The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 9: Blue Jackets at Capitals, October 30

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals take the ice Friday night in a situation they are facing for only the second time this season – coming back from a loss in the previous game.  Having lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, on Wednesday night for their second loss in eight games this season, Washington will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

Two losses in eight games is a problem the Blue Jackets would like to have.  They come into this game with just two wins in ten outings (2-8-0).  That is good enough to be last in the Metropolitan Division, last in the Eastern Conference, and last in the league standings.  What they have going for them is that they are winners of their last two games after starting the 2015-2016 season with eight losses.

Still, this is not a team that has come by its ill fortune as a result of bad luck.  They have only a single one-goal loss in their bucket.  Two two-goal losses, three three-goal losses, and two four-goal losses round out their loss profile.

That single one-goal loss came after the Blue Jackets started the season 0-7-0 and fired head coach Todd Richards in favor of John Tortorella.  That was the “turnaround,” so to speak, although caution should be taken with respect to those two-game outcomes.  Beating Colorado and New Jersey are not particularly noteworthy accomplishments, since neither is above .500 at the moment (the Devils are 4-4-1; the Avalanche are 2-5-1).  Then again, both wins were on the road, and Columbus was (and still is ) last in the league, so every team they play at the moment might be viewed as a superior opponent.

On an individual level, there are some surprises with the Blue Jackets.  If you had “Boone Jenner” leading the team in goals, go buy a lottery ticket.  If you had him with more goals (6) than Alex Ovechkin (5), buy me a lottery ticket.  But there he is with six goals in ten games despite only 15 minutes a night in ice time.  He is already two-thirds of the way to his goal total for last year (9) in 31 games and is almost half way to his goal total of two years ago (16) in his 72-game rookie season.  Three of those goals have come in the Blue Jackets wins in the last two contests.  You might be thinking about some regression, though.  Through Wednesday’s games, his shooting percentage (26.1) was identical to that of Jaromir Jagr – six goals on 23 shots.  Jenner is 0-3-3, even, in six career games against Washington.

On the other end is Nick Foligno.  After a season in which he posted a career high 31 goals, 42 assists, 73 points, and plus-16; a season in which he signed a six-year contract extension for $33 million; Foligno is stuck on one goal, five points, and a minus-9 after ten games.  He has one point (an assist) in his last five games and skated a season low of 15:01 in the Blue Jackets last game, a 3-1 win at New Jersey.  He is five games without a goal, and counting.  Foligno is 6-11-17, plus-6, in 23 career games against the Capitals.

So…what about Bob?  Three seasons ago, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky won 21 games in 38 appearances, posting a 2.00 goals against average and a .932 save percentage while recording four shutouts.  It was good enough to earn him the Vezina Trophy as the league’s outstanding goaltender.  Two seasons ago, he won 32 games in 58 appearances, but his number slipped a bit – 2.38 goals against average, a .923 save percentage, and five shutouts.  He finished tied for eighth in the Vezina voting.  Last season he slipped some more – 30 wins in 51 games, a 2.69 goals against, a .918 save percentage, and two shutouts.  He received no votes for the Vezina Trophy.  This season he is off to a poor start – 2-6-0, 3.99, .864 in eight appearances, but that might be worse than it sounds.  He allowed four or more goals in each of his first five appearances, losing all of them with a goals against of 5.07 and a save percentage of .835.  In his last three appearances he has not come all the way back, but his 2.35 goals against and .914 save percentage, not to mention both Columbus wins so far, look more like a bona fide NHL goaltender.  In ten career appearances against Washington, Bobrovsky is 4-2-3, 3.17, .905.

Here is how the teams compare overall:

1.  One of the confounding things about Columbus’ slow start is that they have been a good possession team.  Despite their 2-8-0 record, they rank seventh in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (52.4).  Ah, but there is the matter of how they do in close score situations, and there things are far less rosy.  The Blue Jackets rank 22nd (48.4).  Put another way, Columbus might want to start with the third period, where they are best in the league overall (61.2) and fourth in close score situations (61.1; all numbers from war-on-ice.com).

2.  Columbus has one player in “plus” territory.  We will give you a moment to try and guess who it is…

… Cody Goloubef.  The 2008 second round pick is a plus-1 in six games.

3.  Columbus acquired David Clarkson from the Toronto Maple Leafs late last season for Nathan Horton.  Horton, who has not played a game since the 2013-2014 season, might be the better part of that deal.  Clarkson played three games for the Blue Jackets last season and has appeared in six games so far this season without having yet recorded a goal for his new club.

4.  Since John Tortorella took over behind the Columbus bench, they have outscored opponents by a 5-1 margin in the third period of games after being outscored by an 18-7 margin in the third periods of games before his arrival.

5.  One thing that remains a work in progress, and something that has ominous overtones for the Blue Jackets in this game, is their penalty kill.  Only the Buffalo Sabres (69.6 percent) are worse than Columbus (69.7 percent), and they are tied for the seventh-highest number of shorthanded situations faced (33).  They have allowed at least one power play goal in seven of their ten games.

1.  Through Wednesday's games, the only teams with more points from defensemen than the Caps (21) were Nashville (23) and Montreal (24).

2.  Washington is third in the league in special teams index, the sum of their power play and penalty killing percentages (113.2).  Only the New York Islanders (116.2) and the Dallas Stars (118.5) are ranked higher.

3.  Jay Beagle has won 59.3 percent of the faceoff he has taken.  The rest of the team: 40.5 percent.  Yeesh.

4.  Only two teams have logged less power play time than the Caps (38:48).  Winnipeg (38:29) and Toronto (36:21) are those two teams.

