The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Centers: David Steckel

David Steckel

Theme: “blooming late”

Here we have our preseason projection and the actual season numbers for David Steckel...

There was an odd consistency in David Steckel’s game this year that isn’t entirely reflected in his season by the tens…

If you look at his scoring by month, he averaged three points a month (not including April), not scoring fewer than two or more than four in any month. He went 6-8-14 in 59 games against team in the East and 2-3-5 in 17 games against the West (approximately the same scoring rate over comparable numbers of games). He was 4-6-10 in 39 games at home, 4-5-9 in 37 games on the road. Only three times in 76 games was he on the minus side of the ledger in consecutive games, and never more than two games in a row. And, only five times in a total of 76 games did he go consecutive games losing more faceoffs than he won (three games was his longest streak), only once after December.

And if another thing remained constant, it was his ability to score against Tampa Bay. In 2007-2008, Steckel was 4-2-6 in six games against the Lightning. This year, he was 2-3-5 in six games, making him 6-5-11 in 12 games against Tampa Bay the last two years, while going 7-13-20 in 131 games against everyone else the past two seasons.

And looking at other numbers from his ten-game segments, he looks just as consistent… six of eight with at least ten shots on goal (but more than 20 only once)… only once in eight instances with more than ten penalty minutes… six times with at least ten hits (never more than 20).

What he wasn’t, though, was especially effective on weekends. His Friday-Sunday production ended 2-4-6, -6 in 36 games. Compare that to 6-7-13, +8 in 40 games on weekdays.

Steckel could become the sort of third line center the Caps need. He shows promise of becoming an anchor in the middle among the lower half of the forward lines – consistent, able to win faceoffs consistently, defense-minded (fewest goals scored against per 60 minutes among centers), effective in penalty killing, and he has an ability to chip in some scoring (he scored goals more frequently per 60 minutes of ice time at even strength than Nicklas Backstrom).

But he’s not there yet, not when you consider that this is a team that finished 19th in goals allowed per game and tied for 17th in penalty killing, even though Steckel was by far the least likely (among Caps center playing at least 60 games) to be scored on at even strength and was most likely to be the center on the bench when opponents scored in those situations.

At the age of 27, Steckel is blooming perhaps a bit later than one might have expected for a former first-round draft pick (30th overall in 2001), but by the same token, what is past might be prelude. For example, under coach Bruce Boudreau at Hershey in the AHL, Steckel showed an ability to score shorthanded goals. He had five such goals in his last regular season campaign with the Bears and another three in the Calder Cup playoffs in that 2006-2007 season. This year, he scored his first two shorthanded goals in the NHL. He had 30 goals in his last year with the Bears, following up on a 14-goal season he had in 2005-2006. This past year, his goal output increased from five to eight, and he had another three in 14 playoff games, including a game-winner against Pittsburgh.

Steckel has fewer than two full years of NHL game experience (155 games). This was only his second full season with the Caps, and in just about every statistical category you’d care to name, he improved on his first full season. He did show an ability to score at the AHL level, and one might hope that he continues improvement along those lines next year (he is signed through next year at a $725,000 salary). He’s been consistent, but perhaps needs to raise the production level at which he is consistent for the Caps to make the next step. For this year, though, he took a step forward one would expect for an inexperienced, if late-blooming, forward…

Grade: B

Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 6: Caps 5 - Penguins 4 (OT)

There will be hockey in Washington on Wednesday.

David Steckel deflected a drive by Brooks Laich past Pittsburgh Penguin goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 6:22 into overtime to give the Caps a 5-4 win, their first overtime playoff win since Jeff Halpern scored a game-winner in the same arena in 2001.

The story in the major press will probably be Alex Ovechkin’s three assists and the Caps persistence, but the back story here is what the Caps need and haven’t received in this series – secondary scoring…

Viktor Kozlov: 2-0-2, +2
David Steckel: 1-0-1, +1 and 11 wins in 15 draws
Brooks Laich: 0-2-2, +2
Tomas Fleischmann: 1-0-1, +1

And even outside of that, you had some players who needed to step up playing with the desperation you would associate with an elimination game. Alexander Semin notched a goal and an assist and created a bushel of chances. Brooks Laich did what he had to do – get dirty. It was his screen on Fleury less than a minute after Pittsburgh took the lead in the third period that allowed Semin to find a crack and deposit the puck behind Fleury to tie the game for the third time. It was Laich collecting the puck off a faceoff win by David Steckel and maintaining control, then sending the shot to the net that would be deflected in for the win. Matt Bradley didn’t show up in much detail on the score sheet, although those four hits left a mark, but he was all over the place in this game causing a ruckus.

Statistics can be misleading, and there are two related ones that bear notice. The first is shots. The score sheet will show that the Penguins outshot the Caps, 42-24. The chances, however, were more even – 59-54, in favor of Pittsburgh, when misses and blocks are considered. While the territorial domination by Pittsburgh was in evidence in this game, as it was in the last three games of the series, it was not quite as lopsided as it was in the three Caps losses.

The second is those shots. Semyon Varlamov allowed four goals, and except for the first – a goal by Bill Guerin than Varlamov looked indecisive in defending – he could not be faulted too much. A shot that was sent top corner by Kris Letang, a screened shot from Mark Eaton, and a “hands” goal by Sidney Crosby (with no Caps defensemen in a position to defend) were the only others to dent Varlamov. At the other end, though…

Marc-Andre Fleury is not having a very good series – not a bad one, just not very good. Let’s leave five goals on 24 shots out of it for a moment. The first Kozlov goal (another top corner over the glove that Fleury didn’t have much of a chance on) and the Semin goal through a Laich screen were goals that goalie can be forgiven for letting slip through. The Steckel game-winner was a superior play – Fleury had that shot tracked, it appeared, until Steckel got a stick on it.

But the second Kozlov goal was rather ugly. Did Hal Gill kick Fleury’s right skate out and block his path to the post as Kozlov was spinning around the Penguin net? Perhaps, he looked to be reacting poorly to the play unfolding, too, appearing not quite sure where the puck was. It happened again on the Fleischmann goal, when he was caught down and out, swimming for his life as the puck shot by Sergei Fedorov popped up and over a sprawled Fleury into open ice where Fleischmann could flick it into the net. He has been good, but having faced so few shots – barely 26 a game in this series – his play has been somewhat masked.

- 29-20 in hits, 37-27 in faceoffs. Little things. And if you don’t think faceoffs matter, well, that was how the winning play got started. Textbook – win the draw, head to the net, get a deflection. That was the basic play David Steckel made, one that makes fans want to gag when they see all the cutesy-pie crap that often passes for Caps offense.

- Six games, six times the team scoring first couldn’t keep a lead. It’s a measure of just how much spine both teams have. They don’t give up.

- Think Steckel’s made up for not potting that goal into an open net in overtime in Game 5? Yeah, we do, too.

- Boyd Gordon, 5-for-5 on draws against Sidney Crosby, 3-for-3 in the defensive zone.

The NHL has had its best young teams giving their all in this series, and it has been a series for the ages – five one goal games, three overtime games, the big stars – Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin dueling to a draw in putting their teams on their respective shoulders. But there is another side of that coin. And it is an embarrassment to the league. The officiating in this series has been, to be charitable, awful. We don't suspect it's been any better in the other series, but this is the one we've been paying close attention to.

A blind call made by the trailing referee with 2:02 left in regulation putting the Penguins on a power play (a slashing call on Brooks Laich that clearly looked wrong based on replay evidence) is the sort of thing that could only bring a smile to the faces of Gary Bettman and Penguin fans. And this does not even include the hauling down of Alexander Semin when he had a scoring opportunity earlier in the game – a play similar to that which gave the Penguins a power play in overtime in Game 5, one on which they scored the eventual game-winning goal (by the way, as we pointed out in our post-game of that contest, the correct call). And yes, we did see that swipe that Sidney Crosby took to his head on the end of his shift shortly before a Caps goal than probably merited a penalty.

How unfortunate. These two teams put on a show that should be an NHL instant classic. It was Creed versus Balboa, Ali-Frazier, “Hell-in-Mellon,” haymakers traded across more than 60 minutes. And there are at least 60 minutes left. But here is the last number you need going into game 7…

Zero

The Pittsburgh Penguins have led a series 3-2 and lost Game 6 four times in their history. They have never won a Game 7 in such a circumstance.

See you Wednesday.

The storm is coming…

"Guys are going to start losing their penalty killing jobs if they don't start getting with the program.."

That's what Bruce Boudreau had to say about the penalty killing for the Caps after the team gave up three in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators last night. Small wonder - that's eight straight games giving up at least one power play goal.

32 for 44 over that span -- 72.7 percent.

16 Caps have been on the ice for at least one power play goal against over the last eight games.

Four Caps have been on the ice for at least five of the 12 -- Karl Alzner (eight), David Steckel (seven), Brooks Laich (five), and Jeff Schultz (five). Steckel (healthy scratch against the Islanders) and Schultz (two games missed with an injured finger) have missed time in this stretch. Schultz, though, has been on the ice for all of his five power play goals against in the last four games -- on ice for five of the last six power play goals scored against the Caps.

All four of the players mentioned have been on the ice for at least one 5-on-3 power play goal scored against; Laich has been on for two of them.

In terms of goals allowed-per-minutes played on the penalty kill, Steckel has had the worst number, on ice for one power play goal for every 4:10. Schultz isn't far behind (4:18), nor is Alzner (4:35). Laich has been on for a power play goal against approximately every six minutes of penalty killing ice time.

Is it their fault? Penalty killing is as much a team effort as anything in hockey, but the fact remains that bad things have happened -- often -- when these four have been on the ice in that role. But we're not sure which is worse, the high numbers these four have or the fact that 16 different skaters have been on the ice for at least one power play goal against in the last eight games.

The coach is right...""If the [penalty kill] doesn't start getting better, [they're] not going nowhere."

2008-2009 Previews: David Steckel

Continuing the march through the forwards, the cousins and I turn to…


David Steckel

Last year: 5-7-12, +1, 56.3% faceoff pct.

Career average (per-82 games): he hasn’t played 82 games yet, either

Feerless’ Take: Odd, isn’t it, that Steckel doesn’t yet have a full season’s worth of NHL games experience (79 games over three seasons)? It just seems as if he’s been here a while. Maybe it’s the experience he had at Hershey in his two full seasons there that heralded his arrival in Washington (a key player in two Calder Cup finals appearances). Maybe it is his solid defensive play and faceoff acumen that merely suggests more of a veteran player. Maybe it’s merely his demeanor…blending in as an island of calm in a sea of riot (the one over on the top left, without his arms raised in the air)…


…whatever, he has built himself into a solid defense-oriented center. There does, however, seem to be an unrevealed part of his game. In 176 games at The Ohio State University, he had 50 goals. In 208 games in the AHL, he had 54 goals (including 30 in 71 games at Hershey in 2006-2007). This isn’t to suggest that he is the next 30-goal scorer on the Caps (joining Ovechkin, Semin, and Clark as players on the roster who have such seasons with the Caps), but that perhaps there might be another scoring option on the bottom half of the forward lines. But even if he doesn’t improve significantly on the scoring side, Steckel provides such consistent defensive play as to be a critical element on this team.

Cheerless’ Take: Once in seven games – once – did Steckel have a better than 50 percent winning percentage on faceoffs in the opening round playoff series against the Flyers. And, he didn’t have a plus game in the bunch. As for his regular season, he was 4-2-6, +4 in six games against Tampa Bay, but was only 1-5-6, -3 in 61 games against the rest of the league. In 67 games, he had only four in which he had more than two shots on goal, and in 21 of them, he didn’t register a single shot. That’s not a recipe for improving his offense, cuz.

The Peerless’ take: Steckel was seventh among all players taking at least 500 draws in faceoff win percentage. What is telling about that is that of the six players ahead of him, none has played fewer than 298 games in his career. In fact, of the half dozen players below him in that statistic, none have played fewer than 204 games (that would be Boyd Gordon, of the Caps, by the way). And, as far as the offense goes, there is that Tampa thing…given what Tampa’s defense is likely to look like this year, he might double his goal total against the Lightning alone. Well, probably not, but it is good to keep in mind that Steckel was a rookie last year – a more mature rookie, perhaps (26 when the season ended), but a rookie nonetheless. He does have that history of producing on the offensive side of the ledger at previous stops, but that really isn’t his role on this team. He’s really on this club to matchup against the other club’s scorers, to kill penalties, and to win important draws. If he scores on top of that, it’s gravy.

Projected: 6-9-15, +3

On this day in Caps history...August 25th

In 2005...the Caps signed David Steckel as a free agent.

After a four-year career at The Ohio State University (those folks insist on putting "The" in front) -- 50-55-105, +29, in 146 games -- during which he was selected 30th overall in the 2001 entry draft by Los Angeles, he played for a year splitting time with Reading in the ECHL and the Kings' AHL farm club in Manchester. After that 2004-2005 season, he was signed (three years ago on this date) by the Caps.

Steckel has shown himself to be an adept faceoff man a penalty killing/defensive specialist. However, he did have a 30-goal, 61-point campaign (in 71 games) at Hershey in 2006-2007 as the Bears went to the Calder Cup final. Improving on his five-goal output last year certainly doesn't seem out of the question.

Anyway, that's what happened on this day...

After-Math -- Caps vs. Thrashers

It was a TWO point night . . .

. . . and a two-goal night for Alex Ovechkin. The pair gave Ovechkin 46 on the year and a nice symmetry to his scoring in that he also has 46 assists. A four-goal, eight-point game seems a bit far-fetched in the season finale, so any thoughts of a 50-goal, 100-point season should be put away until next year.

As for the game, The Peerless partook of the trifecta – watched the first period from the Kettler Capitals Garageplex (actually a nice place, even if it does look a bit like the production set of “This Old Rink”…can they get Bob Vila to finish this place?), listened to Steve Kolbe burst a blood vessel on the radio as he was calling the Ovechkin goals in the second, and then watched from the comfort of his own family room as the boys held on for dear life in the land of the make-up call in the last minute (more on that later).

If you’re looking for stars past the obvious ones – Ovechkin and Brent Johnson with his 30 saves on 32 shots – look no further than Boyd Gordon. He was uncharacteristically on the short side of the faceoff ledger (losing nine of 15 on the night), but geez he doesn’t make many mistakes out there. He’s just so solid in all areas of the ice. He’s never going to win any trophies (well, maybe a Selke), but teams don’t often win without guys like him.

From appearances, the Thrashers got their first goal in the first 66 seconds, then spent the next 50-plus minutes thinking the Caps would just roll over. Given that the Caps came into this game with an 10-23-7 road record, had only two road wins in this calendar year, and went the entire month of March without a road win, it wasn’t an unreasonable expectation.

That they didn’t is to their credit (unless you’re one of those folks with an eye toward June 22^nd). The Caps solved goaltender Kari Lehtonen for three goals in the second, all of them high on the long side, and all of them seemingly stoppable. Lehtonen would more than make up for those shortcomings with some spectacular saves in the third (Dave Steckel is going to have nightmares all the way back on the plane), but the damage had been done.

For all that, the turning point came on a play that was an obviously correct call, but one that had fans showering boos (and other stuff) on the rink for several minutes. Eric Boulton was tangled with Jiri Novotny in front of the Capitals’ net, and in the process got his stick under Novotny’s chin. This took place just before Brad Larsen deposited the puck just past the reach of Johnson’s glove and into the Caps’ net. The goal was disallowed, and Boulton was assessed a double minor for high-sticking. Rule 78.5(xi) states:

“During the delayed calling of a penalty, the offending team cannot score unless the non-offending team shoots the puck into their own net. This shall mean that a deflection off an offending player or goalkeeper, or any physical action by an offending player that may cause the puck to enter the non-offending team’s goal, shall not be considered a legal goal. Play shall be stopped before the puck enters the net (whenever possible) and the signaled penalty assessed to the offending team.”

Sorry, Brad, the penalty occurred before you shot the puck, and the referee’s hand was in the air to call the foul.

The referees, however, seemed to spend the rest of the game looking to balance the ledger. And, they did. Brooks Laich was whistled for a delay-of-game, puck over the glass penalty with 90 seconds left. This gave the Thrashers a chance to tie the game with a 6-on-4 advantage upon the substitution of Lehtonen for another attacker. But then, Milan Jurcina was called for a slash that wouldn't have dented a stick of warm butter. The Thrashers spent much of the last half-minute with a rare 6-on-3 advantage. Keith Tkachuk missed an empty net from Johnson’s right, but otherwise the Caps kept the puck well to the outside until finally clearing the puck in the last five seconds to secure the win.

Ups:

- Ovechkin’s two goals, giving him three in two games after a four-game goal-less streak.

- Boyd Gordon’s 1-1-2, +2 line for the night.

- David Steckel, who made excellent use of his size and reach all night to frustrate the Thrashers ability to move the puck.

- Registering only four giveaways, indicative of an all-too-rare responsible road game.

- The Caps reached the 70-point mark, equaling their total from last year.

Downs:

- An ugly shorthanded goal allowed to lumbering Andy Sutton, who somehow outskated Chris Clark and Brian Pothier, and managed to look like Pavel Bure in faking as if he was going to pull the puck to Johnson’s right, then lifting it over Johnson’s glove on the left side.

- Donald Brashear offered to scrap with Sutton, but nothing ensued.

- The Caps dropped out of the “lottery five” – they now sit 24^th with those 70 points. They can finish no worse than 27^th, which would give them the fourth pick in the entry draft (just like last year) if the rankings hold when the lottery is undertaken.

Hey, they won . . . isn’t that why they play the game?