MONTREAL — Despite the Washington Capitals’ record without Brooks Orpik – 7-1-1 in the games he’s missed with a lower-body injury – Coach Barry Trotz has said that the team misses its veteran top-pair defenseman, more for his presence in the locker room.
He’s an alternate captain, one of the players Trotz said helped change the culture last year when there was a coaching shakeup. The 35-year-old usually skates beside John Carlson as the team’s top defensive pairing, a sort of mentor for him. But with Orpik out of the lineup, Carlson has taken on a similar role with his new partner in Nate Schmidt.