from Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic,

Caps watch

Is there any team getting less love this year than Washington? It’s understandable, perhaps, because so many of the key pieces there are aging, and — as with Montreal — the Capitals are also relying heavily on players with long, challenging injury histories. Every year, I’m reminded of something Craig Button, the former NHL GM and now television commentator, once wryly observed: “The only problem with injury-prone players is they frequently get hurt.”

Exactly.

But in Washington’s case, two key pieces seem to be healthy again, after missing important time last year. Their perennial ice-time leader, John Carlson, has gotten into two preseason games, managed four points and played 24:24 per night. That’s key. Also, Tom Wilson, limited to 33 games a year ago, has two goals and two assists in two games, averaging 17:34. Wilson will play in the top six and likely on the top power play as well.

Moreover, it’ll be interesting to see what Nicklas Backstrom has left in the tank. Backstrom came back midway through last year and had a decent return from major surgery, with 21 points in 39 games. But the time off this summer has given him better recovery time and for now, anyway, he’s scheduled to play with Alex Ovechkin again, as Ovechkin pursues Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record. Ovechkin goes into the season with 822 goals, and needs 72 to tie the Gretzky mark (894). Ovechkin had 42 last year, in 73 games.

And finally

Probably no team has greater uncertainty with recovering players as Philadelphia, where two top-six mainstays, Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson, both missed the entire last season, Couturier because of back surgery and Atkinson with a neck problem. Couturier has played three preseason games thus far and averaged 19:07; Atkinson two games and averaged 17:59. People forget how much of an impact they could have. Couturier won the 2020 Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward — never a small feat to take that title away from Bergeron. Atkinson, meanwhile, is a seven-time 20 goal scorer, who scored 41 goals for Columbus in the 2018-19 season. Healthy, he could be a 30-goal man again and, for better or worse, keep the Flyers out of the NHL cellar.

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