What will the Capitals get when Aliaksei Protas returns — and who sits?

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When the Washington Capitals arrived in Montreal ahead of Game 3 of their Stanley Cup playoff series, the plan was to have Aliaksei Protas in tow, coach Spencer Carbery said on Thursday.

It’s another sign that Protas’ return to the lineup is either pending or close to it; the 30-goal, play-driving forward had been skating by himself ahead of Washington’s practice sessions and morning skates, seemingly dialing up the intensity each day.

Protas’ availability — what he’d add, where he’d play and whom he’d replace — has become an interesting wrinkle in a series marked by Washington’s inability to salt away victories. The Capitals are better than the Canadiens, and more often than not, they look the part. There’s no sense in pretending otherwise.

Still, Games 1 and 2 have both featured third-period pushes by Montreal that quite nearly flipped the results, putting Carbery and his team in an interesting spot. They have plenty to be excited about. They have no reason to panic. They also have no reason to pretend that they aren’t pushing their luck.

A lot of that has to do with the Canadiens, a team defined in part by its ability to win games in the third period.

“When they’re down a goal, they’re going to give you issues. There’s zero doubt about that. You’re not going to be able to hold them off and not let them into the offensive zone and not give them any scoring chances. So I’m completely understanding that,” Carbery said after Washington’s 3-1 win in Game 2.

The Capitals also struggled to adjust to how far up the Canadiens defensemen play when they’re chasing a lead, Carbery said. In that situation, when the Capitals failed to properly flip the puck into their offensive zone, it caused problems.

“If (we) go past them, we just lost a number. Now (we’re) cheating and going the wrong way. The puck is going that way towards our net. That’s not us. … Some of those (are) mistakes that we don’t normally make. And we’ll get those things cleaned up.”

On Thursday, Carbery focused more on issues with breaking the puck out of the defensive zone.

“As the temperature rose in the game and as we struggled with (Montreal’s pressure), it started to snowball. And so it would be more mistakes, more poor reads,” he said. “We had multiple turnovers through the neutral zone on the defensive walls, on our breakouts. So you (say), ‘Look, that guy’s got to get that puck out or he’s got to make a better play.’ But I also look at the other four guys and what are they doing to help him under pressure.”

Another way to deal with the problem, of course, is by scoring more goals earlier in the game. Protas, if he’s close to top form, will help across the board. He’s 6 feet, 6 inches, a remarkable skater for his size and found his scoring touch in his fourth NHL season. Will he shoot 21.1 percent for the rest of his career? No. It seems clear, though, that something has clicked.

Protas also exited the defensive zone with possession more frequently than any other Capitals forward, according to All Three Zones’ tracking data, behind only defenseman Jakob Chychrun on the entire roster, and led Washington’s forwards in puck retrievals. Sounds like someone who could help the Capitals through their current predicament.

The question, though, is whose lineup spot he’d take. Washington, third-period issues aside, has gotten solid play overall from its forward group. Protas’ most frequent linemates in the regular season were Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. Those two have clicked with Anthony Beauvillier; Washington has an 8-2 edge in high-danger chances with them on the ice in the series.

Protas had a ton of success with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson. Washington carried a 60 percent expected goal share in their 192 minutes together and outscored opponents 13-8. Dubois, Wilson and Connor McMichael have been good together as well, though.

Beyond that, Carbery would have to decide who is removed from the lineup altogether. Rookie Ryan Leonard, currently playing right wing on a line with Lars Eller and Andrew Mangiapane, might’ve been a candidate, but he hasn’t looked out of place. Carbery on Thursday said that Leonard has made “really, really high-end plays” with the puck. Carbery doesn’t sound all that interested in breaking up his fourth line (Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Taylor Raddysh), either.

Could Beauvillier return to the scratch list, given how well he played in the first two games? Carbery on Thursday made a point to compliment his versatility. Would it be wiser to keep Protas shelved a few more days and gain a few more data points before making larger lineup decisions? Is he actually going to return at all? The only thing sure is that the Capitals will be better when he’s in the mix.

(Photo of Aliaksei Protas: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

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