Hope for Washington Capitals' AHL prospects, despite mediocre record

[txpd]

Anyone who thinks Jay Beagle would beat out Dylan Larkin is nuts.

Beagle is a big body, right handed faceoff winning veteran who is on the team to check opposing offensive lines, provide defensive zone stability and lead the turtle program.

Larkin is Kuzy light and Burakovsky+. Trotz would not use either of them in place of Beagle.

Is Larkin better offensively than Beagle? Sure but that is not the job.

 

[txpd]

Larkin is really good and would have been a 3C given the talent on this team. No shame in putting Beagle down to 4C (where he is very good). 3 scoring lines and a defensive 4th line is a good way to go in today's NHL.

4th lines don't play. that's the part you miss. most teams use 3 lines and spot in the 4th. if your defensive match up center is the 4C when is he actually doing that? If your best defensive zone center, is 4c when are you actually rolling him out with Laich and Burt or Latta? Not much.

 

[Hivemind]

Larkin is a way better 2-way player than you guys are making him out to be.

 

[Langway]

The Caps make room for good young players but wouldn't make room for those other good young players they either passed on or traded. Right...

 

[twabby]

4th lines don't play. that's the part you miss. most teams use 3 lines and spot in the 4th. if your defensive match up center is the 4C when is he actually doing that? If your best defensive zone center, is 4c when are you actually rolling him out with Laich and Burt or Latta? Not much.

He isn't really being utilized as a defensive matchup center at even strength, Backstrom is. Trotz plays power on power whenever it's feasible. Backstrom also has the ability (along with Ovie and Oshie) to have extended periods of time in the offensive zone, which tires out the opposition more than turtling in the defensive zone.

I think Beagle is fine as a 3C, but unless Johansson starts fading I think you need to keep him there since he, Chimera, and Wilson have found a chemistry together. Beagle can play 4C and PK1 and the Caps won't lose anything defensively.

And as I've mentioned before in other threads, the Blackhawks used their 4th line in a defensive role last year because they had 3 scoring lines. The Capitals have the forward talent to replicate this so why shouldn't they do the same thing?

 

[txpd]

The Caps make room for good young players but wouldn't make room for those other good young players they either passed on or traded. Right...

who's saying that? i am more referring to kuznetsov and burakovsky. last season both of them spent a lot of time on the 4th line and taking healthy scratches. this season burt was left on the 4th line with the occasional scratch for lack of room in the top 6.

he certainly could have been playing 3c ahead of beagle were that something trotz wanted to do. it was not.

Lets see what happens when Beagle returns. My guess is that he goes to 3c with 90 back to 2LW and Burt back to the 4th. Burt does not bump Chimera down.

 

[twabby]

Burakovsky has arguably been the best Capitals forward the past few weeks. Things can change but there's no way he will go back to the 4th line if he continues playing this well.

He had 10 shots on goal (and one goal) against Florida. When's the last time a non-Ovechkin Capital did that?

 

[Langway]

Trotz already said Johansson would stay at 3C even after Beagle returns so long as that line continues to work. There would have been a spot for Larkin there, though it is worth mentioning that Larkin hasn't played center for Detroit this year. Nonetheless, whether it's 2LW, 3LW, 3C, 4LW, 4C or wherever they would have found room for that sort of speedy two-way player. He's far more of a Trotz Type Player than Vrana will likely ever be.

Trotz has no reason not to go power vs. power so if he can add more production from his third-line Ws by putting Johansson in the middle he should. Just because Beagle may be on the fourth line doesn't mean he won't be used more late in games while holding a lead. The rest of the fourth-liners probably shouldn't, though.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Burakovsky has arguably been the best Capitals forward the past few weeks.

Whoever plays on Kuznetsov's wing looks great. Not a coincidence IMO. Don't get me wrong I think Burakovsky is very good, but I think Kuz deserves some of the credit.

I have a hard time picturing Larkin not thriving, regardless of what system he plays in. He is immensely talented.

 

[twabby]

Whoever plays on Kuznetov's wing looks great. Not a coincidence IMO. Don't get me wrong I think Burakovsky is very good, but I think Kuz deserves some of the credit.

I have a hard time picturing Larkin not thriving, regardless of what system he plays in.

Johansson played on Kuz's wing for a long time this season and while he was ok, he wasn't nearly as good as he was when he was the 3C. That being said yes Kuznetsov and Burakovsky have a good chemistry together.

I mentioned this earlier but maybe Johansson just defers too much when he's playing with more skilled players and he just needs to be "the guy" on a line. Chimera and Wilson are decent enough players, but Johansson knows he's the guy on that line and maybe that makes him play better.

 

[Hivemind]

Johansson had streaks similar to his current one on Kuznetsov's wing. Beagle got hurt on New Year's Eve. It was functionally a 7-game streak until Johansson got hurt against Philadelphia. MoJo has had great 7-game streaks on the wing before, as well.

 

[txpd]

Trotz already said Johansson would stay at 3C even after Beagle returns so long as that line continues to work.QUOTE]

he has. lets see how that is actually applied.

 

[EroCaps]

Whoever plays on Kuznetsov's wing looks great. Not a coincidence IMO. Don't get me wrong I think Burakovsky is very good, but I think Kuz deserves some of the credit.

I have a hard time picturing Larkin not thriving, regardless of what system he plays in. He is immensely talented.

Bura has been much, much better, regardless of playing with Kuz.

He was awful for 3 months.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Larkin is a way better 2-way player than you guys are making him out to be.

Nobody is saying Larkin isn't a great 2-way player. My opinion is that Trotz loves Beagle, he sees his 3rd line as a shutdown, physical, checking type line, and that he probably wouldn't have slotted a rookie in that position over a guy the organization specifically resigned to play the 3C role. I think it would have been the same situation as last year when he slotted Kuznetsov on the 4th line and had Fehr play 3C with Chimmer and Ward. That's not to say Larkin wouldn't currently be the 3C, but I don't think it's "nuts" to say that Trotz probably wouldn't have picked a rookie over Beagle to start the year as 3C.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The Caps make room for good young players but wouldn't make room for those other good young players they either passed on or traded. Right...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Trotz likes to ease his young guys into their roles unless injuries dictate otherwise, correct? Kuznetsov and Burakovsky started on the 4th line and spent time as healthy scratches. Wilson spent most of last season on the 4th line before getting a shot at 3RW this year. What makes you think Larkin would be any different?

 

[txpd]

Exactly my point. Trotz saw Burt step up in the playoffs last season and still started him on the 4th line this season. Not on the 3rd where some might have thought Chimmer didn't deserve the wing slot or Beagle the center slot.

Why did Burt jump from the 4th line to the 2nd over Chimera? Trotz has players in roles. Burt does not play Chimmer's role.

Come playoffs I see Backstrom Kuzy Beagle and Richards as the centers.