The Washington Capitals recalled defenseman Nate Schmidt on Sunday, and it’s not yet clear if the move was injury or performance-related (or perhaps some combination of both?).
One could see why it could be about improving Washington’s mix. Much has been made about this series being about physicality/structure (perceived advantage: Capitals) versus speed (expected edge: Rangers), but few teams want to risk being exposed too much in one area. Schmidt, 23, is considered pretty swift - or relatively so - which could be helpful if Washington believes the pendulum swung too much New York’s way in Game 2.
Caps D-man call-up. Maybe cuz Gleason couldn't keep up in Game 2 https://t.co/2BOLfpLhQU
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) May 3, 2015
It’s the playoffs, so you can’t really rule out bumps and bruises, either. (Even for a team with remarkably good injury luck in 2014-15 like the Capitals.)
It sounds like it could go either way, as the Washington Post’s Alex Prewitt reports:
This seems like a reasonable move by the Capitals, one way or another.