Record (2-2-0)
At least it was not a losing week. And what has been most disappointing about it is how unsuccessful the Caps have been on home ice. They went 2-1-0 at home in Week 15, which looks good, but both wins came in overtime after falling behind 2-0 to Winnipeg and to Ottawa. In the other home contest, the Caps were bested by the Vancouver Canucks, 4-2. The two home wins to end the week did stop a three-game losing streak on home ice, but at the end of the week, the Caps still had not won a game on home ice in regulation this month.
Offense: 3.00 / game (season: 3.26 / 10th)
Three goals per game was decent effort, neither good nor bad (tied for 13th in the league in goals per game for the week). Seven Capitals recorded goals for the week, Alex Ovechkin getting third of them (four). Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson were the other multi-goal scorers for the week, each with two and each with a game-winning goal.
Eleven Caps had points in Week 15, Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov setting the pace with five points apiece. Backstrom and Wilson each had four points to complete the list of Caps averaging a point or more a game for the week. Backstrom has been quite consistent since his return from rehabilitation after a hip injury last season. In nine games since his return he has points in seven, and he recorded his first multi-point game of the season in the 3-2 overtime win over Ottawa in which he scored the game-winning goal in the extra frame.
Defense: 3.25 / game (season: 2.74 / 11th)
Can’t say it was a very good week for the defense overall, the 3.25 goals allowed per game ranking 14th in the league for the week. The Caps allowed 30.0 shots on goal per game, an average higher than their second-ranked 28.2 shots on goal allowed for the season. It was an odd week in terms of goals allowed, the Caps allowing a total of 13, but only six of them at 5-on-5. Lars Eller was a victim of opponent scoring, being on ice for four even strength goals for the week. Alex Ovechkin was on ice for three goals against at evens, but he was still a plus-2, being on ice for five even strength goals for. Carl Hagelin had a rough time of it, on ice for three goals at even strength but not on ice for any goals for at evens.
Goaltending: 3.01 / .899 (season: 2.60 / .907 / 5 shutouts)
It was Vitek Vanecek given the opportunity to take the goaltending job for his own, getting the last three starts of the week. And as has been the case too often this season, he was inconsistent. He posted .909 save percentages in the first and third games in which he appeared, both ending in overtime wins, bracketing a four goals on 33 shots effort in the 4-3 loss to Boston, including a last minute power play goal for the Bruins that gave them the margin of victory. Although he allowed that last minute goal to Boston, it was first periods that were the concern. Vanecek stopped 19 of 23 shots in the first periods of the three games he played, a .826 save percentage.
Ilya Samsonov got the call in the first game of the week and turned in another performance that might have had Caps fans scratching their heads and wondering if the light will ever go on for the young netminder, allowing him to put together a string of solid performances. He allowed three goals on 31 shots to Vancouver in a 4-2 loss, and he finished that game having stopped just 132 of 152 shots in his most recent six appearances, a .868 save percentage to go with a 2-2-2 record.
Power Play: 2-for-10 / 20.0 percent (season: 14.8 percent / 29th).
Two power play goals for the week have to be counted as a victory of sorts, the first week in which the Caps scored more than one power play goal since Week 7, when they went 2-for-8. It would have been a better week had the Caps enjoyed more than ten power play chances in four games, although there, too, they enjoyed a small victory. It was the first time they had at least ten power play chances in a week since Week 3, when they went 3-for-11.
That Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson recorded the power play goals was encouraging. Ovechkin broke a five-game streak without a power play goal, although he finished the week with none in three games. Wilson posted his first power play goal since November 14th, breaking a streak of 19 games without one, but he, too, ended the week with none in his last three games. There is still work to do with this power play.
Penalty Killing: 5-for-13 / 61.5 percent (season: 80.0 percent / 15th)
Let’s just leave it at this...the penalty kill was awful. Only Buffalo allowed more power play goals (six) than the Caps (five, tied with Montreal) for the week. The five power play goals allowed were most in any week so far this season. And the Caps spread the grief around. Five Caps were on ice for three power play goals against – Lars Eller, Nick Jensen, Tom Wilson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Martin Fehervary. Nine Caps were on ice for at least one power play goal against.
Faceoffs: 113-for-223 / 50.7 percent (46.2 percent / 31st)
A 50-plus percent week is rare for the Caps this season, but there it was in Week 15. It was the work in the offensive end that won the week in faceoffs for the Caps, combining for 42 wins in 77 draws (54.5 percent). The Caps did, however, finish under 50 percent in the defensive and neutral zones. Three of the four Caps taking at least ten draws for the week finished over 50 percent, also an unusual outcome this season. Lars Eller was one of them, and his 13 wins in 14 offensive draws taken had to be one of the best efforts of the week in any category. It was a reversal of roles for Eller, who is not a go-to player for offensive zone faceoffs. It was also a reversal of roles for Nicklas Backstrom, who was 7-for-9 in the defensive end (77.8 percent).
Goals by Period
It has become a broken record at this point. Second periods have been and remain a problem. This week it was going minus-3 in second period goal differential. Washington ended the week tied for the fourth-highest number of second period goals allowed, and but for the 45 second period goals scored (tied for seventh in the league), their minus-4 goal differential in the second period would look much worse.
Year-over-Year
The Caps, despite their recent woes, are within striking distance of last year’s club in most categories and continue to do much better than last year’s team in top end possession metrics (shots on goal, shot attempts at 5-on-5). And while the special teams’ efficiencies are down on both sides of the ledger, in both categories the Caps are doing better than last season in power play chances and fewer shorthanded situations faced.
In the end…
The Caps are clearly in a rut, as their recent weeks of performance indicate. It might be injuries, trying to get through what amount to the dog days of the schedule (although that doesn’t seem to have been much of a problem for, say, Pittsburgh, which has jumped over the Caps in the standings). The home record is of some concern lately. They just are not making Capital One Arena a sufficiently difficult place to play, and with two of the three games next week at Capital One, it is time to make things harder on visitors.
Three Stars
- First Star: Alex Ovechkin (4-1-5, plus-2, 19 shots on goal, 37 shot attempts, nine credited hits)
- Second Star: Nicklas Backstrom (2-2-4, plus-2, game-winning overtime goal, 54.0 faceoff winning percentage, eight shots on goal, 13 shot attempts)
- Third Star: Evgeny Kuznetsov (1-4-5, plus-1, 11 shots on goal, 18 shot attempts)
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