"Protas's first goal of the season came after Jakob Chychrun chopped at the puck near the blue line, and it rolled right to him between the circles. His second of the night came after he sped by everyone on the ice and scored on a breakaway. October 14 vs Tampa Bay Lightning Against the Lightning, he shot the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy after Connor McMichael had the goaltender looking the wrong way. "Oh god, my mom would score from that," Protas said afterward."
""Sometimes you get lucky, and I think that's what's happening with me right now," Protas explained after the Capitals' 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday. "Sometimes a couple of good bounces and great work from the whole five on the ice, from the whole team just being on the same page." Is Protas right? Well, let's look at his goals."
"But what if there's something more going on here than just puck luck? The 24-year-old Protas is entering his prime as a scoring forward and appears to have returned to the Capitals a step quicker after another hard offseason of training in Belarus with his brother, Ilya. Protas recorded a career-high 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games last season as Spencer Carbery made him a staple in the Capitals"
Aliaksei Protas has scored four goals in the Capitals' first five games, all at five-on-five, placing him among the NHL scoring leaders early in the season. The goals have come via opportunistic bounces, a breakaway, a finish past a top goaltender and a redirected pass, with Protas himself downplaying pure skill in favor of luck and team play. The 24-year-old appears quicker after an intense offseason training in Belarus with his brother. Protas posted a career-high 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games last season and has become a regular in the Capitals' lineup.
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