(Caps Outsider)
When Devante Smith-Pelly played his first shift in the first period of Saturday’s game, fans instantly started chanting “DSP! DSP!”
The second time he took the ice, the same thing happened.
“It’s a great feeling,” he told Japers Rink’s Jason Rogers. “I think all I was doing was skating down the wing, just kinda got on the forecheck and they [laughs], they started chanting stuff. It’s a nice feeling. I’m glad to be back.”
Recalled from Hershey the other day after the injury of T.J. Oshie, Smith-Pelly got his chance at redemption after a lackluster regular season that had him sent down to the minors so the Caps could trade for Carl Hagelin.
Nic Dowd said that Smith-Pelly being back gave the team a boost. “It was a nice distraction from us losing [Oshie],” Coach Todd Reirden said.
“I still have my place here. It’s good to come home and sleep in my own bed,” he said of returning to the area, noting that he stayed in a hotel in Hershey. “All I’m missing is my car.”
He played 10:43 and nearly scored in the closing seconds. Fans wore their Smith-Pelly jerseys and held up Welcome Back signs during warmups, including this:
