With Wilson out, Connolly adjusting to life on top line
Less than 24 hours after he had finished grueling back-to-back games to open the season, Brett Connolly was still grappling with his new reality as a top-line forward for the Washington Capitals. He wondered: Even after helping spearhead an offensive burst of 13 combined goals against the Bruins and Penguins, what could he improve on while playing alongside two of the planet’s best players in Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov?
Connolly knew a brain he could pick. Friday night, he texted the player he replaced on the first line, Tom Wilson, who three days earlier had been suspended 20 games. Their styles clash, but they found common ground in their conversation on how to play with the Russian superstars. They talked about keeping pucks alive, relentlessly working for chances and feeling the game out as much as possible.
“You just have to play and be confident and try to make reads off those guys,” said Connolly, who continued to skate with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov on the first line during practices on Saturday and Sunday. As Washington braces for life without Wilson for nearly a quarter of the regular season, it will rely on other personnel — currently Connolly — to adjust to playing alongside Ovechkin and Kuznetsov, whose otherworldly skill-sets suggest that such a transition would be easy for a player to make.
But as Connolly has learned over the past week, it’s a much trickier proposition. One of Wilson’s great strengths i s complementing Ovechkin and Kuznetsov with his bullish physicality and carving out his own space on the ice. But other players, especially those devoid of Wilson’s size, might defer too much to playing with such creative offensive players. Connolly said this week Wednesday, 8 p.m. TV: NBC Sports Network Brett Connolly said this week that his focus was to simplify his new role on the Capitals’ top line as much as possible. that his focus was to simplify his role as much as possible; to compete for pucks to set up scoring opportunities for Ovechkin, to get the puck to Kuznetsov on the rush as soon as possible.
“If anybody could play first line, everyone would be first-line players. It’s just a matter of getting used to each other a little bit,” Connolly said. “I think Ovi is, for the most part, pretty predictable when he’s making his plays. He’s a shooter first. But with Kuzy, I think he’s one of the more unique players in the league. He’s got a confidence level to his game unlike I’ve ever seen before.”
Connolly has had his share of looks through the first two games, with eight shots and an assist in a 7-6 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday night. He’s looking to carry over production from last season’s Stanley Cup run, in which his 53.3 on-ice shot attempt percentage (226 shot attempts for and 198 shot attempts against) led the team. He’s found rhythm for stretches with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov so far: In two games, the trio has logged over 24 minutes at five-on-five, posting 24 shot attempts (51.06 shot attempt percentage) and15 shots on goal (57.79 shots for percentage) and two goals.
“I think they’ve been able to create offensively and get some opportunities. It’s not the same player [Connolly and Wilson] clearly, they play a different style of game,” Capitals Coach Todd Reirden said. “But I think Brett does a good job of getting himself to scoring areas and setting up a number of chances. Over two games obviously, you score those number of goals, they had a big impact in it. I think he has the skill set to move up and down our lineup, and we’ll continue to look for the right fit.”
Ovechkin and Kuznetsov have a unique relationship themselves, and anyone playing with them knows they converse to each other in Russian and feed off each other’s movements naturally on the ice. The team has searched for the right fit in every corner of the roster when Wilson has been unavailable, including when the forward was suspended for three games against Pittsburgh in last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs. T.J. Oshie isn’t really an option to join the top line because he’s been paired with Nicklas Backstrom as a shutdown duo.
Devante Smith-Pelly, Chandler Stephenson and Jakub Vrana all logged time on the first line with Wilson out last year. Smith-Pelly has worked there in stints but not longterm. Vrana and Andre Burakovsky remain options, but the drawback is that their presence on the line potentially brings defensive vulnerabilities. And Stephenson also could potentially top line too, although he’s had little experience there.
“That’s something you always have be prepared for,” Stephenson said. “Tom is huge for [Ovechkin and Kuznetsov]. He opens up the ice for them with his physical play.”
Washington did pick up Dmitrij Jaskin from waivers to help bolster its forward depth in the wake of Wilson’s suspension last week. Jaskin has similar size and physicality as Wilson, so he could be an option on the top line down the road depending on how he progresses. For now the position appears to lean on Connolly, who leveraging every resource he can — including the advice of Wilson — to learn how to thrive on the top line with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov.
“You just have to stick with it, try to get open as much as you can, compete for pucks,” Connolly said, “and the offense will come with those guys.”