When the Washington Capitals began preparations for defending their Stanley Cup Smith-Pelly wasn’t noticed much in the beginning of the preseason. In fact, Smith-Pelly sat out the the first five preseason games. Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post reported that he wasn’t playing due to conditioning related issues.
By the time Smith-Pelly stepped out to the ice, he didn’t put up the numbers that both the team and the fans expected. Smith-Pelly recorded just eight points in 54 games, four goals and assists each.
It took until the seventh game for Smith-Pelly to score his first goal of the season.