Ryan Leonard set a new career high in single-game time on ice with 18:32 played against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night.<\/p>\n
Coming into the 4-2 win for the Washington Capitals, the 20-year-old rookie had not played more than 16 minutes in a game this season. Head coach Spencer Carbery even had Leonard on the ice defending a one-goal lead late in the third period after the Maple Leafs pulled their goaltender for an extra skater.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to give him those opportunities,\u201d Carbery said postgame<\/a>. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s touch and go, and night to night, I\u2019m always watching his game to see if he\u2019s having a night where he earns those opportunities to play late in games in defensive situations.<\/p>\n \u201cI know if we need a goal, he\u2019s going to be out there without a doubt. But in defensive situations where we have to protect a lead, I want to see strong wall play, I want to see him in the right position, good sticks, all the things that are required to not necessarily be a penalty kill guy but to be someone that can play the last five minutes early in your career defending a 3-2 lead and I thought he earned that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Leonard had a strong overall game, firing two shots on goal, drawing his team-leading 13th penalty, and most importantly, registering the primary assist on Jakob Chychrun\u2019s game-winning goal. With just four minutes remaining in regulation, Leonard fired a pinpoint pass to Chychrun for a one-time blast that delivered the Capitals a lead over the Maple Leafs that they would not relinquish.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was just a heck of a play by Lenny to find me through the seam,\u201d Chychrun said<\/a>. \u201cYeah, I think high-end play by him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven at 2-2, I give him that shift,\u201d Carbery said. \u201cMakes a heck of a play, gets into the offensive zone. It\u2019s not always going to be like that. As I\u2019ve said the last few weeks, as a young player in this league, you have great nights, good stretches, and then you\u2019ll sort of dip. But I thought he earned that opportunity tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n The assist gave Leonard 12 points (5g, 7a) in 25 games this season, putting him on pace for a 40-point (17g, 23a) rookie campaign. Among all NHL rookies, Leonard ranks tied for fourth in scoring, behind Matthew Schaefer (18), Beckett Sennecke (18), and Ivan Demidov (18).<\/p>\n Over the past six games, Leonard has skated on the Capitals\u2019 third line with Connor McMichael and Brandon Duhaime. The combination has produced great five-on-five results for the Caps, seeing 50.7 percent of shot attempts, 58 percent of expected goals, 51.8 percent of scoring chances, and 62.6 percent of high-danger chances.<\/p>\n \u201cLenny\u2019s been great,\u201d McMichael said Friday<\/a>. \u201cI mean, every time I\u2019m on the ice with him, I just feel like we\u2019re going to make something happen. And it\u2019s a prime example on Chychy\u2019s goal. He made a really heads-up play to find the seam there. Not only the plays that he\u2019s making, but he\u2019s moving his feet and using his body, his frame. He might not be the biggest guy, but he\u2019s super strong. He\u2019s able to fight guys off the puck, and he\u2019s got real high-end skill as well.\u201d<\/p>\n When Leonard is on the ice at five-on-five, he\u2019s one of the most prolific shooters in the league<\/a>. Among all 494 NHL players with at least 200 minutes of five-on-five ice time this season, Leonard ranks 13th in individual shot attempts per 60 minutes (19.9).<\/p>\n In that category, he is outpacing star names like Nathan MacKinnon (19.7), David Pastrnak (19.2), Auston Matthews (18.9), Jack Hughes (18.8), Jack Eichel (17.5), and Kyle Connor (15.8).<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, just watching him, we\u2019re obviously both right-wingers, so you kind of watch him a lot when he goes out in front of you,\u201d alternate captain Tom Wilson said<\/a>. \u201cI think his game is at the best it\u2019s ever been. He looks so good with the puck. He\u2019s skating well. I think there\u2019s flashes of potential of how good this kid\u2019s going to be. And just a phenomenal person, too.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been a lot of fun to have around. It\u2019s good for the group to have those young bucks coming in and keeping it light. So, you know, the sky\u2019s the limit for him. I think as he gets more confidence and gets more comfortable, he\u2019s a gamer. He\u2019s going to keep going here.\u201d<\/p>\n Among all of the team\u2019s regular forwards, the Capitals only have a better five-on-five goals-for percentage with Wilson (71.4 percent), Aliaksei Protas (69.7 percent), and Alex Ovechkin (67.7 percent) on the ice than Leonard (61.9 percent).<\/p>\n