Ryan Leonard becomes youngest Capitals player since Nicklas Backstrom to score in back-to-back games: ‘Each and every shift gets better and better’

Seven games into his first full NHL season, Ryan Leonard looks like he’s getting his sea legs. Leonard notched his fourth Capitals goal against the Seattle Kraken on Friday, getting another tally on the board two days after launching a comeback against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Leonard, 20, became the youngest player in team history to record a multi-game goal streak since a 20-year-old Nicklas Backstrom did so in March of 2008, per the Capitals.

After a busy start to his NHL career last spring, Leonard’s confidence is growing as he gets into the rhythm of the regular season.

“Yeah, it’s great,” Leonard said postgame. “Playing with great players, so a lot of credit to them. Yeah, definitely feel a lot better, and each and every shift gets better and better.”

Leonard’s night began on a less auspicious note when he took a high stick to the nose from Aliaksei Protas during his first shift of the game. He left the ice in visible pain, but after receiving attention from head athletic trainer Jason Serbus, his main focus was on how soon he could rid of the plugs meant to stop the bleeding.

“The first period I was playing with those two suction thingies in my nose,” Leonard said. “I hated it. So I was trying to get it out of there.”

His first shift of the second period proved more fruitful. Less than a minute after the faceoff, Protas poked the puck away from Kraken defender Adam Larsson on a zone entry, delivering it right to Leonard’s stick. Leonard fired a quick shot from the high slot to beat goaltender Matt Murray.

“It was just a quick transition play,” Leonard said of the goal. “I was in the middle and then passed it up to Pro. It wasn’t the best of passes, and then he chased it down pretty good, and he used that long reach to his advantage and got to me in the slot.”

Leonard now has three goals — including two game-winners — in the first six games of the season, a far cry from the 18 games (including playoffs) that it took him to score the first non-empty net goal of his NHL career. While head coach Spencer Carbery acknowledged there were still some unpolished aspects to Leonard’s game, his underlying talent has shone through.

“He continues to do the things — every game, he’s doing 3 or 4 or 5 or 6, right around there, really elite things,” Carbery said. “Whether it’s carrying a puck through the neutral zone, whether it’s shooting a puck in the neck, whether it’s attacking one-on-one and ringing one off the bar. Those are unique to not his skillset, but just how good of a hockey player he is at this level. And he can do things that other guys can’t.”

After Pierre-Luc Dubois took Leonard under his wing early in his career, Leonard got to learn from another relative veteran on Tuesday in Protas, who joined Leonard and Justin Sourdif on the Caps’ third line. Protas, 24, is still a young player himself, but Leonard told reporters that Protas served as a guide to him and Sourdif in their first game together.

“It’s great,” he said. “Those are just two unbelievable players. Me and Sourdy are a little bit younger in the league, and Pro was really helping us out tonight, so they’re both great.”

Beyond the obvious signs of success, Carbery highlighted how the smaller details of Leonard’s game have also continued to develop. He told reporters during the preseason that he wanted Leonard to focus less on his pure scoring output and more on the process. Now, both areas have improved.

Carbery noted that he doesn’t expect instant perfection, but if Leonard’s development path continues, he can become a serious threat in the NHL for years to come.

“The other little things inside of his game, his coverage reads, his puck decisions, his wall play, it’s just slowly getting better,” Carbery said postgame on Tuesday. “And that’s all that we’re looking to do. We know it’s going to be a process. We know he’s going to have tough touches at certain points and missed coverage during games, and that’s part of developing in the National Hockey League as a young player. And we’re just looking for progress, right? Just a few less failed wall plays, a few less missed coverage.

“And sooner or later, in game 40 or 50 or game 70, you’ll start to get to a point– or maybe it’ll take a couple years — to be that fully, fully polished NHL player. And then you combine that with the skill set that he has, and he makes a few more of those plays, and you’re a good player.”

Brashard Smith is starting to earn a real role in Chiefs offense

The Kansas City Chiefs obliterated the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Hilarious stats and rare feats aimed at the Raiders certainly made this division beatdown even more exciting for Chiefs fans. Kansas City has regained its high-flying offense over the last month or so, and Patrick Mahomes is playing at a tremendous level. That has resulted in many of K.C.'s weapons beginning to get in a groove.

Yet it's important to consider some players who aren't among the top options on offense, yet whose presence is crucial in smaller ways. That's held true for rookie running back Brashard Smith.

Smith is not the top running back on the depth chart. But as the offense has continued to improve, he has been jumping out with his handful of touches. The amount of chances he is getting has increased as a result. In turn, the snap counts for Brashard Smith are noticeably important to monitor moving forward as well.

The Chiefs gave Smith 19 total touches on Sunday. Against the Raiders, he had 39 rushing yards and 42 receiving yards. That equates to roughly 4.26 yards per touch. Smith's yards and efficiency are one thing to admire from the box score.

Brashard Smith continues to pop noticeably at running back for the Chiefs.

However, the ways in which he is creating positive gains are what are truly exciting for Kansas City's offense moving forward. Smith displayed tough, physical running when given some carries against the Raiders. He fought through contact to work and find extra hidden yards. In some cases, that was the difference between converting for a first down or not against the Raiders.

We know his initial college football history as a pass catcher. But when watching him after the catch, Smith comes off as very instinctual. He knows where the leverage is while he works upfield. Elsewhere, Smith has done well not to waste time and space once the ball is in his hands.

Smith may not be fully developed at running back right now. Whenever he enters the game, though, there is a buzz about how the Chiefs will go about deploying him. And when he does get opportunities, it feels like Smith takes it and churns out a positive gain in a more entertaining way than expected.

This initial push from Smith from the early point of his career could come in handy both this season and moving forward. Who knows how much the Chiefs believed he would be in this position as someone worth counting on seven games into his rookie year. But also, Kansas City can navigate the running back waters a little more comfortably this offseason with decisions at the position looming.

Smith is becoming a trusted tertiary option in the Chiefs' offense, which isn't a given for any young player trying to break into Patrick Mahomes' list of preferred targets. If Brashard Smith can continue to produce in this role, he will be a critical go-to option in the quick passing game and in the screen game when Kansas City reaches the most vital part of the season.

 

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