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When the Washington Capitals took Marcus Johansson 24th overall in the 2009 entry draft, the team hoped he would be a long-term solution behind Nicklas Backstrom as the number two center for years to come. However, Johansson never quite settled into the role as a center and he’s been used primarily as winger since the start of the 2012-13 season other than a few brief stints.

Due to a recent injury to Jay Beagle, who has been the Capitals’ third-line center this season, Johansson has recently found himself again playing as a pivot between Jason Chimera and Tom Wilson.

While it remains to be seen if Barry Trotz will keep him there long-term, and the sample size is just seven games, the early returns suggest this could be a viable option.

The Capitals’ third line not only has a higher share of the shot attempts with Johansson centering the third line rather than Beagle, but the line also generates more shot attempts for and less shot attempts against, as the data below from War on Ice shows:

When Beagle was centering Wilson and Chimera, the Capitals owned only 45.8 percent of the shot attempts, but so far in the seven games with Johasson at center, the third line has 56.3 percent. The relative possession numbers paint a rosy picture as well, rising from a minus 4.68 relative shot attempt percentage under Beagle to plus 5.22 percent with Johansson.

Johansson is a very different player than Beagle. While Beagle fits the mold of the stereotypical “defensive” third line center who Barry Trotz trusts for tough defensive assignments and faceoffs, Johansson’s more offensively-oriented skill set has made the Capitals’ third line more dangerous and productive.

The benefits of Johansson’s skill set were on display during the Capitals’ game against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Johansson anticipated the pass that was set to trigger Columbus’ break out, stepped in the lane and intercepted the puck, and then slid a great pass over to Chimera for an easy goal.

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(Media: Ian Oland/RMNB)

No offense to Beagle, whose offensive game has certainly progressed over the past couple of seasons, but there’s little to no chance this goal would have happened if Johansson wasn’t centering the line.

One concern Trotz expressed when Johansson was first moved back to center was how the Swedish forward would handle faceoffs. While the need for this concern is debatable, as faceoffs are a very small sample of the many puck battles within a hockey game, Trotz likely won’t stick with the current third line if Johansson isn’t winning them. The good news is, after a brief adjustment period, Johansson is doing quite well on faceoffs, winning over 58 percent of his draws over the last five games.

Johansson’s success at center could allow Trotz to realize a strategy he talked about at the start of the season with The Globe and Mail. “We’re in a little bit of a transition period now. The past couple of years, everybody went with a top-six and tried to win with two scoring lines. Now, everybody’s thinking top-nine – you’re trying to build your top nine into three skilled lines. The old days of playing a checking line against a scoring line, that doesn’t exist any more.”

While Trotz certainly didn’t adopt this strategy before Beagle’s injury, his decision to do so now is paying dividents and making an elite Capitals team even more dangerous.

It’s still far too early to call Johansson’s return to center a sucess. After all, he failed to thrive there for two entire seasons when he entered the league. But perhaps the time on the wing allowed Johansson to mature both physically and mentally and he’s now more suited for the challenge. Regardless, his play so far is encouraging and Trotz should continue to use Johansson as the team’s third line center for as long as he continues to thrive.