5.  The Caps have had rather consistent possession numbers over the course of games overall.  Their Corsi-for percentages at 5-on-5 are 54.2 in the first period, 53.6 in the second period, and 51.4 in the third period.  they are one of seven teams with Corsi-for over 50 percent in all three periods overall at 5-on-5.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Columbus: Ryan Johansen

Last season, Ryan Johansen signed a three-year/$12 million contract at the end of training camp to end what had become an increasingly contentious negotiation between the player and club.  He justified the deal by playing in all 82 games for the second consecutive year while posting 26 goals and 71 points, one of only 16 players in the league to finish with more than 70 points.  This season, the every-game-played streak has come to an end.  Johansen missed the last two games with an undisclosed illness, that coming on the heels of medical issues he has to deal with over the summer.  He is expected to play against Washington on Friday, though.  Columbus could use him.  He had a goal and six points in eight games before his absence from the lineup. And, that goal and six points came in his first five games of the season.  He was without a point in the three games leading up to his being taken out of the lineup.  Johansen is 4-4-8, minus-1, in ten career games against the Capitals.

Washington: Alex Ovechkin

Here is a number no one saw coming with respect to Alex Ovechkin: “zero.”  As in no power play goals in seven games this season.  Ovechkin, who in ten seasons before this year posted almost 50 percent more power play goals (176) than the second-place player on the list (Thomas Vanek with 118), scored his last regular season power play goal in the last regular season game last year, against the New York Rangers. Perhaps the threat of Alex Ovechkin on the man advantage is the next step in his and the team’s evolution, and the club hasn’t really suffered much from his absence on the power play goal-scoring sheet.  But Ovechkin remains the most powerful power play weapon in the league, and one suspects that he, who has only once finished a season shooting less than 10.8 percent on the power play, will add his customary contributions.  In 17 career games against Columbus, Ovechkin is 12-1-13, minus-8.

In the end…

John Tortorella might be a pain in the backside, but he is a motivator, and he appears to have the Blue Jackets more motivated than they appeared to be under Todd Richards.  That means you can take that 2-8-0 record and stuff it in the disposal.  The only records that matter are that the Blue Jackets are 2-1-0 under Tortorella, and that they have outscored their opponents by a 5-1 margin in the third periods of those three games.  The Caps had better be better prepared to play a full 60 minutes than they were at times against Pittsburgh on Wednesday.  This being a getaway game right before a trip to Florida the following night, the Caps will certainly want to end the brief two-game home stand on a high note.

Capitals 4 – Blue Jackets 2

Washington Capitals Recap: A NO-Point Night: Penguins 3 - Capitals 1

 The Washington Capitals came into Wednesday night’s contest with the Pittsburgh Penguns on a five-game winning streak, their longest since they put together an eight-game winning streak late in the 2012-2013 season. The five-game streak would not become six as the Penguins put down the Caps, 3-1.

A scoreless game through two periods, the Caps broke through early in the third period on what looked like a harmless shot. Evgeny Kuznetsov weaved his way up ice out of the Capitals’end, slowly backing off the Penguin defense. As he got to the top of the left wing circle in the Pittsburgh end, he snapped a low shot that grazed the stick of defenseman Olli Maatta, then deflected off the skate of defenseman Rob Scuderi before sliding between the pads of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Caps a 1-0 lead 89 seconds into the period.

The cheers barely subsided when the game was tied. Beau Bennett took a feed from Nick Bonino and got behind the Caps’ defense. His initial shot was stopped by Braden Holtby, but he was all alone to follow up and put home his own rebound just 24 seconds after the Kuznetsov goal.

Phil Kessel broke the tie less than two minutes later, taking a brilliant feed from Evgeni Malkin through the legs of defenseman Karl Alzner at the top of the Capitals’ crease and sending the puck past Holtby’s left pad.

Bonino ended the scoring with an empty net goal with 1:43 left to leave the Caps and their fans quiet and in search of starting a new winning streak.

Other stuff…

-- For all the lack of scoring early, it was not a matter of low shot volumes. The teams combined for 27 shots on goal in the first period, 14 for Pittsburgh and 13 for Washington.

-- On the other hand, the four goals in the third period scored by the two teams came on a total of only 14 shots, seven for each team.

-- The Caps finished with their fifth straight game allowing 25 or fewer shots. They have allowed the fewest shots on goal per game in the league (24.3).

-- With the goal, Evgeny Kuznetsov extended his points streak to four games, tying his longest in the NHL, set last season.

-- The Caps came into this contest with a home power play hitting at 35.7 percent (5-for-14). They went 0-for-3 in this game despite getting seven shots on goal.

-- The Caps could have found themselves in a hole early, taking three penalties in the first nine minutes of the contest, including a pair that put the Penguins on a 5-on-3 power play for 1:45. The Caps held the Penguins to just three power play shots on goal.

-- The TKO line that combined for three goals, nine points and 13 shots on goal against Edmonton last week was a bit quieter in this game.  T.J. Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, and Evgeny Kuznetsov were a combined 1-0-1 (Kuznetsov’s goal) with another 13 shots on goal.

-- Braden Holtby’s save percentage at 5-on-5 was .889.  That makes it three games in his past four in which his 5-on-5 save percentage was under .900 after starting the season with three games at .900 or higher at fives.

-- This was just the second game in eight for the Caps in which neither team recorded a power play goal.  The other was a 6-2 win against the Calgary Flames on October 20th. 

-- Although the Caps did not gain any ground on either of the New York teams ahead of them in the Metropolitan Division standings, the Caps are two points ahead of the pace they had last season after eight games (4-2-2).

In the end…

It’s not the end of the world, Caps fans. There are still 74 games left in the season and four more against the Penguins.  Pittsburgh played a decent road game, despite getting no production out of Sidney Crosby, who is now without a point in eight of the nine games in which he has played.  As has been the case more often than not this season, the key on the Penguin side of the ice was the play of Marc-Andre Fleury.  The Caps played well enough to hold their own (their shot attempts were 11 more than the Pens, 66-55), but the Penguins got better results in net. 

The trick in these things is always to keep “one” loss from becoming “two in a row,” especially at home, where the Caps will host Columbus on Friday before heading to Florida on Saturday.  It means looking forward, not dwelling on this outcome.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 8: Penguins at Capitals, October 28

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals return to the ice after a four-day hiatus when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins before a national television audience on Wednesday night.  The Caps will be returning to the kindly confines of Verizon Center having yielded the top spot in the Metropolitan Division during their time off that they captured off their 3-0-0 road trip.

