Mike Knuble Benched
For the first time in Mike Knuble’s three-year tenure with the Washington Capitals, he will be a healthy scratch based on his performance. He will be in the press box at the Verizon Center tonight to watch the Capitals take on the Winnipeg Jets.
The reason behind his benching is because he hasn’t been a top point producer on the Capitals this season. His last goal came 27 games ago, a stretch that dates back to December 5. His last assist came 11 games ago against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 13. Due to this lack of point production, Knuble has seen his ice time and role among the top six forwards drop off. The season hasn’t been to kind to the veteran winger, seeing his role as a complementary player on the top two lines dwindle down to a fourth-line grinder. He holds a team-worst minus -14 rating and only 11 points (3 G, 8 A) through 53 games. Knuble is one of eight players that have reached 20 goals in each of the last eight seasons, so you can see he is having quite a sub-par season.
The 39-year-old veteran remains to be one of the vocal leaders among the Capitals locker room and will continue to do so despite his status as a scratch or not. Knuble took part in the Capitals scratches skate this morning with the assistant coaches as well as back-up goaltender Michal Neuvirth and John Erskine, which was surprising to see seeing that he is still respected as a leader on the team.
Coach Dale Hunter admitted that it was a tough decision to bench such a vocal leader for an important game. Hunter wants to add speed to the game for tonight’s game, which is why Jay Beagle is getting the roster spot. This is Beagle’s first game since prior to the All Star Break, when he played against the Boston Bruins.
The last time Knuble was a healthy scratch for the Capitals was April 9, 2010 when the Capitals had already clinched a playoff birth and Bruce Boudreau was resting his key players down the stretch.
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