After being benched for nearly the entire second half of Game 1 of the Washington Capitals’ second-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, Dmitry Orlov is likely to be scratched for Game 2 on Saturday night.
Orlov was among the last players on the ice following the team’s morning skate, and Taylor Chorney said that while he hadn’t yet been told anything about his role, he believed he would be making his series debut.
“I think that’s, maybe, the plan, but you never really know until we get out there,” Chorney said. “I’m kind of preparing like I’m going to be playing, so we’ll see.”
The Capitals were also without defenseman Karl Alzner, who missed the session because of a maintenance day. Alzner, who missed the two practices leading up to the opener, played in Game 1.
Orlov’s defensive miscue led to the Penguins’ first goal at 10:40 of the second period when, while tracking Nick Bonino in a one-on-two, he skated toward center ice and collided with fellow defenseman Nate Schmidt. That led to an open attempt by Bonino, which Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped, but Ben Lovejoy buried the rebound on the other side.
Orlov did not play the rest of the period, took only one 25-second shift in the first three minutes of the third period and sat for the entire 9:33 of overtime.
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“We both had the same idea,” Schmidt said on Friday. “We both were stepping up and trying to make a play there at the blue line. We were trying to get the puck out of his hands, and it’s just — things happen. We squeeze a lot during the year, and sometimes, that stuff does happen. I’ve just got to do a little bit better of a job of reading off of what he’s doing and vice-versa.”
Coach Barry Trotz would not comment on replacing Orlov with Chorney, saying only it would be a game-time decision. On Friday, however, Trotz said that he “didn’t like [Orlov’s] one-on-one play yesterday in a couple situations.”
“I think I said this going into the playoffs — it’s about getting to four [wins], and you don’t have time to wait for people to get on board,” Trotz said. “You don’t have time for guys to get their play up. You might give them a little bit of room, but the leash is a lot shorter in the playoffs than it is in the regular season.”
Trotz demonstrated his willingness to make changes in the lineup last year, benching Curtis Glencross, a trade-deadline acquisition, for three games during the first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders.
Orlov played in all 82 games during the regular season, which he said was a goal of his after missing all of last year as he recovered from surgery on his left wrist.
“I think I need to learn,” he said on Friday. “I can’t lose one-on-one. It’s just skating part, or like, my stick position. That’s it. Nothing I can learn about that.”
Chorney replaced Brooks Orpik, who sustained a concussion in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, for Game 4 and Game 5. He was then replaced by Mike Weber in Game 6.
He also spent last season with the Penguins, appearing in five playoff games — a tenure that greatly influenced his signing by the Capitals in July.
“I think it’ll be fun,” Chorney said. “They’ve obviously got a real good team, and a lot of guys that I played with in Wilkes-Barre last year that have had good years [are] getting called up and taking advantage of the opportunity. It should be fun playing against some of those guys.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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