For the Penguins, the season’s opening weeks have been a challenge.  When Pittsburgh sent Kasperi Kapanen, Nick Spaling, Scott Harrington, and two conditional draft picks to Toronto for Phil Kessel, Tim Erixon, Tyler Biggs, and a draft pick, many prognosticators felt that the addition of the high-scoring Kessel to a lineup that included Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin would give the Penguins a needed goal-scoring injection on the wing to play alongside the talented centers.  People were speculating about penciling in Kessel for 30 goals…  40 goals...  even 50 goals playing alongside Crosby. 

Things have not turned out so well, at least early.  Kessel is tied for the team lead in goals (three, with Malkin), but it is the team lead on a club on which no other skater than Kessel or Malkin has more than one goal, and only one of Kessel’s goals to date featured an assist from Crosby (a secondary assist on a goal in a 3-2 overtime win over the Florida Panthers on October 20^th).  By the time the Penguins visited the Nashville Predators last Saturday, Crosby and Kessel were split up, Kessel put on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Plotnikov, and Crosby centering Pascal Dupuis and Patric Hornqvist.  Kessel scored the game-winner in 3-on-3 overtime on a singular effort, with a of subtle trips from Malkin on Filip Forsberg at the Predator blue line:

While Kessel is still settling in, Crosby and Malkin have gone in different directions on the score sheet.  Malkin leads the team in total scoring (3-4-7) in addition to being tied with Kessel in goals.  However, even the seven points in eight games is below Malkin’s career points-per-game average (1.19).  The ray of sunshine there is that all of Malkin’s seven points to date have come in his last six games.  Scoring has not been much of a problem for Malkin over his career against Washington.  He is 9-33-42, plus-1, in 29 career games.

On the other hand, Crosby has struggled in the early going.  With one goal and three points, Crsoby is off to the slowest eight-game start of his career.  Only once in his ten previous seasons did he fail to reach double digits in points over his first eight games, going 4-3-7 in 2009-2010.  He never recorded fewer than two goals in his first eight games of the season until this season.  More disturbing, all of Crosby’s scoring to date came in putting up a goal and two assists in that 3-2 overtime win over Florida on October 20^th.  He does not yet have a point on the road (three games).  The ominous part of this for Caps fans is that Washington is likely to have his full attention on Wednesday.  He is 18-33-51, plus-2 in 33 career games against the Capitals.

Marc-Andre Fleury is now in his 12^th season for the Penguins in goal.  The former first overall draft pick (2003) is the franchise leader in games played (603), wins (326), goals against average (2.58), save percentage (.912), and shutouts (39) among goalies appearing in at least 100 games for the Penguins.  He is arguably the Penguins’ most valuable player in the early going with a 2.02 goals against average and a .932 save percentage with one shutout in dressing for all eight games so far.  After dropping his first three decisions, Fleury is 4-1-0, 1.60, .944, with one shutout.  In 30 career games against the Caps, Fleury is 17-10-2, 2.50, .915, with three shutouts.

Here is how the teams compare so far (through Monday’s games)…

1.  The Penguins have only six players with more than one point, and that group includes the 38-year old Matt Cullen (two assists) and defenseman Rob Scuderi (two assists).  It does not include Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Patric Hornqvist, Olli Maatta, or Sergei Plotnikov.

2.  Pittsburgh and Vancouver are the only two clubs for whom the backup goaltender (Jeff Zatkoff for the Penguins, Richard Bachman for the Canucks) has not yet appeared.

3.  Pittsburgh has scored first in game four times and won each time.  They have trailed first in four games and lost each time.  Pretty simple math there.

4.  The Penguins’ special teams are struggling.  Their special teams index number, the combined success rate of their power play and penalty kill (91.7) ranks 23rd after Monday’s games, right between the Detroit Red Wings (93.9) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (91.2).  The difficulty lies in the power play, which is 2-for-28 (7.1 percent), 29^th in the league, ahead of only the Anaheim Ducks (5.3 percent).

5.  It is not as if there is a disconnection between Pittsburgh’s possession numbers and their performance numbers.  They rank 22^nd in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (48.4) and rank 23^rd in Corsi-for in close score situations (48.2) after Monday’s games.  Their Fenwick numbers are hardly different – 22nd overall (49.4) and 23rd in close score situations (48.7; numbers from war-on-ice.com).  Their 4-4-0 record and 29^th-ranked scoring offense (1.63) are not out of line.

1.  Only the New York Islanders have more players with five or more points this season through Monday’s games (10) than do the Caps (9).  It is worth noting that the Islanders have played nine games to seven for the Caps so far.

2.  Only Montreal has more players with at least three goals (6) than do the Caps (5).  Montreal has also played nine games.

3.  Intermissions are kind to the Capitals, as long as they are winning.  Four times they carried a lead into the first intermission, four times they won.  Four times they carried a lead into the second intermission, four times they won.  Simple math here, too.

4.  One would like to see the Caps improve on draws when shorthanded.  They rank 24th in the league at 40.4 percent wins.  Compare that to their faceoff winning percentage when on the power play (52.4 percent/15th).

5.  The Caps have the fourth best Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 in the Eastern Conference (52.9; numbers from war-on-ice.com).  Oddly enough, the three teams ahead of them – the Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets – are all under .500 and have a combined record of 4-19-2.  It’s early.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Pittsburgh: Sergei Plotnikov

The Kontinental Hockey League is not generally thought of as a development league for the NHL, but for Sergei Plotnikov, it provided some valuable experience before he embarked on an NHL career.  Plotnikov did show up on the North American radar as an amateur – he was drafted 53^rd overall by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the 2008 CHL Import Draft.  However, he was not drafted by any NHL club.  It left him to learn his craft in the KHL, where he played for six seasons.  After six seasons and 300 games in the KHL, the 25-year old signed an entry-level free agent contract with Pittsburgh last summer.  The thinking was having Plotnikov partnered with Evgeni Malkin.  That chemistry has yet to find itself, Plotkinov with one point in seven games, even though by last Saturday he was on a line with Malkin and Phil Kessel.  This will be his first game against the Capitals.

