How Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas are navigating the NHL’s grind

Washington Capitals forwards Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas are learning that firsthand. Technically speaking, neither player is a rookie by the NHL’s definition; McMichael played 68 games with the Capitals two years ago and Protas spent at least half the season in Washington each of the last two years. But they’re both in their first season as full-time NHL players with guaranteed roles, and expectations that come with that.

“For sure, it’s tough,” Protas said. “It’s not easy, especially now. But I have to go through that, for sure. It’s the only way. Just to work, work hard.”

Until McMichael’s goal against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, he hadn’t scored in 15 games. Protas doesn’t have a goal since Dec. 7, and, after leading the Capitals in five-on-five production during the first half of the season, he now has just one point in his last 18 games.

“You can tell now, in the second half of the season, it’s cranking up,” Washington Coach Spencer Carbery said last week. “You can tell that teams now know that this is the home stretch and now everybody raises it just another level, especially those teams that are really pushing to be playoff or quote-unquote Stanley Cup contenders. That’s where it gets difficult for young players. Now it’s another level, even as fatigue starts to set in and the grind starts to set in as you get into game 50 and 60.”

For McMichael, the biggest tell that the draining nature of the season was catching up to him was his speed stopped being a factor. When McMichael is at his best, his skating is impactful on nearly every shift, whether he’s using it to break up a play on the penalty kill or creating a breakaway for himself offensively.

As Carbery has worked with McMichael and Protas amid a challenging stretch, his goal has been to give each player a small handful of things to focus on. McMichael’s directive is to use his speed, and for Protas, it’s using his 6-foot-6 frame to get into scoring areas around the net.

“You try to give them positive reinforcement and show them little areas where they need to be better and really need to focus on,” Carbery said. “Don’t go crazy with 20 different things, but a couple of things that they can really focus in on, positionally and competitiveness-wise. Especially for Mikey, I find his skating is so important to his game. … We’ve got to see that from him and he’s got to find ways to use his speed and get it cranked up on a nightly basis.”

McMichael and Protas both know what is required from them to play their best hockey. The harder part is executing those elements, even when the season feels interminable and the level of competition raises significantly. But it’s also an integral part of development for a young player, and working through stretches like this will be important in the long run of their careers.

“I know what I have to do,” Protas said. “I know what I have to do to play good. I know when I play good and I know when I play bad. I understand it, so now it’s just a couple small details that I think are really going to help us moving forward.”

Added McMichael: “At the start of the year, I was showing a lot of signs of using my speed and affecting the game in that sense. I think I kind of got away from that a little bit. I think since after the break, my speed’s been back up, and my tempo. I think when I’m at the top of my game, my speed’s affecting my game a lot and has a big impact in that way.”

Protas, McMichael and Anthony Mantha were the Capitals’ best line for much of the first half of the season, but as things got more difficult for Protas and McMichael in January and their production slipped, Carbery separated the trio. They’ve been back together for Washington’s last three games, and it isn’t a coincidence that Protas and McMichael have started to find their footing since.

The all-star break gave both players some time to rest and reset mentally and physically, and putting the trio back together returns all three players to a familiar chemistry. McMichael and Protas have looked visibly more comfortable and impactful over the last week, and they’re starting to see the light at the end of the most challenging time of year.

“Ever since I came back from the break, I’ve been feeling a lot better, in my legs and mentally,” McMichael said. “I think the biggest part is just the mental side of it. You’re playing every other day, sometimes back to back. It just feels like you never get a break. It was nice to get a little reset and get back to it.”

Phillips claimed by Pittsburgh

Winger Matthew Phillips was placed on waivers Thursday so Washington could open a roster slot to activate winger Sonny Milano, who has been out since Dec. 14 with an upper-body injury, from injured reserve. The Pittsburgh Penguins claimed Phillips, who the Capitals signed to a one-year contract as a free agent in July, on Friday. He appeared in 27 games for Washington and scored one goal while recording four assists.