Record: 2-1-0
Nine weeks are in the books, and the Caps have eight winning
weeks, two four-week winning streaks sandwiched around a .500 week. And finally, after relentless pursuit of the
Montreal Canadiens, the Caps are poised to overtake the Montreal Canadiens for
the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
At the end of Week 4 the Caps found themselves seven points behind the
Canadiens, who have occupied the top spot in the East all season to date. The Caps whittled that to five points in Week
5 and maintained that distance in Week 6.
It was down to four points after Week 7, then three points after Week
8. Now, it is down to one point, and the
Capitals have three games in hand on Montreal.
As it is, only the Dallas Stars have earned more standings points per
game to date (1.53) than the Caps (1.50) among the league’s 30 teams.
Offense: 1.67/game
(season: 2.96 /game; rank: 5th)
It was a weak week in the offensive end of the ice. While the Caps won both games in which they
scored more than one goal, they barely did it, scoring two against Detroit in a
3-2 Gimmick win and two in a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay to close the week. It is part of what matches the Caps worst
goal-scoring drought of the season – six goals in their last four games (six
goals over Games 8-11 in late October and early November).
Part of the problem was getting shots on goal. The Caps managed 81 shots on goal for the
week, but almost half – 40 of them – came in the 3-2 Gimmick win over Detroit
to open the week. Breaking it down
another way does not make it look any better.
The Caps scored two goals on their first 36 shots (5.6 percent) in the
win over the Red Wings, but then went 3-for-45 (6.7 percent) over the rest of
that win and the two games that followed.
Alex Ovechkin was the only Capital to record more than one
goal in Week 9 (two). He did it on 14
shots, but was held to one shot against Tampa Bay, just the second time this
season he was held to one shot (in a 3-2 win At Montreal on November 3rd). Justin Williams had a goal eight shots, Jay
Beagle had one on two shots, and Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal on eight
shots. That’s five goals on 32 shots
(15.6 percent), but the rest of the club went 0-for-49.
Defense: 2.33/game (season: 2.21 /game; rank:3rd)
The Caps came into Week 9 in the unusual position (for this
season) of having allowed more than 30 shots on goal in four consecutive games
and six of eight after having done it only once in their first 17 games. The team returned to a sense of normalcy in
the first two games of the week, giving up just 23 shots to the Red Wings to
open the week and just 26 in the 4-1 loss to Florida in the middle game of the
week.
It was a mixed week, though.
The Caps gave up 36 shots on goal to Tampa Bay to end the week, and
there were broader issues with regard to shot attempts. The 47 shot attempts at 5-on-5 recorded by
Detroit in the first game of the week and the 62 (yes…62) shot attempts at
5-on-5 against Tampa Bay are the eighth-highest and top number of shot attempts
allowed, respectively, so far this season at 5-on-5. It made for a brutal week in the Caps’
underlying numbers. They managed a
Corsi-for percentage of just 39.2 overall.
The score-adjusted (44.9) and close score (44.0) numbers were somewhat
better, but it did not salvage the week in that area (numbers from war-on-ice.com).
Goaltending: 1.99 /.929 (season: 2.06 / .924 / 1 shutout)
It was a good week overall, but more specifically, Braden
Holtby continued putting up very good, bordering on spectacular numbers. Holtby appeared in two games in Week 9,
stopping 56 of 59 shots (.949 save percentage) and posting a 1.44 goals against
average. He finished the week at or near
the top in a number of categories: wins (18/1st), goals against
average (1.91/1st), save percentage (.930/4th), even
strength save percentage (.940/5th among goalies appearing in at
least 15 games). And, he was remarkable
consistent, period to period. He was 18-for-19
in the first periods of his two games (.947 save percentage), 16-for-17 in the
second periods (.941), and 20-for-21 in the third periods (.952).
Philipp Grubauer got the call for the middle game of the
week in the 4-1 loss to Florida. He
played in a bit of bad luck in that game, giving up a goal that was deflected
out of mid-air, another on a 2-on-1 break, and another on a power-play
one-timer. On the other hand, it was the
fourth time in five appearances he has allowed three or more goals and the
third time in five games he finished with a save percentage under .900.
Power Play: 1-for-12 / 8.3 percent (season: 23.3 percent;
rank: 3rd)
Week 9 was the worst week of the season of any win which the
Caps had 10 or more power play opportunities.
In fact it was the worst such week for the Caps since Week 21 last
season, when they also went 1-for-12. It
was not for lack of efficiency in one respect.
The Caps recorded 22 shots in 18:51 of power play ice time (1.17 shots
per minute). It was the 1-for-22
shooting (4.5 percent) that was the problem, much as shooting was for the week
as a whole.
