“The measure of a man is what he does with power.”
― Plato
Plato might not have been speaking of “power” in the hockey
power play sense, but if he was it might have applied to the season Troy
Brouwer had in 2013-2014. Brouwer
finished in the top-20 in total power play points among forwards and sixth in
power play goals. His 12 power play goals almost doubled his previous career
high (seven, accomplished three times).
His 21 power play points was five more than the 16 he posted with the
Caps in 2012-2013.
The power play production allowed Brouwer to post career
highs in total goals (25) and points (43).
He also had a career high in shots on goal (161) and did it playing in
all 82 games for the second time in his career.
Looking at his ten-game segments, Brouwer improved over the
course of the season. He had a dip in
his fifth ten-game segment but rallied to record 16 goals (seven of them on the
power play) and 23 points (ten on the power play) in his last 32 games.
Oddly enough, though, it was a step back for Brouwer. In 2012-2013 his per-82 game scoring line (in
47 games) was 33-24-57, 12 power play goals and 28 power play assists. He was on an 82-game pace to record 194 shots
on goal and nine game-winning goals, which would have been a career high.
As one might expect, Brouwer’s success mirrored that of the
team. In 38 wins Brouwer was 19-7-26,
plus-9 overall, 10-4-14 on the power play.
In 14 extra time losses in which the Caps earned a standings point he
was 5-4-9, plus-1, 2-2-4 on the power play.
In 30 regulation losses he was 1-7-8, minus-16, and he had only three
power play assists. Given this scoring
profile in wins and losses, one might think it fortunate that he set career
highs in goals and points, and was so productive on the power play. If he was not, the Caps might not have made
it as close as they did in their playoff run.
Fearless’ Take… Only
three forwards in the league were on ice for more power play goals than Troy
Brouwer this season (53). His 12 power play goals in 277 minutes of power play ice time works out to one
goal every 23.1 minutes of man advantage ice time, which was fourth best among
18 right wingers playing more than 200 power play minutes this season.
Cheerless’ Take… Hey
cuz, those three forwards on ice for more power play goals than Brouwer? Two of them are Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas
Backstrom. They might have had something
to do with that power play, too. Brouwer
was on ice for 32 even strength goals this season, 53 power play goals. That even strength goal total was tied for 173rd of 293 forwards playing at least 75 percent of their team’s
games. That worked out to one even strength goal per 32.2 minutes played. That was roughly equivalent to Matt Cooke,
Cody Eakin, and Tomas Fleischmann.
Odd Brouwer Fact… Troy Brouwer has 36 power play goals over
the past five seasons, one of 29 players to record at least that many. That represents 35.6 percent of all the goals
he scored over the period. That ranks 10th
among those players, right behind Alex Ovechkin (36.0 percent).
Game to Remember… March 8th versus Phoenix. The Caps were hanging by a thread. With 18
games to play they were in 10th place in the Eastern Conference,
three points behind eighth-place Detroit for the last playoff spot. And that thread was fraying at home against
the Phoenix Coyotes. The visitors scored
single goals in the first and second periods to take a 2-0 lead into the final
20 minutes, but the hosts had a little something left. The Caps got started in the third period when
Karl Alzner scored in the tenth minute of the period. Brooks Laich tied the game 32 seconds
later. That set up a wild finish.
The Caps’ break came when David Moss was sent to the penalty
box at the 13:37 mark for tripping Dmitry Orlov. It was all the Caps needed. Alex Ovechkin fed John Carlson at the top of the
offensive zone, and Carlson forwarded the puck to Nicklas Backstrom along the
right wing wall. Backstrom circled out,
and with defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson backed off low in the right wing
circle, Backstrom inched in and fired a shot at goalie Mike Smith. Smith turned the puck away with his right
pad, but the rebound kicked free to Troy Brouwer camped at the edge of the left
wing circle. Brouwer swooped on the
rebound like a hawk on a field mouse. He
slammed the puck into the back of the net before Smith could dive across the
crease, and the Caps had a 3-2 lead, the final margin in a come-from-behind win
that kept their playoff hopes alive. It
was Brouwer’s third game-winning goal of the season and first not scored
against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Game to Forget… April
4th versus New Jersey. The
Caps were still on the wrong side of the playoff divide as the calendar flipped
to April, four points behind Columbus for the last playoff spot with five games
to play. When the Caps took the ice
against the New Jersey Devils on April 4th it was to play a game
they had to win. It looked as if they
might when they took a 1-0 lead mid-way through the first period on a goal by
Alex Ovechkin. The Devils crawled back
into it, though. Tuomo Ruutu scored in
the 13th minute of the second period and then, with less than five
minutes left in the game Ryan Carter scored to give the Devils a 2-1 win. The odd thing about the two Devils goals was
that the same three forwards were on the ice for both. Jay Beagle, Marcus Johansson, and
Brouwer. For Brouwer it was one of those
games, on ice for both goals against, only one shot on goal (a power play shot
in the fifth minute of the first period), only one hit credited, and he was on
ice for the last ten seconds with the Caps skating six skaters and the goalie
pulled, looking for the equalizer that never came. It would be a loss that finally sank the Caps’
dim playoff hopes.
In the end…
Brouwer had a good year, and then again, there seemed to be
something missing. He put up career
numbers, but not at the rate he did in the previous, abbreviated season. He was as much a fixture on the power play,
and in his own way almost as effective, as Alex Ovechkin, but at even strength
his performance was rather ordinary. If
he scored, the Caps won. If he didn’t,
they didn’t. In a sense he was
representative of the Caps’ season to the extent offense was driven more by
power play success than that at 5-on-5.
It made for a superficially fine season, but upon closer inspection not
as much of what the Caps needed where they needed it, at even strength.
Grade: B
Photo: Elsa/Getty Images North America
