The Capitals sophomore has gone without a point through the first seven games of the year.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Hendrix Lapierre will experience Tuesday's contest between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers from up high, as he'll watch from the press box as a healthy scratch for the first time this season.
Head coach Spencer Carbery made the decision to recall Mike Sgarbossa and slot him in for Lapierre as the third-line center, with Lapierre struggling through the first seven games of the season.
"Just the way this season has started overall, the way it's trended the last few games, feel like it's an appropriate time for him to step out of the lineup," Carbery said. "Take a deep breath, watch a game and give him a little bit of a mental break, to be able to reset."
As a call-up last season, Lapierre's impact and ability was second to none as he transitioned seamlessly to the NHL lineup and thrived as a top-6 player while skating in 51 games and managing 22 points in the second half of the year.
This season's gone differently, as the 22-year-old has gone without a point while managing the second-least amount of ice time on the team at 5-on-5 (59:36 minutes). He's underwhelming analytically as one of the Capitals' lowest expected-goals-for contributors, as he's struggled when it comes to taking care of the puck, sustaining pressure and making plays.
Defensively, his positioning needs work, and that jump in his game that was so evident just a few months back hasn't been there.
Watching his game, he needs to utilize his speed more and get his confidence back, while also regaining chemistry with his teammates.
"There's a bunch of different areas (where he can improve), I'm not going to get into the details of his game," Carbery said.
Lapierre experienced the same thing with the AHL's Hershey Bears back in 2023 when Todd Nelson sat him out with the hope that he would mentally reset. He did just that, and ultimately, became a top contributor to help lead the Bears to back-to-back Calder Cups that year and the following season when he was down in Hershey.
Carbery's hoping that the same move has that impact for him this time around.
The biggest thing he wants to see, though, is the consistency that made him a lock for a roster spot this year.
"I think the biggest thing for him overriding for him to have a positive (impact) — I'm not talking about goals, assists, points, anything like that — is just being the more impactful player that we saw last year and having a positive impact," Carbery said. "It's not going to be all the time, but 60, 70 percent of the time, being a positive impactful player inside of our lineup."