Washington: Matt Niskanen

In eight seasons before this one, defenseman Matt Niskanen had one better scoring start than his 2-3-5 start after seven games with the Caps.  That was in 2013-2014, when he got off to a 1-5-6 start after his first seven games with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  You might remember that season as the one in which Niskanen finished 10-36-46, plus-33 in 81 games, his career year in the NHL and the one that earned him a seven-year/$40.25 million contract with the Caps in the summer of 2014.  The odd thing about Niskanen’s scoring profile to date is that he has recorded points in every other game, starting with Opening Night.  That pattern would suggest he comes up empty against his former team on Wednesday.  On top of that, Niskanen has not recorded a single point in eight career games against the Penguins.  It is the only NHL team against which he has not recorded a career point.  The phrase, "he's due," comes to mind.

In the end…

It has been an odd start to the 2015-2016 season.  Out west, a team on the short list of potential Stanley Cup finalists – the Anaheim Ducks – are inspiring more conversation about who their next coach will be after their 1-5-2 start and their curious inability to score goals.  The Montreal Canadiens are perfect through nine games despite rather pedestrian possession numbers.  The Chicago Blackhawks appear to finally be suffering that post-championship hangover after three Cups in six seasons, holding a record of 6-3-0 at the moment but including wins against struggling Florida and Columbus and escaping with a pair of 1-0 overtime wins at home this week.  And there are the Pittsburgh Penguins, one party to perhaps the biggest deal of last summer, sitting at .500 and that more a product of superb goaltending than anything they are doing in the offensive end of the ice.

Meanwhile, there are the Washington Capitals humming along at 6-1-0.  While you can go up and down the television dial in search of reality shows like “Duck Dynasty (not)” or “The Phil Whisperer” or "At Home with the Blackhawkians," the Capitals are like that dependable procedural.  You know what you are going to get from episode to episode, from game to game.  The script might be predictable, but it works so far.

Capitals 3 – Penguins 2

Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was -- Week 2

The Washington Capitals took to the road for Week 2.  Last season, whether on the road (22-13-6) or at home (23-13-5), it made little difference whether home cooking was on the menu.  This week posed some special challenges for the Caps, though, as the schedule took them to western Canada, where wins have been hard to come by over the years.  So how did it work out?  Rather well.

Record: 3-0-0

The Capitals finished the week with the second best record in the Eastern Conference and best in the Metropolitan Division.  That is what a 3-0-0 week will do.  As in Week 1, there was an issue with their opponents’ strength of schedule.  The Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and Edmonton Oilers finished the week with a combined 8-9-3 record in games not played against Washington.  On the other hand, the Caps have had a history of difficulty in that part of the world.  Since the 2005-2006 lockout, the Caps had not recorded a perfect trip to western Canada.  In fact, Washington had not finished a western Canada tour above .500 on any of their five previous trips since the 2004-2005 lockout, going 4-8-1 overall (the Caps had two two-game trips over this span of time).

Offense:  5.33/game (season: /game 4.14; rank: 1st)

The 16 goals in three games in Week 2 are better than any three-game total of goals the Capitals had last season.   It is, in fact, the most goals scored in any three game span by the Caps in the regular season (not including shootout goals) since going 3-0-0 over the October 30 – November 5, 2010 period.  The Caps scored 16 goals in three games in beating the Calgary Flames (7-2), Toronto Maple Leafs (5-4 in a shootout), and Boston Bruins (5-3).  It was the first time they did it on a road trip since January 9-13, 2010, when they scored 16 goals in beating the Atlanta Thrashers (8-1), lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning (4-7), and beat the Florida Panthers (5-4 in a shootout).

Defense: 2.67/game (season: 2.57/game; rank: T-15th)

The goals against numbers are not impressive for Week 4, but the underlying numbers are.  The Caps finished all three games at 50 percent of better and the week as a whole with Corsi-for and Fenwick-for percentages north of 50 percent.  They dominated the Calgary Flames, posting overall 59.1 Corsi-for and 61.5 Fenwick-for, and recording 65.1 and 64.9, respectively, in close score situations.  The odd game of the week was the finale against the Edmonton Oilers.  Overall, the Caps were 50.0 percent in both Corsi-for and Fenwick-for overall, but they were dominant in close score situations, going 62.0 and 57.1, respectively.  The performance enabled the Caps to finish the week sixth overall in Corsi-for percentage for the season (52.9) and sixth in Corsi-for in close score situations (55.1; all numbers from war-on-ice.com)

Goaltending: 2.68 / .881 (season: 2.32 / .904)

It was not a great week, but it was not altogether bad, either.  The overall numbers, particularly the save percentage numbers, were weak, but that is caught up in the shot suppression at which the Caps were pretty good in Week 2 (67 total shots allowed in three games).  Braden Holtby got the nod for the first two games of the week and went 2-0-0, 2.00, .909.  He faced only 44 shots in two games, but his performance in stopping those shots divided into a so-so performance over the first two periods of games (.897 save percentage) and a much better third period performance (.933 save percentage). 

Philipp Grubauer got his first call of the season to close Week 2, and he had results similar to Holtby.  He was touched for four goals on 18 shots over the first 40 minutes of the Caps’ contest with the Edmonton Oilers (.778 save percentage), but he stopped all five shots in the third period of the Caps’ 7-4 win.

Power Play: 2-for-9 / 22.2 percent (season: 31.8 percent; rank: 2nd)

The Caps got off to a rough start on the power play in Week 2, in part with a problem that they had to deal with last season – few opportunities.  The Caps drew a blank on five power play chances in the first two games of the week.  Against Calgary and Vancouver, Washington was 0-for-5 shooting in 8:25 of total power play time.  They turned things around against Edmonton, twice scoring on their only shot of a power play, going 2-for-4 in opportunities and shooting 2-for-4 in 5:07 of power play time.  As it was it salvaged what ended up being a good, not great week on the man advantage, going 2-for-9 in opportunities and shooting 2-for-9 in 13:32 of total ice time (0.66 shots per minute).

