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| Capitals’ Andre Burakovsky isn’t just out of his funk. He’s got his confidence back. | Capitals’ Andre Burakovsky isn’t just out of his funk. He’s got his confidence back. |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Andre Burakovsky wasn’t calling for the puck during games. He knew he was in the middle of a lengthy goal drought, and in the few shifts he was getting, his focus was just on not making a mistake. He started to worry that the Washington Capitals would reassign him to the minors. | Andre Burakovsky wasn’t calling for the puck during games. He knew he was in the middle of a lengthy goal drought, and in the few shifts he was getting, his focus was just on not making a mistake. He started to worry that the Washington Capitals would reassign him to the minors. |
| “I told him the opposite, that, ‘I’m not going to send you down,’ ” Capitals Coach Barry Trotz said. “ ‘I’m not going to do this. You figure this out.’ ” | “I told him the opposite, that, ‘I’m not going to send you down,’ ” Capitals Coach Barry Trotz said. “ ‘I’m not going to do this. You figure this out.’ ” |
| Solving a slump on his own got harder when every game the 20-year-old left wing didn’t score, his confidence took a hit, enough that he didn’t ask his teammates to feed him the puck like he had as a rookie a year ago. | Solving a slump on his own got harder when every game the 20-year-old left wing didn’t score, his confidence took a hit, enough that he didn’t ask his teammates to feed him the puck like he had as a rookie a year ago. |
| Against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 30, Burakovsky finally snapped his 24-game goal-less streak. Two games later, he was promoted from the fourth line to a more featured role on the second line. Since then, Burakovsky has scored eight points in his past nine games; he had nine in his first 34. | Against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 30, Burakovsky finally snapped his 24-game goal-less streak. Two games later, he was promoted from the fourth line to a more featured role on the second line. Since then, Burakovsky has scored eight points in his past nine games; he had nine in his first 34. |
| “When you demand the puck, it makes me want to give it to you,” forward Justin Williams said. “He’s doing a lot better job communicating this time of year. At the start of the year, he was just kind of saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah’ and not talking very much. But when you can recognize your linemates’ voices and what he’s saying and that he wants the puck, it’s perfect. When you call for it, I’ll give it to you.” | “When you demand the puck, it makes me want to give it to you,” forward Justin Williams said. “He’s doing a lot better job communicating this time of year. At the start of the year, he was just kind of saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah’ and not talking very much. But when you can recognize your linemates’ voices and what he’s saying and that he wants the puck, it’s perfect. When you call for it, I’ll give it to you.” |
| [All that snow, all that time off come at bad time for Mike Richards] | [All that snow, all that time off come at bad time for Mike Richards] |
| Burakovsky’s 22 points in 53 games as a rookie were a promising sign. His development, along with that of 23-year-old center Evgeny Kuznetsov, gave Washington two young, skilled stars who were expected to contribute to a loaded forward corps. Kuznetsov delivered from the start of the season, with 15 goals and 33 assists, already eclipsing his point total from last year. | |
| How quickly Kuznetsov blossomed might have magnified Burakovsky’s struggles. It was an unfair comparison with Kuznetsov three years older and more experienced after playing in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, but by NHL standards, both were rookies last season. After Burakovsky scored five points in his first seven games, he had just three in his next 24 with no goals. | |
| “I wasn’t skating, I wasn’t playing physical, I wasn’t doing the right things,” Burakovsky said. “I just tried to change my game a little bit so I could come back to how I’m used to playing. That’s something you have to do; you have to change something so you can find your way back. I think I would just not try to think about producing or anything like that. | |
| “I would just think about doing the right things, managing the puck and skating hard, and when you’re doing that, confidence is coming. And when you have confidence, that’s when you start to play your own game and do stuff you’re supposed to do.” | “I would just think about doing the right things, managing the puck and skating hard, and when you’re doing that, confidence is coming. And when you have confidence, that’s when you start to play your own game and do stuff you’re supposed to do.” |
| [Mother Nature called for icing: Red-hot Caps still waiting to play] | [Mother Nature called for icing: Red-hot Caps still waiting to play] |
| Playing with Kuznetsov has helped Burakovsky find his scoring touch again. He has two goals since moving up to the second line on Jan. 2, and Kuznetsov has had the primary assist on both of them. Burakovsky got more playing time with his move up in the lineup, making it easier for him to get into a rhythm. He showed Trotz he was deserving of the faith he had in him. | |
| “We always say a player’s feeling it, and he’s feeling it,” Trotz said. “He wants the puck. When they’re feeling it, they want the puck. You can see how he’s getting open and you can see the chances he’s getting. He’s a got a great release. . . . I think earlier in the year, pucks were bouncing off his stick. He wasn’t strong. It just wasn’t happening for him, and he was a little jammed up, as I say sometimes. He wasn’t thinking quite clearly. | “We always say a player’s feeling it, and he’s feeling it,” Trotz said. “He wants the puck. When they’re feeling it, they want the puck. You can see how he’s getting open and you can see the chances he’s getting. He’s a got a great release. . . . I think earlier in the year, pucks were bouncing off his stick. He wasn’t strong. It just wasn’t happening for him, and he was a little jammed up, as I say sometimes. He wasn’t thinking quite clearly. |
| “Right now, I’ve got a lot of time for Burt’s game. When a player wants the puck with his ability, that’s a good thing because they’re usually going to be pretty productive.” | “Right now, I’ve got a lot of time for Burt’s game. When a player wants the puck with his ability, that’s a good thing because they’re usually going to be pretty productive.” |