‘We’ve talked to him and it just shows his commitment’

The 2023-24 season started with trade rumors surrounding Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha. Despite this, he has since become a regular in the team’s lineup.

After a slow start, Mantha seemed to be finding his game before a scary injury sidelined him for over a week. However, he returned from the injury and helped the Capitals secure a victory with a game-high six shots on goal.

Head coach Spencer Carbery praised Mantha’s resilience and highlighted a specific play showing his direct response to coaching moments.

“I thought he picked up right where he left off from coming out of the lineup,” Carbery said. “He had some momentum in his season going and then he gets hit with the puck in the ear. Thankfully, it was only just a handful of games that he missed but you sometimes worry if it’s going to take him a little bit to get back up and running and playing at the level. I thought he picked up right where he left off.”

In the same game where Mantha got injured, he scored two goals to double his season total. He then missed three games to recover and returned to play with an elevated performance.

While he didn’t score another two goals against Columbus, Mantha remained a noticeably positive presence on the ice. One particular play had Carbery thrilled and beaming when discussing it postgame.

“The play that sticks out for me, which I love because we’ve talked to him about it and it just shows his commitment, is the track on Provorov,” Carbery said. “When Provorov has a step on him and [Mantha’s] just working, he’s under his stick, he’s trying, and he ends up turning that puck over and gets a half-breakaway. He doesn’t score on it but that for me is just so emblematic of what he’s putting in right now and to be rewarded for that, that’s what I love to see. He’s working defensively, working in good spots, tracks there, and then gets rewarded offensively for it. Doesn’t score but it’s a great opportunity for him to score and he did a ton of other good things.”

#ALLCAPS Mantha breakaway, also no reason for Oshie to get a penalty here, should’ve just been Kuraly or whatever his name is pic.twitter.com/E7eq83wlrH

— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) November 19, 2023

Mantha’s positive response to Carbery’s coaching is refreshing after being healthy scratched last season. Last April, Mantha expressed how hard it was to regain confidence after being scratched, leading him to hire a mental coach.

Though he was healthy-scratched again this season for the Caps’ second game, this time the move was a one-off, and Mantha has remained in the lineup since then.

Mantha is one of the four players on the ice for the Capitals with an above 50 percent high-danger chance for a high-danger chance percentage. He will now look to add more boxcar stats (goals, assists, points, etc.) to his resume moving forward.

His next opportunity will be against the Buffalo Sabres, one of the teams Mantha has had success against in his career.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB