One game. Light workload. Good thing. Tough “week.” The Washington Capitals had one game and a chance to sweep their season series against the Carolina Hurricanes. It did not go well, the Caps dropping a 6-1 decision.
Record (0-1-0)
Week 25 was the first losing week since Week 20, when the Caps went 0-2-0. The good news here is that the Caps haven’t had a losing week in a week of three or more games since Week 16, going 13-9-1 over that span. Not great, but not a disaster, either.
Offense: 1.00 / game (season: 3.24 / 12th)
The one goal scored was the first time since February 26th that they were held to a single tally (a 2-1 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia) and the first time they were held to a single goal on home ice since dropping a 4-1 decision at Capital One Arena to the Ottawa Senators on February 13th. Tom Wilson had the lone goal, extending his points streak to five games (3-3-6) and giving him a 6-7-13 scoring line over his last 14 games.
Defense: 6.00 / game (season: 2.87 / 11th)
Ugh. The six goals allowed were the most allowed by the Caps in a single game since they allowed seven in a 7-3 loss to Boston on January 10th. Those two are the only instances in which the Caps allowed more than five goals this season. It was not as if the Caps were blown out of the building in terms of shots allowed (29) or shot attempts allowed (51), but six goals…yeah, that’s a blow out.
Goaltending: 6.00 / .793 (season: 2.72 / .906 / 7 shutouts)
Another iffy week for the Caps goalies, both of whom saw action against Carolina. Vitek Vanecek started and lasted 40 minutes, allowing five goals on 23 shots; Ilya Samsonov wrapped up and allowed one goal on six shots. Vanecek, who appeared to have the number one goalie spot secured after a six-game winning streak over which he stopped 187 of 201 shots (.930 save percentage), is 1-3-0 in his last four appearances and has stopped only 106 of 121 shots (.876). Samsonov hasn’t exactly jumped through the opening; he stopped just 122 of 142 shots (.859) over his last seven appearances.
Power Play: 0-for-4 / 0.0 percent (season: 19.5 percent / 21st).
It was only one game, but it was four power play chances, and going oh-fer was the first time the Caps finished a week without a power play goal since Week 14, when they also went 0-for-4. In the ten weeks between the goalless weeks the Caps were 24-for-89 (27.0 percent), so one hopes this is just a speed bump on the road to power play success.
Penalty Killing: 4-for-4 / 100.0 percent (season: 80.8 percent / 13th)
Week 25 on the penalty kill was the mirror image of the power play and the third time they were perfect for a week in their last six weeks. Over that span they are 38-for-44 (86.4 percent).
Faceoffs: 19-for-49 / 38.8 percent (47.1 percent / 28th)
It was not a good week in faceoffs, but despite the woeful showing in the circle, they did have a pair of players over 50 percent for the week with ten or more draws taken. It was a bit odd that the pair would be Connor McMichael (6-for-11/54.5 percent) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (6-for-10/60.0 percent). As a group, though, the Caps were ghastly in the offensive zone, winning only four of 14 faceoffs (28.6 percent). Thank heavens for small populations of instances.
Goals by Period
One second period goal. Entirely forgettable, even though it did get the Caps within a goal on the scoreboard at the time. But three second period goals later, in a span of just over seven minutes, and the competitive portion of the game was over.
In the end…
The Caps had one game and played poorly. It was another instance of the appearance of giving a disinterested effort. Perhaps it is fatigue setting in. It makes the long stretch between games (the Caps facing Minnesota on Sunday) a welcome break. But this team needs to take advantage of the opportunities to recharge and play with more purpose and intensity, or May is going to be an unpleasant month for Caps fans.
Three Stars
No…no stars this week.
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