Penalty Killing: 9-for-11 / 81.8 percent (season: 83.3 percent; rank: 15th)

It would have been a week in which the old saying, “the best penalty kill is not having to kill penalties,” had some merit if the week ended on Thursday.  The Caps faced only five shorthanded situations in the first two games of the week, stopping both of Calgary’s opportunities and killing off two of three Vancouver power plays.  The Caps held the Flames and Canucks to four power play shots on goal in 9:03 of power play ice time, a rather impressive result.

The problem the Capitals faced on the penalty kill in their last game of the week, against the Edmonton Oilers, was having to kill so many power plays.  Edmonton was awarded six power plays on Friday night, including a brief (eight-second) 5-on-3 advantage.   What the Caps managed to do, even here, was keep Edmonton pucks from getting to the net.  Washington allowed only four shots in 9:50 of Oiler power play ice time.  For the week, the Caps allowed two goals on eight shots in 18:53 of power play ice time (0.42 shots per minute).

Even Strength 5-on-5 Goals for/Goals Against: 14-6 / plus-8 (season, 5-on-5 goals for percentage: 64.5%; rank: 4th)

The Capitals dominated the five-on-five results for the week, and it was a case of being more dominant over the course of games.  They outscored their three opponents by a 4-3 margin in the first periods of games (57.1 percent for), by a 6-2 margin in the second periods (75.0 percent for), and by a 4-1 margin in the third period (80.0 percent for).

Washington spread their even strength scoring around in Week 2.  Nine different players recorded goals, and 14 different players recorded points at even strength.  The Caps were led here by Evgeny Kuznetsov, who went 2-6-8 at even strength for the week.  The Caps’ shooting percentage was superb, going 14-for-77 over the three games (18.2 percent).

Faceoffs: 82-for-172 /47.7 percent (season: 49.3% / rank: 20th)

Overall, it was not a good week in the circle for the Caps, but there are the aggregate numbers (47.7 percent wins for the week), and there is the fact that Washington was over 50 percent in two of the three games.  The problem was getting schooled in the faceoff arts in Vancouver, where the Caps managed only 16 wins in 46 draws (34.8 percent).

The Caps had similar results by zone.  They finished at 50 percent or worse in each of the three zones for the week, but largely the product of poor performances in each zone in the middle game of the week against the Canucks.  If there was a bright spot here, it was the performance of Jay Beagle.  He finished the week winning 22 of 34 draws (64.7 percent), leaving him at the top of the league rankings among players taking at least 30 draws (63.7 percent).

Goals by Period:

The Caps could be said to have applied consistent pressure over the course of games in Week 2.  While that would be true, what set Week 2 apart was the Caps’ performance in the second period of the last game of the week.  Coming off a game the previous night in Vancouver, the Capitals took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission, then allowed a game-tying goal in the first minute of the second period against the Edmonton Oilers.  Washington scored three goals in a span of 5:32 to create separation from the Oilers on their way to the 7-4 win that closed the week.  The other noteworthy fact in scoring by period for the week was at the other end – one goal allowed in three third periods of games, that coming late in the Caps’ win over the Oilers.

In the end…

Three wins, outscoring opponents by a 16-8 margin, doing it all on the road in what has been, for the Caps, a particularly hostile environment over the years.  You would have to say, “well done.”  No week is perfect (ok, unless you are the Montreal Canadiens these days), but this is just about as good as it gets for a road trip.  The offensive balance was particularly striking.  Nine players had three or more points (that is, at least a point per game) for the week.  Nine different players recorded goals.  Washington had 12 different multi-point games from eight different players. 

The Caps are now off until they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night in a national television game.  On the one hand, they have earned a couple of days off before getting back on the rink for practice on Monday.  On the other, one would like to see the Caps sustain the momentum they generated from Week 2.  It is a long season, though.  Let’s just savor the moment.

Three Stars:

1. First Star: Evgeny Kuznetsov (3-6-9, plus-5, first career hat trick, first career five-point game, tied for fourth in league scoring)
2. Second Star: Alex Ovechkin (2-3-5, plus-3, broke 29-game streak without recording multi-assist game, tied for eighth in goals)
3. Third Star: John Carlson (0-5-5, plus-2, tied for first among NHL defensemen in scoring, tied for first in power play points)

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 7 - Oilers 4

The Washington Capitals defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 7-4, on Friday night, a game that called back memories of 1980’s shootouts.  You can read our recap of the contest over at Japers’ Rink, but we had a few more thoughts on the game…

-- This was the first time in six tries since the 2005-2006 lockout that the Caps were perfect in their western Canada road trip against the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks.  The previous results were:

• 2006-2007: 1-1-1
• 2009-2010: 1-1-0 (played Vancouver and Edmonton)
• 2011-2012: 0-2-2 (played Vancouver and Edmonton)
• 2013-2014: 1-2-0
• 2014-2015: 1-2-0

-- With two assists, Ovechkin broke a 29-game streak not having a multi-assist game.

-- The Caps have won every game in which they scored, a perfect 6-for-6. Montreal is only other team that can say that at the moment.

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov had a fine time in Alberta.  He went into this game not having recorded a point in either of his previous two games in the western province.  This time around, he was 3-4-7, plus-5, in Calgary (0-3-3, plus-1) and Edmonton (3-4-7, plus-4).

-- Kuznetsov is now second in the league in scoring (3-8-11) to Boston’s David Krejci (5-7-12).  He is tied for third in assists.

-- John Carlson happens to be one of the players with whom Kuznetsov is tied with in assists.  H leads all NHL defensemen in points (2-8-10).

-- The six power plays allowed by the Caps to the Oilers is their high for the season. 

-- Washington is now the top scoring offense in the league at 4.14 goals per game.

-- Here is an odd fact.  This is the second straight time and third in the last four instances in which the Capitals scored seven goals, and Alex Ovechkin did not have any of them.  Before this game, the Caps beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-0, on November 1, 2013, without Ovechkin recording a goal, and they beat the Detroit Red Wings, 7-1, on November 22, 2011, without Ovechkin lighting the lamp.  In between, the Caps beat the Florida Panthers on March 7, 2013, by a 7-1 margin with Ovechkin scoring a power play goal.

