Record: 2-1-0
It was the second consecutive 2-1-0 week for the Caps and
the second consecutive week that they finished the week with two wins after
dropping the first game of the week.
This week it was a sub-par effort against the New York Rangers at
Madison Square Garden, where the Caps came up short, 5-2. They rebounded with a solid win over the
Boston Bruins on Thursday, 4-1, then escaped what might have been an embarrassing
loss by scoring with less than a second left in regulation, then winning in the
Gimmick over a game Toronto Maple Leaf squad, 3-2. At week’s end, the Caps were fourth in the
league in standings points earned per game (1.54), behind only the Rangers
(1.57), the Dallas Stars (1.57) and the Montreal Canadiens (1.69).
Offense: 2.67/game
(season: 3.23 /game; rank: 4th)
Week 4 was one on which the Caps struggled a bit on
offense. They managed only seven goals
against goaltenders (one empty netter), three against a team – Boston – with a
struggling goaltender in Tuukka Rask.
They were 5-for-79 shooting at even strength against goalies at even strength
for the week (6.3 percent). Take away
Alex Ovechkin’s 2-for-16 shooting, and that goes to 3-for-63 for the rest of
the team (4.8 percent).
Ovechkin and Justin Williams led the Caps in points for the
week, all of Ovechkin’s points coming on goals, all of Williams’ on
assists. The last of Ovechkin’s goals
for the week tied him with Sergei Fedorov for the most goals scored by a
Russian in NHL history (483). Williams’
three assists extended his points streak to five games overall.
Speaking of Williams, he is one of a pack of Capitals at the top of the Corsi-for rankings at even strength for the season (numbers from war-on-ice.com; minimum 100 minutes at 5-on-5):
Speaking of Williams, he is one of a pack of Capitals at the top of the Corsi-for rankings at even strength for the season (numbers from war-on-ice.com; minimum 100 minutes at 5-on-5):
Defense: 2.67/game (season: 2.38 /game; rank: T-9th)
It might have been a very good week at the other end of the
ice but for that loss against the Rangers.
New York scored four goals in their 5-2 win before the game was 27
minutes old, ending the competitive portion of that contest fairly early. It was one of those speed bumps that one must
negotiate over the course of a season.
The Caps permitted only four more goals over the rest of the week. More to the point of defense, the Caps
continued to limit opportunities for opponents.
They allowed only 76 shots on goal for the week. They have not permitted a team to record more
than 30 shots in a game since San Jose finished with 32 in the Sharks’ 5-0 win
over the Caps in Game 2 of the season.
They finished the week having allowed the fewest shots on goal in the
league per game (25.2).
The possession numbers were a bit of a mixed bag.. Overall, the Caps were well to the good in
Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (56.3).
The score-adjusted value was not much different (54.9). However, the close-score value (49.6) did not
keep pace, and that was a product of a poor result against, of all teams, the
Boston Bruins, who the Caps defeated, 4-1.
The Caps also lagged in close score Corsi against the Rangers, just
getting to 50.0 percent although, given the nature of the scoring in that game,
there were far fewer close score events (28) than there were against either Boston
(51) or Toronto (58; all numbers from war-on-ice.com).
Goaltending: 2.61 / .895 (season: 2.10 / .915)
Braden Holtby got all the minutes in Week 4, and it looked a
lot like Week 3. He started with a loss
to the Rangers, as he did in starting Week 3 with a loss to the Pittsburgh
Penguins, then followed it up allowing a single goal against Boston, as he did
against Columbus in Week 3. Against the
Rangers, Holtby allowed four goals on the first 11 shots he faced, then he finished
the week allowing only four goals on 65 shots (a .938 save percentage).
First periods were a bit of a problem for Holtby in Week
4. He was 24-for-28 (.857 save
percentage) for the week. He was better
as games went on. Even with the two
goals on the first two shots he faced against the Rangers in the second period
of the opening game of the week, he was 22-for-24 in the second periods of
games (.917). He was also 22-for 24 in
the third period and overtime of games.
It certainly was not among his better weeks this season, but he made it
respectable after a poor start.
Power Play: 2-for-12 / 16.7 percent (season: 21.9 percent; rank: 6th)
Well, they scored.
After going four straight games without a power play goal, including the
first game of Week 4, the Caps scored a power play goal in each of the last two
games of the week. The goal that broke
the drought was one of the prettier power play goals the Caps have had recently
– courtesy of John Carlson. It was a play that showed some imagination in addressing the lack of punch and in how to
use a weapon as a decoy of sorts.
The other power play goal for the week was the product of a
skill one does not normally speak of often with respect to Alex Ovechkin, and
that is touch. It was a case of being
the target of a set play, but having the plan altered a bit when a pass through
the crease was interrupted just enough to alter the path of the puck. Instead of taking the pass on his forehand
for a one-timer, Ovechkin had to switch to taking it on his backhand and having
the touch to flip it from a bad angle past Toronto goalie James Reimer for what
would be his record-tying goal for the week.
Still, there are things to work out on the power play. The 2-for-12 overall effort same from scoring
two goals on 16 shots in 20:00 of power play time (0.80 shots per minute). The frustrating part of the week on the man
advantage was the Caps failing to score on a 61-second 5-on-3 power play in the
third period of their game against Toronto, getting only one shot in the
process.
