Hagelin hopes slow starts are behind him
CHICAGO — Washington Capitals winger Carl Hagelin shook his head and looked down with a grin as he reminisced on his nine-year NHL career. The 30-yearold forward has played for five teams in that span, and one thing remained consistent: He always had slow offensive starts to the season and no, he could never figure out why
“I wish I knew because if not I’d have pretty good offensive production throughout the year if I had the same thing after Christmas,” Hagelin said with a laugh. “It’s a good question. I’ve been trying to find it, work on it every day.”
Hagelin’s struggling starts were most noticeable from 2014 onward, when he played at least 30 games before Christmas from 2014-17. In that four-year span — playing for three teams — Hagelin averaged 3.75 goals and 5.75 assists before Christmas. Hagelin finished the season with at least 10 goals in three out of those four years and tallied at least 16 assists in all four.
But in Sunday night in the team’s 5-3 win against Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center, Hagelin had his best game of the season with two assists and dominant play on the penalty kill during the team’s 10th game of the season.
Earlier in the day, Capitals Coach Todd Reirden talked about Hagelin’s history of getting better as the season goes on, and how he expected the switch to come soon enough. After starting the season playing on the third line, Hagelin was bumped up to the second, playing alongside center Evgeny Kuznetsov and forward Tom Wilson ahead of the team’s win over Toronto on Wednesday.
So far, the switch has benefited all four lines, with the Capitals riding a three-game winning streak since the shuffle. Hagelin had zero points before the switch, and he now has four assists through three games, while still looking for his first goal of the season.
Reirden believed the switch would allow Hagelin to get the puck in more scoring areas, particularly playing with Kuznetsov and Wilson. Hagelin said he wants to be “more selfish” with his game, and that means using a mix of skating a lot and finding open areas on the ice when he has the puck to be creative.
“Offensively, I want to produce more,” Hagelin said before the team’s 5-2 win over the New York Rangers on Friday. “Some games I’ve gotten good looks, but it hasn’t been every game, so I have to step up there and hold onto more pucks and just create more chances on my own I think. That’s when I’m at my best, is when I’m using my speed to create chances for myself and hold onto pucks and a lot of things usually open up when you do that.”
Against Chicago, Hagelin assisted on Nic Dowd’s short-handed goal 9:53 into the second period to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead and on Wilson’s game-winner with 8:13 to play. Hagelin’s penalty-killing prowess helped lead Washington to hold off the Blackhawks on five power plays.
His assist to Dowd came after a broken stick turned the game into a brief 4 on 4. Hagelin’s aggressive play enabled him to get to the puck after a turnover by Patrick Kane. A few seconds later, he and Dowd were on a 2-on-1, short-handed rush.
“Hags he’s a great player, a great all-around player,” Wilson said. “I saw it a lot from the other side when he was in Pittsburgh. He’s a clutch player. He goes out on the kills and gets it done. He is very smart. We are happy to have him on our side now and definitely finding some chemistry with him and he makes a great play on my goal as well.”
Aside from his play on the ice, Reirden has been leaning on Hagelin to become more of a leader in the Capitals room this season. The winger can draw on his vast hockey IQ and experience with multiple NHL clubs.
Hagelin said there’s always small things to pick up from each club he’s been on, but mainly, he likes to observe the intricate roles of each player on the team, not only focusing on what the “big leaders” within the group brings.
“My goal is to lead by example as well and that’s what is important,” Hagelin said. “If you want to be successful, you want a lot of guys leading and not only old guys, but also young guys. For me it is my ninth year in the league, and I tried to take pride in being a guy who guys can look up to.”