Winger has scored five goals in six games
So who needs Alex Ovechkin? Maybe the superstar left wing has won two Hart Trophies as the NHL’s most valuable player and is averaging a goal-per-game this season, but when Ovechkin got hurt eight days ago against Columbus, the Caps had a ready replacement: winger Tomas Fleischmann.
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Okay, nobody can replace Ovechkin — and nobody should even try. Ever. All the Caps really need is someone to pick up the slack while their top player recuperates from an upper-body strain. So far, Fleischmann has done his part.
The 25-year-old spent most of the summer dealing with a blood clot in his left leg. He could skate as hard as he wanted after a few weeks. But contact was strictly forbidden while he was taking blood thinners. So Fleischmann spent that down time building his upper body, hoping added strength would help him surpass his career-best 19 goals last season.
He certainly looks stronger, listed at 190 pounds now — about 10 more than his weight last season. That effort has translated onto the ice. Finally cleared to play on Oct. 29, Fleischmann has scored five goals in six games, including two during Saturday night’s 7-4 win over Florida. All that without benefit of a training camp — he still was on blood thinners until early October — and with just two minor-league conditioning games at AHL Hershey to get ready.
“I expected it,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who noted those games in Hershey helped Fleischmann get over any lingering fear of being cut, “because I’m a really huge believer in Tomas Fleischmann.”
Fleischmann spent most of the summer in his native Czech Republic, skating on his own and waiting for the clot to disappear. When he returned to Washington in early September he worked diligently with strength and conditioning coach Mark Nemish to strengthen his core muscles — abdominals and lower back. A player who often was muscled off the puck earlier in his career now is driving into high-traffic areas on the ice. Once there, Fleischmann has always known what to do with the puck.
“I’m really impressed with his hands around the net, his ability to finish,” said Caps forward Mike Knuble, who assisted on both of Fleischmann’s goals against Florida. “It just seems like right when he gets that quality chance it’s going in.”
