Eric Fehr Working to Overcome Injury Problems, Play Increased Role

Despite playing without some of their best players for a number of games this season, the Washington Capitals enter Monday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes with the second most points in the NHL (No. 1 in the Eastern Conference) and as the highest scoring team in the league with an incredible 139 goals. The next closest team -- San Jose -- has 124, while only three others have eclipsed the 120-goal mark.

It's enough to make you wonder how much the Caps would be scoring had they not lost Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann, and Mike Knuble (among others) for a combined 40-plus man games due to injury/suspension. It's scary to think about. The bottom line is the Capitals are an extremely deep team up front, and it's not just players like Ovechkin, Semin and Nicklas Backstrom providing the firepower and helping to make an impact.

Take, for example, former first-round pick Eric Fehr, the No. 18 overall selection in what has turned out to be one of the best draft classes (2003) the NHL has ever seen. The 24-year-old native of Winkler, Manitoba -- and self-proclaimed Jets fan growing up -- has recorded eight goals and 10 assists in 28 games for the Capitals this season. Provided he stays healthy, he's set to shatter his previous career-highs of 12 goals and 13 assists from the 2008-09 campaign.

Staying healthy, of course, has been a thorn in Fehr's side through the first five years of his career, and he's already dealt with a rib injury earlier this season which came after he missed all of training camp due to offseason shoulder surgery. The injuries are something that has admittedly slowed his development as a player.

"It most definitely has," said Fehr in a recent phone interview with FanHouse. "I've missed a lot of training. I've missed almost a full year of hockey development so I'm still a little behind right now. Hopefully this season I can stay healthy and fully develop into the player I wanted to be."

The biggest hurdle in doing so?

"It's just getting back to the speed of the game," he said. "I've had a couple of surgeries, so I've missed some time training in the summer. Coming into camp I haven't been quite as strong as I needed to be. And this year I missed all of training camp, so those are some big issues I can hopefully get ironed out going forward."

When he's been on the ice, however, Fehr has been productive. He had a five-game point streak earlier this season, and since returning from his rib injury in early November has recorded 18 points in 24 games. In terms of points-per-minute (.052) he is one of the most efficient offensive players on the most explosive team in the league.

"They've definitely given me an increased role when some guys were down, so that's helped." said Fehr. "We needed some other guys to step up and they gave me an opportunity to play on the power play and get a few more key minutes which has been very important for me."

A major offensive threat during his Junior days (he twice scored 50 goals for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League) Fehr's game has changed to more of a defensive role in Washington.

"Yeah, my game's definitely changed a little bit," he said. "I've become a lot more aware defensively than I might have been in Juniors. I'm not scoring as much, or playing as much on the power play, so I'm more of a five-on-five player where I have to be strong defensively and help keep the puck out of our net so our guys can turn that defense into offense."

"Plus," he continued, "It's a big difference in terms of the speed of the game. In the NHL, once you get the puck you have to know what you're doing with it right away. You have to move your feet and you have to make quick plays. You don't have as much time. It's definitely a huge difference and a big adjustment."

The Capitals have developed into one of the elite teams in the NHL, and have to be considered a favorite to compete for the Stanley Cup this season. One of the teams standing in their way is their long-time rivals from Pittsburgh, who currently trail the Caps by just one point in the conference standings. The two teams renewed their postseason rivalry last year in the Eastern Conference semifinals with an instant classic of a series that was ultimately won by Pittsburgh in seven games.

While it was a disappointing end to an otherwise great season in Washington, the Capitals' opening round win over another former Patrick Division foe, the New York Rangers (a series that saw them erase a three games to one deficit), was another step in the right direction for a franchise that hadn't won a playoff series since the 1997-98 season when it advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

Fehr said the one thing the Capitals learned from their postseason experiences last year was that they might need to develop more of a "killer instinct."

"We had them (Pittsburgh) on the ropes," said Fehr. "We were up 2-0 in the series and had a lead in Game 3 and we let it slip away and let them right back into it. I think if we could have taken Game 3 we could have gone on to win the series, so I think we just need a little bit more of a killer instinct in those situations and just keep doing what we've been doing. We've been pretty successful and we just want to keep getting better each year."

And about playing in those rivalry games?

"Going into it the players see that it's just another game against another very good NHL team," said Fehr. "But the intensity once you get on the ice is increased. Its the fans that really want to see these games, and they're a lot louder and crazier which brings a lot more intensity from the players. The fans create the rivalry, and that kind of creates a rivalry between the players, but it's definitely the fans that make it all happen."