With Dubois Out, Lapierre Returns To The Capitals Lineup With 'Reliable Minutes' Being The Top Priority
The Capitals want to see Lapierre dictate play a bit more when he's on the ice.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — After just two games of action and one game of sitting out as a healthy scratch, it’s tough for Hendrix Lapierre to really assess how the opening week of the Washington Capitals season has gone for him.
He does know, though, that there’s a higher level he can reach.
“It’s been all right,” Lapierre said of his start. “Do I want to do more? Yeah. The mentality’s there.”
The 23-year-old, who shined through the preseason with a league-leading seven points to win a spot on the opening night roster, played just over 10 minutes in the season opener and had just 11 shifts over 9:09 minutes against the New York Islanders on Saturday before watching from the press box on Sunday.
Now, with Pierre-Luc Dubois day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Lapierre will get his chance to draw back into the mix at center and do what he can to help fill the void, starting on Tuesday against the high-octane Tampa Bay Lightning.
“We have to do our job. Obviously Dubie’s a really big piece our team. He’s used in different situations and very consistent; You know exactly what you’re gonna get from him,” Lapierre said. “But we have to step up. We can’t just let that affect us… obviously we’ll miss him.”
That being said, what are the expectations for Lapierre as he draws back into the mix?
First and foremost, over everything else, stability.
“Reliable minutes is what we’re looking for,” coach Spencer Carbery reiterated on Tuesday. “He doesn’t have to save the world, doesn’t have to score a goal, doesn’t have to get a point. We just need good, strong, solid minutes from him and being reliable with his reads, with his puck decisions, good defensively.”
For Carbery, that means skating with more confident and responsibility, not getting trapped and dictating play more to work toward generating entries and scoring chances.
“He can chip in, hopefully, with being able to control some play again — not score, control some play. So get in the offensive zone, stay there for a shift,” Carbery explained. “If you win two out of three shifts, one you’re stuck in the D zone, two you’re in the offensive zone, that’s a productive game for me.”
Lapierre will play on the third line between Sonny Milano and Ryan Leonard. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Capital One Arena.