had to get better because our division got better. Every team was winning.
“We needed to do it. We were sitting in a wild-card position and that’s not something we’re familiar with. We took it upon ourselves to know that we can be a lot better. And we’ve translated that in to a really good run here.”
Measured and thoughtful in nature, Williams conceded that he has been impressed. He points to a deep lineup that has remained healthy and intact, although they’re going to lose winger Andre Burakovsky for four-to-six weeks because of a hand injury.
Mostly, he said, it is their ability to fix and improve their game while still racking up wins.
“We’re doing everything possible so that we can peak in April, May and hopefully June,” Williams said. “That’s the goal. The hardest part a lot of times is just getting into the playoffs. Obviously it seems like we’re on our way to be doing that.
“One thing you can’t do is get comfortable and complacent and satisfied. You want to keep improving.”
The Ducks have that in mind. They’re coming off consecutive games of 44 shots on net, the first time any Ducks team has done that. Ryan Kesler likes that but doesn’t like the “way too many grade-A chances” still being allowed but added their 5-2 win at Buffalo on Thursday was a reward they needed.
“It’s good for the psyche,” Kesler said. “It’s good to get a win finally on this road trip. The longer the trip goes, the harder it gets, the more fatigued you get and the more we got to worry about rest and recover.
“I think the last two games, we played well on the offensive side of the puck. We just got to shore some things up on the defensive side.”
On the mend
Sami Vatanen got back on the ice for the first time since he suffered a knee injury last week in the Ducks loss to Florida. It represented a step in the process for him to return to playing, which won’t come Saturday and may not necessarily occur until the team returns home next week.
Vatanen wouldn’t put a timetable on it but called his recovery process “progressive.”
“It’s going forward all the time,” Vatanen said. “We’ll see. Let’s go day by day. But it’s going forward so well. I’m very happy about that. I don’t think it’s going to take too much time.”
Vatanen did some conditional skating with the team at the end of practice but did not take part in any drills. Carlyle has maintained that the defenseman’s injury is more short term than long.
“He’s on the ice now so he’s joined us for practice,” Carlyle said. “Obviously that’s a good sign. I don’t think he’s too far away now. But it’ll all depend on how he reacts after the practice time.”
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