-- This was the first time Philipp Grubauer allowed four or more goals in a road game since he allowed five in a 5-2 loss on Long Island to the New York Islanders on March 9, 2013.  Granted, he only played in nine road games since that Islander loss before this game.

In the end…

Three games in the west against three different kinds of teams; it could have gone poorly.  Instead, the Caps are coming home on top of the Metropolitan Division (6-1-0) and second to the still unbeaten Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference.  In their three-game road trip, the Caps displayed a deep and prolific offense.  They recorded 12 multi-point games from eight different players: Alex Ovechkin (2), Justin Williams (2), Nicklas Backstrom (2), Evgeny Kuznetsov (2), Jay Beagle, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson, and T.J. Oshie.  At the moment, this team can win in different ways and with many players capable of contributing.  It is a formidable mix.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 7: Capitals at Oilers, October 23

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals wind up their three-game road trip on Friday night when they visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. 

Edmonton comes into this contest on a roll.  After dropping their first four decisions of the season, all by multi-goal margins, they have won their last three contests.  It was a case of improvement at both ends of the ice.  The offense averaged just 1.25 goals per game in their four losses, but pumped that up to 3.33 goals per game in the three wins.  Similarly on defense, the Oilers allowed 3.25 goals per game in their four-game losing streak to start the season, but allowed only 1.33 goals per game in their three-game winning streak.

The scoring offense is led by a trio of first overall draft picks.  Taylor Hall is the old man of the group, drafted first overall by the Oilers in 2010.  At the ripe old age of 23, Hall has two goals and two assists, good for third on the club in goals and points.  In Hall’s case, the production is largely the product of one big night.  His three-point night against the Calgary Flames last Saturday (1-2-3) led the Oilers to a 5-2 win that ended their four-game losing streak.  Hall has not really developed his game to a consistent level envisioned for him when he was drafted first overall in 2010. He did have an 80-point season in 2013-2014 that suggested he was on the brink of being an elite player.  Last year, however, his season was marred by leg injuries – first a knee injury, then a fractured ankle – that limited him to 53 games and 38 points.  Hall has one goal – his only point – in four career games against Washington. 

Nail Yakupov is another first overall pick whose development path has been bumpy.  He is currently tied for the team lead in points (six), and he comes into this game on a three-game scoring streak (2-3-5 in those games).  The six-point start in seven games is his best seven-game start in his four-year career to date.  He has yet to take even that first big step into the upper echelon of offensive players.  He did set a career high in points last season, but 33 points for a first overall draft pick in his fourth season was probably not what the Oilers had in mind when they made their selection in 2012.  Yakupov has one assist – his only point – in three career games against the Capitals.

Then there is Connor McDavid.  The first overall pick in last June’s entry draft is tied for the team lead in points (6) and leads the team in goals (4).  Although he is tied for second in goal scoring and tied for fourth in points among rookies, he has points in four of his last five games after starting his career without a point in his first two contests.  That 30.8 percent shooting mark certainly stands out.  Sustainable?  Not likely, but still.

Here is how the teams compare overall:

1.  Edmonton has four number one overall picks of their own on their roster.  In addition to Hall, Yakupov, and McDavid, there is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who happens to also be the fourth number one overall pick on the roster with at least two goals.

2.  The only multi-goal scorer not to be a number one overall pick on the Edmonton roster is Lauri Korpikoski, a mere 19^th overall pick of the New York Rangers in 2004.  Edmonton is Korpikoski’s third team in eight seasons.

3.  Edmonton is certainly a forward-dominated team on the scoreboard.  Oscar Klefbom is the only defenseman with a goal so far for the Oilers.

4.  The Oilers have had stability on the blue line in terms of their top five defensemen.  Each of five defensemen have appeared in all seven games to date.  That sixth defenseman slot, though.  Three players – Andrew Ference, Griffin Reinhart, and Brandon Davidson have split the seven games to date.

5.  As much skill as Edmonton has, their possession numbers…well, stink.  The Oilers are 29^th in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (45.4), 26^th in close score situations (43.8).

1.  T.J. Oshie had a three-game personal points streak snapped against Vancouver, despite recording five shots on goal, his second highest total in six games to date.

2.  Alex Ovechkin might rank tenth in shots on goal over all (28), but his 5.6 shots per game is higher than any of the nine players ahead of him in total shots.

3.  Only two players in the league have more assists than Evgeny Kuznetsov without recording a goal.  Kuznetsov has six assists and no goals; Martin Hanzal has nine and none, while Erik Karlsson has eight and none.

4.  Phillipp Grubauer is likely to get the call in this game in relief of Braden Holtby in goal.  It is borderline amazing that he has only seven wins in 18 career decisions with a save percentage of .924.

5.  The Caps are third in the league in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (53.4), sixth in close scroe situations (53.9).  It makes up a bit for a power play that has come empty on the road in two games so far (0-for-5).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Edmonton: Cam Talbot

Remember this guy?  Backup goalie extraordinare for the New York Rangers for two seasons.  Traded to Edmonton with a draft pick for three draft picks going back to New York (none of them a first rounder).   He has been good in his first stint as a number one netminder.  His goals against average (2.23) and save percentage (.920) have been very respectable, but they are actually lower than his career numbers with the Rangers (2.00 and .931, respectively).  He has allowed more than two goals just once in five appearances, giving up four in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on October 15^th.  In three career appearances against the Caps he is 1-2-0, 2.69, .914.

Washington: Justin Williams

Justin Williams is looking for that first goal with his new team.  It is early to be squeezing the stick – he did have a ten-game streak without a goal for the Los Angeles Kings early last season – but the Caps and Williams would like to see some contributions on the scoreboard from that spot on the right side.  He has chipped in four assists, third on the team behind Kuznetsov (6) and John Carlson (5), and his overall possession numbers are fine (55.8 percent Corsi-for at 5-on-5; numbers from war-on-ice.com).  In 29 career games against the Oilers, Williams is 3-8-11, plus-8.

