Lots of heat on Winnik, Connolly and Galiev after this one IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if Galiev ended up on the waivers.
He didn't play but I think Carey is making a case to be a more effective NHLer while carrying the same minimum cap hit. It's entirely possible Carey clears waivers so not making that move could keep their depth more intact but it's also entirely possible Galiev clear waivers if he goes the entire pre-season pointless. (Not that many players are putting up points so far. They've yet to score more than two goals or more than one even-strength goal in a game.)I cant see the game here. Did Galiev play badly v the Blues?
The only real "unique" asset Galiev brings is being Ovechkin's stand-in on the powerplay should Ovechkin get hurt. Otherwise there are other players competing for spots that do many of the same things he does and have a more well-rounded game than he does.
Orlov-Niskanen seems to be the full time PP2 pairing this season, so I'd imagine it would be Orlov-Carlson on PP1 if Ovi wasn't playing. I'm guessing it'll be Orlov-Schmidt in the event Niskanen isn't on PP2.
He's never done that, I can't recall him scoring a single PPG for the Caps in that manner. Granted, Ovechkin is rarely ever injured or even too tired to skip a PP. Frankly, if Ovechkin were to get hurt, I think we could have a decent PP by using Carlson, Niskanen, Orlov and maybe even Bowey at the point.
I wonder how long that lasts, Ov not playing the full pp? If Orlov's pp time is based on Ov being on the bench, I am not thinking he gets a lot.
Galiev played that spot in Hershey during his one good year in the AHL. Playing the left circle on the powerplay was fairly instrumental to him saving his career after bouncing between the AHL and ECHL for two years.
You don't need to be a highly "skilled" player to execute from the Ovechkin spot. You need to have a quick release and be able to create seams. I think Galiev can do that, especially given that he already has experience doing that.
That being said, that skillset alone likely isn't worth keeping him on the roster.