Burakovsky to be scratched again in favor of Galiev, and he may need it
For the second game in a row, 20-year-old Andre Burakovsky will watch the game from the press box, and Stanislav Galiev will take his spot.
He's not particularly happy about it, but his head coach, Barry Trotz, just wants Burakovsky to get his head on straight, and believes a slight break will help turn his season around.
“He’s just got to clear his mind,” Trotz told the Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan. “He’s a young guy who’s thinking about a lot of things. I just talked to him about just worrying about his own game and not worrying about all the other stuff. He’s getting frustrated over things he doesn’t need to get frustrated over. He’s over-thinking things, and what he needs to do is just concentrate on his own game.”
Burakovsky burst onto the hockey scene last year as a rookie, with nine goals and 13 assists in 53 games. But this year, Burakovsky isn't generating nearly as much offensively. While he has two goals and four assists in 18 games, he's not generating as many scoring chances.
At even strength 5-v-5, Burakovsky and his team mates on the ice have generated 27.3 scoring chances per 60 minutes of his play this year. Last year, he and his team mates generated 29.8 scoring chances when he was on the ice. That's not a gigantic difference, but what is more telling is how many scoring chances are being generated against Burakovsky when he is on the ice.
Last year, 53.4 percent of the total scoring chances when Burakovsky was on the ice at even strength 5-v-5 were generated by the Capitals. That was the second-highest percentage of on-ice scoring chances for every player on the Capitals who played more than 20 games for the Capitals that season. But this year, that number has dropped to 48.7 percent, meaning Burakovsky's opponents are generating more scoring chances than he and his team mates are able to when he is on the ice. That's the sixth-lowest on the team.
Burakovsky has technically been somewhat of a liability this season, a far cry to what he was in his rookie campaign. Maybe a break to clear his head and refocus is exactly what he needs. But Trotz and the rest of the Capitals would really love it if the young forward could generate a bit more offense.
Statistics Via War On Ice.
