With John Carlson out of the lineup, and perhaps not even returning until after the All Star break, the Caps are missing their top power play defenseman. So, Matt Niskanen, who normally plays second unit behind Carlson, will get more playing time.
Then there’s Dmitry Orlov, apparently third on the depth chart. On Monday, Orlov made the most of it with his first career power play goal. To show it was no fluke, he scored again from the point in the second period.
The two goals doubled Orlov’s total this season (4), so now he’s halfway to his career high of eight.
Orlov has a strong slapshot – he and Alex Ovechkin sometimes practice their one-timers together. But behind Carlson and Niskanen in the power play depth chart, he doesn’t get as many opportunities per game to tee up and fire from the point.
Perhaps with his output on Monday, we can expect to see more from Orlov on the power play.
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