The Washington Capitals are suddenly in a crisis during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. While this crisis could hurt any team, this one could hurt the Capitals a lot. Lars Eller missed game one against the New York Islanders already testing the depth and his impact is something that hurts to lose. However, what is even more concerning is that Nicklas Backstrom was injured in game one, is in concussion protocol, and has already been ruled out of game two. Whether Eller comes back for game two or not is unknown, but losing two of your top centers hurts a lot.
Not only will this test the depth of the team, but also the chemistry as now new partnerships on the lines will be made. Kuznetsov might already be fine, but with Nic Dowd now having to move up, things become trickier. It's likely that Travis Boyd will get named to the squad on gameday, but the team still needs to find someone to fill that role. The hope is that Eller comes back for game two, but if he doesn't, then this situation might become dire.
While the team named some players to playoff roster for depth reasons, now here comes the opportunity for them. There are such prospects as Brian Pinho and Philippe Maillet who have a great chance, but the biggest name is Connor McMichael, the Capitals' top prospect. The questions begin here, does the team name McMichael over Maillet and Pinho? Or do they wait and let Pinho or Maillet have a chance?
Some will think that bringing up McMichael is the best choice here as he could play in a bottom six role (fourth line probably) and is a better skilled player than Pinho or Maillet. Having your best possible players on the ice is the right idea and McMichael is exactly that. Some could also fear that his inexperience might get the best of him and he hasn't played in the organization yet, but only time will tell.
Maillet and Pinho are going to be talked about here too as they are the other remaining centers on this squad. Maillet might have the inside track over Pinho simply because he's a two way player and has been excellent on power plays, so he's a name to keep an eye on. Pinho, on the other hand, is a top prospect who has played in the organization for quite some time and put up some decent numbers in Hershey. While the playoffs might be high level, high leverage type of play, Pinho could get a chance to see what that atmosphere is like and could relish in that opportunity.
The best case scenario is to have Eller able and ready to go and also suit up Boyd. While having McMichael suit up is intriguing, his lack of experience is concerning. Naming Pinho or Maillet to the gameday roster could be an option as well, but the quality will be significantly lacking. This is certainly a pickle that the Capitals don't want to be in.
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