As Clay Stevenson Looks To Lift Capitals Back Up Standings, Calmness The Key

The Capitals call-up netminder is making back-to-back starts.

It’s not often at the NHL level that goaltenders will start both games of a back-to-back series. For Washington Capitals call-up Clay Stevenson, it’s just another day at the office.

Despite the high stakes of Tuesday’s game — a must-win matchup with the Metropolitan Division rival Philadelphia Flyers as D.C. looks to return to playoff position before the Olympic break — Stevenson is calm and collected as he starts his second game in a 48-hour span.

“I’ve definitely done it many times and in Hershey,” Stevenson had said Monday, adding, “If that’s the case, I go. I have no quarrels. I’m ready always.”

Stevenson is up wtih D.C. on an emergency basis amid injuries to both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren. Thompson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but is expected back Thursday; Lindgren was hurt at the end of Thursday’s shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings and is out through the Olympic break.

The 26-year-old has won his last two starts, with a .923 save percentage to show for it. He stopped 29 of 30 against the New York Islanders on Monday.

“I’m more comfortable, I suppose, for sure. Any experience you can pull off of and draw focus is going to give me a sense of calmness in the net, I guess,” Stevenson said.

And that’s the key for Stevenson: calmness.

“I don’t think you can rattle Clay Stevenson,” coach Spencer Carbery remarked after he pulled off his first NHL win.

Though he likes to play with a high heart rate (he insists he gets lethargic otherwise), Stevenson likes to have a clear mind when he goes in the net and emphasized the importance of staying composed.

“Just feel like my body is really calm and my mind is calm,” Stevenson said, adding, “I think it’s just a sense of calmness in the mind, (that’s) the biggest key for me.”

The Dartmouth alum credited his goaltending coach Juha Lehtola for helping him maintain that mentality, one that’s now helping him at the NHL ranks as he looks to fill a key void for Washington, while helping the team claw its way back up the standings.

“Goaltending is so cerebral at its core,” Stevenson noted. “When you’re reading plays and figuring out what’s happening on the rush or what could happen and you’re anticipating and you know something is about to happen… that’s a big one we talk about… (it’s) great.”

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Projected lines:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Anthony Beauvillier

Aliaksei Protas-Justin Sourdif-Tom Wilson

Ethen Frank-Nic Dowd-Ryan Leonard

Brandon Duhaime-Hendrix Lapierre-Sonny Milano

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy

Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Clay Stevenson

Garin Bjorklund