Penalty Killing: 4-for-6 / 66.7 percent (season: 84.6 percent; rank: 8th)
The Caps came into Week 4 as one of the better penalty
killing teams in the league, and they ended the week in the same position, just
a little less better. The best part of
the week was having to kill off only six shorthanded situations. This continued
a pleasant trend for the Caps, facing fewer and fewer shorthanded situations on
a week-to-week basis (see the table below).
The good was balanced from the bad, though, and a 66.7
percent kill rate on penalties cannot be considered good. Part of it might be considered a bit of bad
luck. The second of the two power play
goals of the week the Caps allowed came from one of those bounces that seem to
define the sport. Toronto’s Morgan
Rielly feathered a pass into the middle for a redirection try by Joffrey
Lupul. He got his stick on the puck but
redirected the puck into the far post instead of into the net. The puck rebounded off the post right onto
the stick of James van Riemsdyk, who had more or less an open net into which he
could flip the puck. As it was, the Caps
did a good job of denying shots. They
allowed the two goals on only six shots in 11:07 of penalty killing time (0.54
shots per minute).
Even Strength 5-on-5 Goals for/Goals Against: 6-6 / even (season,
5-on-5 goals for/goals against ratio: 1.29; rank: 4th)
It looks worse than it was.
The Caps were outscored, 5-1, at evens against the New York Rangers to
start the week. That’s getting all the “bad”
out of the way early. But it was not all
unicorns and accordions, either. It
would not have been an “even” week but for some equal parts persistence and
luck in the dying moments of the Caps’ third game of the week when Nicklas
Backstrom scored in the last second to tie their contest with the Toronto Maple
Leafs. The goal was scored with the
goalie pulled and the Caps with six attackers, but it is scored as an “even
strength” goal.
A thing to note about the goal by Backstrom. It was credited as being scored with 0.8
seconds left in regulation. It was not
the latest game-tying/game-winning goal in team history. Calle Johansson scored with 0.2 seconds left
in overtime against the Phoenix Coyotes at Verizon Center on January 28, 2000
in a 3-2 win.
Faceoffs: 94-for-176 / 53.4 percent (season: 50.3% / rank: 13th)
The Caps has a good week in the circle, if not a great
one. They sandwiched two fine efforts –
59.6 percent wins against the Rangers and 60.7 percent wins against Toronto –
around a 42.6 percent win effort against the Boston Bruins. Against Boston, the Caps had a hard time in
the offensive zone, winning just six of 21 draws (28.6 percent).
Four Caps took more than ten draws for the week, and they
did well generally. Nicklas Backstrom
(52.0 percent) and Jay Beagle (59.6 percent) had typically fine weeks. T.J. Oshie took 15 draws and won eight (53.3
percent). On the other hand, Evgeny Kuznetsov
was just 19 for 43 (44.2 percent), and he was below 50 percent in all three
zones.
Goals by Period:
There was nothing especially extraordinary overall about the
timing of goal scoring, for or against, in Week 4. One would like to see better starts – the Caps
allowed first period goals in all four games, two against the Rangers. The good part was not allowing an even
strength goal in either of the last two third periods of games of the week.
The Caps still have a knack for goals late, evidenced by the
dramatic last second Backstrom goal against Toronto. Keeping even for the week, with two goals for
and two against, the Caps finished the week with 18 third period goals scored,
tied for second most in the league with the Dallas Stars. Their plus-6 in the third period is
fourth-best in the league.
In the end…
Slow and sure wins the race.
The Caps do have a five-game winning streak on their record this season,
but the first four weeks of the season look more like a portrait of
consistency. The odd stinker of a game
sneaks in, such as that against the Rangers to open the week, but the Caps have
been able to limit the damage. They have
done that largely by being stingy with respect to allowing teams to generate
shots.
At the other end, the Caps were not touching off fireworks,
but they did have balance. Six players
share the eight goals for the week, 12 players recorded points. Five players have surpassed the double-digit
threshold in points, and every skater that has appeared in more than five games
has recorded at least one point (19 in all).
The Caps are doing enough things consistently well to build their total
of standings points at a regular pace as a result.
It is something to hold on to as the Caps embark on Week
5. They will head to the road to face
Detroit, a team that has just a 3-3-0 record at home so far. Then it will be on to Philadelphia and very possibly
meeting an old friend. Michal Neuvirth
has three wins for the Flyers in goal this season, all of them shutouts. He leads the league in shutouts at the
moment. The Caps will return home to
finish Week 5 against the Calgary Flames, the first time the Caps will face a
club for the second time this season.
They won their first meeting, 6-2, in Calgary back on October 20th. The Flames are playing a bit better than they
were back then, heading into the new week with a two straight wins. It makes for an interesting week after a
successful one.
Three Stars:
- First Star: Alex Ovechkin (3-0-3, plus-2, game-winning SO goal, 21 SOG; tied record for career NHL goals scored by a Russian)
- Second Star: Nicklas Backstrom (1-2-3, GTG vs. Toronto; 52.0 percent on faceoffs)
- Third Star: Justin Williams (0-3-3, even, 9 shots on goal, 67.1 percent Corsi-for at 5-on-5)
