How will new style of play under Carbery translate into success?

Burning Questions: How will new style of play under Carbery translate into success? originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Capitals’ training camp is quickly approaching, and the 2023-24 regular season won’t be far behind. To get you all caught up after a busy offseason, Monumental Sports Network’s Ethan Cadeaux and Matt Weyrich are examining the 10 biggest burning questions surrounding the team heading into the new campaign.

After missing the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons, the Washington Capitals opted for a new voice to lead the team. Enter, Spencer Carbery, whom the Capitals named as the 20th head coach in franchise history on May 30.

Carbery, 41, is the youngest coach in the NHL. However, he has plenty of experience behind the bench, previously as the boss for both Washington’s AHL and ECHL affiliates. Carbery’s last two years were spent in Toronto, orchestrating one of the NHL’s best power play units.

During his introductory press conference in June, Carbery emphasized playing with more pace will be a primary focus of his during Year 1 in Washington. His philosophy fits the vision of general manager Brian MacLellan, who said during his end-of-season press conference that playing faster is a must.

“From watching and my philosophies on the ice, the two words I think I’ll use a lot early on is pace and being connected,” Carbery said in June. “A lot of people equate pace with speed and, for me, pace is a little bit different than just straight players that can skate fast and play quick. Pace, for me, is you can show that with the puck and without: Our puck pressure, our neutral zone, our D-zone puck pressure, our forecheck.”

Playing with pace should help the Capitals’ goal-scoring, which was uncharacteristically below average last season. Washington averaged just 3.09 goals per game, the 20th-best mark in the NHL. In 2021-22, the Capitals scored the 10th-most goals in the NHL per game (3.29).

Carbery’s power play expertise should also…