In the end…

You are only as good as your last game, and while a 2-1-0 road trip would be good, a win to end the trip and go 3-0-0 would be so much better.  The Caps have it in them to do so, but this game provides a special sort of challenge.  A team can get caught up in paying too much attention to the big-name rookie, or get caught up in a track meet with the highly skilled Oiler forwards.  But, for the team that tends to business and bends the pace of the game to their preference, the Oilers are neither deep enough or good enough in their own end to cope.  That is something the Caps have done quite well so far, and there is no reason to think this game will be anything but that.

Capitals 4 – Oilers 2

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 3 - Canucks 2

The Washington Capitals went into Vancouver looking for their first win against the Canucks in British Columbia since Valentine’s Day 2001.  They got contributions from unexpected sources to keep them in the contest, then they got another jolt from a reliable source as they ended their six-game losing streak in Vancouver, 3-2.

It started well enough for the Caps, who took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on a goal by Jason Chimera, who beat defenseman Mark Bartkowski down the middle of the ice to redirect a centering pass from Jay Beagle past goalie Ryan Miller.

The second period was less kind to the visitors.  Radim Vrbata and Henrik Sedin scored ten minutes apart to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead that they took into the locker room after 40 minutes.

Beagle scored a goal of his own in the sixth minute of the third period to tie the game.  It was part persistence and part odd luck for Beagle.  A shot by John Carlson appeared to handcuff Miller who did not stop it cleanly.  The puck flipped into the air, and Miller could only get a piece of it as he waved his arm at it.  With the puck still in mid-air, Beagle nudged it gently into the net, and the score was tied.

That set the stage for some late heroics from the Captain.  It was a thunderbolt of a play that started deep in the Washington end.  From behind his own net, Dmitry Orlov sent the puck long up the right side to Evgeny Kuznetsove just outside the Vancouver blue line.  Kuznetsov collected the puck, curled into the Canucks’ zone, then ladled a pass to Alex Ovechkin at the left wing circle.  Ovechkin one-timed the puck hard past Miller, and the Caps had their final margin of victory, 3-2.

Other stuff…

-- Goals in five consecutive games to start the season is a career first, even for Alex Ovechkin.

-- Jay Beagle’s two-point game was his first since March 7^th of last season, and it was the fifth multi-point game of his career.

-- Nicklas Backstrom might have had his worst day ever in the faceoff circle.  He finished 2-for-17 (11.8 percent).  He was 1-for-10 against Brandon Sutter, 1-for-3 against Henrik Sedin, and 0-for-4 against Bo Horvat.

-- It is starting to look like one of those “on” years for Jason Chimera in his puzzling on-again off-again cycle of goal scoring.  With three in six games, including the goal in this game, he is almost half-way to his total for last season (7).

-- The power play goal by Henrik Sedin was Vancouver’s second power play goal of the season.  Going 1-for-3 on the night, they are now 2-for-23 this season (8.7 percent).

-- The power play goal allowed by the Caps broke a three-game streak without having allowed one.  They had not allowed a power play goal since doing so in their only loss of the season so far, a 5-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 2.

-- The Caps had an uncommon ability to get pucks to the net.in this game.  They had only 46 shot attempts overall, but recorded 35 shots on goal.

-- It’s one thing for a very green rookie to have his fourth line ice time cut back in the third period.  Chandler Stephenson skated only two shifts in the third period, none in the last 10:37. Brooks Laich is a different matter.  He skated three shifts in the last period, only one in the last 10:31, that coming in the last minute of play.

-- Braden Holtby dropped his goals against to 2.03 in this game, putting him in the top-ten among goalies appearing in at least four games so far.  His save percentage (.917) ranks 19^th in that group of goalies.

-- The Caps spread their scoring around, getting nine points from eight players (Beagle the only two-point player).

In the end…

Nice road game.  Two nice road games, in fact. Check this off as another instance of the Caps taking care of business and getting a monkey off their back – not winning in Vancouver in more than a decade.  Doing it with third liners figuring heavily in the scoring speaks to the depth of this team, at least at this early juncture of the season.  The Caps looked a bit leaky on both goals allowed, Evgeny Kuznetsov permitting Radim Vrbata to step around him a little too easily on Vrbata’s goal, and Holtby not getting to the near post quite in time to foil Henrik Sedin’s power play shot.  But in the end, the Caps were tight when they had to be, and they had something Vancouver – no team, in fact – has.  That goal-scoring machine on the left wing.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 6: Capitals at Canucks, October 22

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals, fresh off of their 6-2 dismantling of the Calgary Flames, head to Vancouver to face the Canucks on Thursday night in the middle game of their three-game road trip.  Washington brings a three-game winning streak into this contest, outscoring opponents by a 14-4 margin in the process, while Vancouver enters the game on a two-game losing streak (one in overtime) after winning three of their first four games of the season.

Unlike the Capitals, who have been scoring at a smart pace so far as the top-scoring team in the league at 3.80 goals per game (through Tuesday’s games), Vancouver has been struggling to light the lamp.  The Canucks come into this game ranked 18th in scoring offense (2.50 goals per game) and have just ten goals scored in their last five games.

At an individual level, part of the problem in the offensive end is the un-Sedin like way the Sedin brothers are playing.  They came into this season with a spooky similarity in their career numbers.  Henrik was 211-704-915 in 1,092 career games (0.84 points per game), while brother Daniel came into the season 327-554-881 in 1,061 games (0.83 points per game).  Through six games this season, their paths have diverged a bit.  Daniel is 2-2-4, plus-3 through six games, while Henrik is 1-1-2, plus-4.  Neither have a power play point despite each averaging more than three minutes per game on the man advantage, tops among Vancouver forwards.  Both have had their success against the Caps, Henrik going 2-9-11, plus-4 in 15 career games against the Caps, Daniel going 7-5-12, plus-4 in 14 games against Washington.

Bo Horvat was taken as the ninth overall pick by the Canucks in the 2013 entry draft.  He made the jump to the NHL last season for Vancouver, appearing in 68 games and finishing the season 13-12-25.  He added another goal and three assists in the postseason and finished 11^th in voting for the Calder Trophy for top rookie.   He is off to something of a slow start this season with just one goal to account for his point production, despite averaging almost five more minutes of ice time per game (16:55) than he averaged last season (12:16).  He had an assist in his only career appearance against the Caps last season.