It was not even the “who” getting the shots that was the
problem. Alex Ovechkin had almost a
third of the shots (seven), connecting once for the only man advantage goal of
the week. There was balance among the
other seven skaters to record power play shots on goal, only two of them
finishing with as many as three (Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov). Perhaps it was the lack of defensemen getting
pucks to the net; John Carlson (2) and Matt Niskanen (1) accounted for only
three of the shots on goal. Whatever it
was, it was another dimension to what was a barren shooting week for the
Capitals.
Penalty Killing: 9-for-11 / 81.8 percent (season: 83.5
percent; rank: 8th)
On the other side of special teams, the penalty killers were
good, not great in Week 9. First, the good. The Caps held opponents to 11 shots in 17:32
of shorthanded ice time (0.63 shots per minute), including a full two-minute
4-on-3 power play in the 3-2 trick shot win over Detroit in the opening game of
the week (the only shorthanded situation they faced in that game).
On the other hand, there were the 11 shorthanded situations
the Caps faced. It was the first time
since Week 2 that they faced more than ten such situations in a week. It was a bit uncharacteristic for a club that
still managed to finish the week tied for the fourth-fewest number of
shorthanded situations faced this season (79, with Calgary).
There was also the “who” as far as the goals scored is
concerned. Florida and Tampa Bay
finished the week with the 12th and 22nd ranked power
plays, respectively. Even given the fact
that the goals allowed were on the road, the Caps did not allow power play
goals to elite power plays.
Even Strength 5-on-5 Goals for/Goals Against: 4-5 / minus-1 (season,
5-on-5 goals for/goals against ratio: 1.33 ; rank: T-2nd)
The 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning saved the week for
the Caps as far as even strength goal scoring is concerned. Going into that game the Caps had been
outscored, 5-2, at evens. But even
though the Caps outscored the Lighting, 2-0, at even strength to get to a
minus-1 for the week, they were steamrolled on shots, Tampa Bay recording 31
shots on goal at even strength to 16 for the Caps. And no, that was not – or certainly not
entirely – a case of score effects. The
Caps were outshot 11-6 at evens in the first period, held to nine apiece in the
second, before being outshot 11-1 at even strength in the third period.
Faceoffs: 92-for-189 / 48.7 percent (season: 50.3% / rank: 11th)
It was not a good week for the Capitals in the faceoff
circle. They were under 50 percent for
the week, under 50 percent in two of the three games, and under 50 percent in
two of the three zones overall for the week.
It was another case of two different ends and two different outcomes in
Week 9. In the offensive end of the ice
the Caps struggled with an overall winning percentage of 41.3 percent
(26-for-63). It was just the opposite in
the defensive zone where Washington finished with a 55.7 percent mark
(39-for-70).
The Caps managed their best against the 20th-ranked
Detroit Red Wings, winning 55.2 percent of their draws in the first game of the
week. It does not explain how the Caps
could finish with a 45.9 percent winning percentage against the 21st-ranked
Florida Panthers.
Individually, those who took more than ten draws by and
large struggled, too. Nicklas Backstrom
(49.3 percent), Evgeny Kuznetsov (35.4), and Michael Latta (46.2) finished
under 50 percent. Only Jay Beagle (66.7 percent)
had his head above water for the week.
And here is a weird stat. Only
one team in the league has won fewer even strength faceoffs than the Caps (New
Jersey). And, only two teams have lost
fewer (San Jose and Carolina).
Goals by Period:
The best to be said as far as the distribution of goals by
period was that they were balanced among the three period. The other side of it is that the Caps were
outscored in the second and third periods, by one goal in each. The third period was a bit disturbing on the
goals allowed side. Three goals scored
in the three games (two by Florida – one an empty netter – and one against
Tampa Bay) represented 15 percent of the total the club allowed over their
first 25 games of the season (20). It
was a case of not quite locking down the last 20 minutes in a way the team had
done in those first 25 games. As it is,
the Caps are still eighth in the league in third period goals allowed. And, the Caps are the only club in the league
ranking in the top ten in goals allowed in each of the three regulation
periods.
In the end…
The Caps passed the one-third mark of the season in Week
9. With 20 wins in 28 games they matched
their fastest-to-20 club record, set in 1991-1992 (20-8-0). It has not been pretty lately, though. The Caps’ possession numbers are poor
compared to their season start, they have been slipping in the little things
like faceoffs, and their scoring offense has dried up. They are depending entirely too much on
goalie Braden Holtby, and while he certainly shows no signs of slipping on his
part, it would be nice if starting in Week 10 for others to pick up their game
and shoulder more of the burden.
Three Stars:
- First Star: Braden Holtby (2-0-0, 1.44, .949)
- Second Star: John Carlson (0-2-2, even, 54.0 score-adjusted Corsi-for percentage).
- Third Star: Jay Beagle (1-0-1, even, 24-for-36 on faceoffs, one bloody nose)
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