Key Players During Capitals' Success Despite Injuries

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00:00So there, this team, the guys that have held up the fort while he's been down have been

00:09unbelievable.

00:10I think Dylan's been killing it for him in the middle.

00:14He's racked up like 38 points.

00:17Name some of the other guys that have made, you know, such an impact on this team because

00:23when he went down, you said it, he was on a heater, he was scoring.

00:26People were saying he's going to catch Gretzky this year and he was playing, he looked like

00:30Alex from 10 years ago.

00:32Then he goes down, breaks his leg, it sucked.

00:36Everybody was like, oh, there goes the season, it's over.

00:39But these guys stepped up big time.

00:41Who are the ones that you thought had the biggest impact?

00:44Well, I'm really glad you started with Dylan Strong.

00:48I think he's criminally underrated from a playmaking standpoint.

00:53He's been great ever since he's arrived in town, but especially so this year, that game

00:59has elevated.

01:00You know, the caps look pretty solid down the middle.

01:03Every good team, every team that's going to contend is strong at the center spot.

01:07When you can go Strong, Dubois, Eller, and Dowd, you've got all the combinations there.

01:13But you started with Dylan Strong from a playmaking standpoint, excellent.

01:17Dubois' numbers don't jump off the page offensively, but Scottie, he's answered every defensive

01:23challenge that Spencer Carberry has asked him to do.

01:27And that includes the likes of Matthews, McKinnon twice, Barkoff, Ropey Hintz.

01:34He's not afraid to match up Dubois with anybody, and Pierre-Luc takes that challenge and runs

01:39with it.

01:40Offensively, as far as picking up the slack since Alex has been down, you know, the caps

01:45are hoping for big things from three youngsters.

01:48Hendricks, LePierre, Alexei Protis, and Conor McMichael.

01:53LePierre hasn't delivered, they're still waiting, but Protis and McMichael sure have.

01:58They have been having career years and we're nowhere near the midway mark.

02:02They've helped to pick up the scoring.

02:04The power play has produced well, even in Alex's absence.

02:08Jacob Chickbrin on the back has put them over the top with his offensive punch.

02:13He's right there with the likes of Wierenski and McCaw in goals this year.

02:18I mean, Conor McMichael is a stunner for me.

02:22Most people never heard of him.

02:24The kid out of Ontario and then 14 goals, I mean, he's among league leaders.