Scott Walker showed up for the first day at his new job and went through the typical acclimation process. There were co-workers to meet and nicknames to memorize – ‘”Are you Gordo or Stecks?” He had equipment issues to take care of and systems to learn. Oh, and eight hours later he had to play in an actual NHL game – just his second since New Year’s Eve.
The new-look Capitals made their debut on Thursday night at Verizon Center with trade acquisitions Walker, Joe Corvo and Eric Belanger in the lineup. All had their moments. But Walker stole the show, scoring two goals 2 minutes, 58 seconds apart in the third period to lift Washington to a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Not a bad first impression.
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“It’s extremely difficult because it’s such a great team,” Walker said. “And you don’t want to disrupt it, but yet you still want to be yourself. You want to talk and cheer and enjoy the games. Walking out on the ice are you in the right order, taking shots when you’re supposed to in warmup? It’s the little things where you want to make sure you’re not stepping on anybody’s toes.”
That will be the theme going forward for the Caps. Veterans Dave Steckel, Matt Bradley and John Erskine were all healthy scratches to make way for the newcomers, each picked up by general manager George McPhee prior to the NHL trade deadline on Wednesday.
“I just want to fit in,” echoed Belanger, who took over at third-line center after a trade from Minnesota. “I felt that with my two linemates we played pretty well. Kept it simple. I haven’t played for 20 days so it was good for me to get the rust off.”
It was unclear if Belanger actually knew he was playing alongside Eric Fehr – who scored his 16th goal of the season in the first period – and Tomas Fleischmann. But you can forgive him for learning on the go. Coming from a Minnesota team that likely won’t make the playoffs, Belanger was just happy with the win and his new place in the standings. The Caps are now 43-13-8 with 94 points and have won both games since returning from the 17-day Winter Olympics break.
Walker isn’t exactly a numbers guy. Even acknowledging that he missed two months after shoulder surgery in January he still had just three goals and two assists in 33 games with the Hurricanes. But the 36-year-old managed two goals in less than three minutes and helped Washington shake off a blown 4-2 lead in the third period. Walker’s game-winner came when he deflected a Mike Green point shot and then dove to the ice and smacked the puck past Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith (29 saves, 34 shots) to put the Caps back ahead, 5-4.
“His history is being in the right place at the right time with the right hit,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who noted Walker scored the overtime series-winning goal for Carolina in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinal Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Meanwhile, Washington forward Mike Knuble has five two-goal games since Jan. 9 after he registered consecutive tallies in the second period 6:04 apart. Only 10 NHL players have more two-goal games than that on the entire season. Knuble has 25 goals despite missing 12 games with a broken pinkie early in the season. Over his last 22 games he has 18 goals.
So for this night at least the old and the new blended well for Washington. Whether that continues is up to the players as Boudreau tries to juggle enough ice time to keep 15 forwards happy. Is that even possible?
“I hope so. I don’t know. The biggest fear is they’re all good players –Corvo, Belanger, Jurcina and Walker,” Boudreau said. “But we’ve got good players already. It’s the biggest fear as a coach, hoping they meld as a unit on the ice and as individuals off the ice. As a competitor you know that they want to play. As a teammates you’re hoping that they’re supportive. That’s easier said than done a lot of times. But it’s what has to happen.”
