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Vrana Could Be Scratched

UPDATE: He wasn’t.

The odd-forward-out for Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks appears to be Jakub Vrana. This is likely due to his lack of production lately (no points in his last six games) and for the same reason the Caps recently scratched Andre Burakovsky.

The 21-year-old rookie has 16 points in 41 games this season. Vrana was also a healthy scratch on November 16 when the Caps were in Colorado. However, after his scratch, he quickly played himself back into a top six role recording four points in his next five games.

Vrana’s statistical numbers are pretty good. According to naturalstattrick, after adjusting for effects, Vrana has a goals for percentage of 55.22. Vrana seems to play well with most players, except Taylor Chorney and if he is on the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. He and Lars Eller are a dominant pair. 

In addition, while Vrana is on the ice, the Caps take more shots from the slot and allow less shots from the slot as compared to when he is off. the ice. 

Head coach Barry Trotz would not confirm one way or another if Vrana was indeed he healthy scratch, but all signs are pointing to him being the odd man out. This could just be one of Trotz’s patented “reset button” games to give the young forward a bit of a fresh start.

Brandon Alter

Brandon Alter covers all three teams in the Washington Capitals Organization. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in May of 2021.

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