The Caps need no introduction to goalie Ryan Miller.  In 30 career games against Washington, Miller is 17-12-0, 2.50, .916, with three shutouts.  If anything, he has been better in a Vancouver uniform than as a Buffalo Sabre or a St. Louis Blue.  In two seasons with Vancouver, Miller is 4-1-0 in five appearances with a 1.75 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.  He has appeared in each of the Canucks’ first six games this season, and allowed two or fewer goals in four of those appearances.  Overall he is 3-1-2, 1.80, .935, with one shutout.

Here is how the two teams stack up against each other to date:

1.  About that Vancouver power play.  At the moment it does not seem to have sufficient wattage to power an appliance bulb.  The Canucks are 28th in a 30-team league on their 1-for-20 (5.0 percent) effort so far.  Their 1-for-30 shooting on the power play (3.3 percent) is anemic, and really… Bo Horvat (his only goal of any kind for the season) from Sven Baertschi and Ben Hutton?  That’s your power play goal?

2. Vancouver has not done well early in games.  They scored first just twice in six games and took a lead into the first intermission once. 

3.  On the other hand, the Canucks have been tight in the defensive end late in games.  Only the Montreal Canadiens have allowed fewer third period goals (1) than the two allowed by Vancouver.

4.  Three players currently with the Canucks have appeared in more than 600 games with the team.  There are, of course, the Sedin brothers.  The third is Alexandre Burrows, who has played each of his 694 career games in Vancouver.  He is one of 14 players in 45 years of franchise history to record at least 170 goals and 170 assists (he has 176 of the former, 170 of the latter).   Oddly enough, the Capitals are the only team in the NHL against which he has never scored a goal.  He has one assist in ten career games against Washington.

5.  Vancouver might have a winning record at 3-1-2, but they are not doing it on the basis of their possession numbers.  The Canucks rank 26^th in the league in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (46.0).  It is better in close score situations, but not by a lot.  At 48.4 percent in such situations, Vancouver ranks 21^st (numbers from war-on-ice.com)

1.  The Capitals are one of four teams having two defensemen with four or more points.  John Carlson (2-4-6) and Matt Niskanen (2-2-4) are the Caps’ representatives on that list.  Washington, the Dallas Stars, and the Ottawa Senators are the only teams in the league with four players having played in four or more games and averaging at least a point per game.  For the Caps, that foursome is: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, and T.J. Oshie.

2.  Last year through five games Tom Wilson had 11 penalty minutes on his record.  Through five games this season: none.

3.  Only seven teams have allowed fewer goals at 5-on-5 than the Caps (8).  One of them happens to be Vancouver (7).

4.  If you are going to be awarded a power play, it is good for possession to win draws and not spend precious time chasing down the puck.  The Caps, who have the league’s third-best power play (31.3 percent) have won 60 percent of their man-advantage faceoffs (18-for-30).

5.  Washington is now fourth in the league in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (53.6 percent).  They are not quite as highly-ranked in close score situations (54.6/seventh).  They are, however, strong early – 56.0 percent in the first period, 54.4 percent in the second period (all numbers from war-on-ice.com).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Vancouver: Brandon Sutter

Eight years ago this past summer, Brandon Sutter was climbing the stair to the stage as the 11^th over all pick of the draft, taken by the Carolina Hurricanes.  Now in his eighth NHL season, Sutter is on his third team and his first season with the Vancouver Canucks.  Last season, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sutter tied a career high in goals with 21, fourth on the team.  Perhaps the Penguins thought it was wise to trade him at the top of his game, because Sutter was sent to Vancouver along with a third-round draft pick in 2016 for Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening, and a second-round pick in 2016.  The early returns of Sutter are decent, he is 2-3-5, plus-4, in six games.  They might be better with a bit more consistency.  Sutter has been something of an all-or-nothing player at the offensive end with two multi-point games (1-1-2 in the opener against Calgary and 1-2-3 against St. Louis last Friday) nd four games without a point.  He already has 31 career games against the Caps, the most he has played against any team, going 3-6-9, plus-5. 

Washington: John Carlson

John Carlson is still just 25 years old, but he appears to be taking the next step on his climb into the elite category of defensemen in the NHL.  Five games into the season he is tied for second in scoring among defensemen (2-4-6) and is tied for first in goals (2).  In his last 82 games he is 14-43-57, plus-14.  Over the last two seasons he is fourth in points/60 minutes at 5-on-5 among 140 defensemen playing at least 1,000 5-on-5 minutes (numbers from war-on-ice.com).  If there is a place where he could stand some further improvement, it might be in his possession numbers.  In that same group of 140 defensemen, Carlson ranks 52^nd in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (51.8).  But even here there is a good side.  In close score situations, Carlson ranks 13^th in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (50.4).  In six career games against the Canucks, Carlson is 2-4-6, plus-1.

In the end…

It says in the media guide that the Caps hold a 40-39-9-1 edge in the all-time series against Vancouver.   Unfortunately, Washington is only 16-22-5-1 in Vancouver and has lost six consecutive games there (0-5-1).  Theiir last win in Vancouver was back on Valentine’s Day 2001, a 4-3 win in overtime on a goal (his second of the game) by Adam Oates.  It was part of a 22-game run in which the Caps went 17-1-2-1.

The Caps head into Vancouver on a bit of a hot streak.  Not hot like in 2001, but four wins in five tries is something nice to start the season.  To win this game the Caps would seem to need to keep the Vancouver power play from waking up, and to find a way to solve Ryan Miller when they have the man-advantage.  Sounds as good as any way for the Caps to win.

Capitals 3 – Canucks 2

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 6 - Flames 2

The Washington Capitals got their first road trip of the season off to a fine start by spotting the Calgary Flames an early goal, then roaring back with four consecutive scores on their way to a 6-2 win at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday evening.

The Flames opened the scoring at the nine-minute mark when Sean Monahan forced a turnover in the Capitals’ end, circled to the slot, and converted a pass from Johnny Gaudreau to make it 1-0. After that, it was just about all Caps.

Andre Burakovsky tied the game late in the first period, the beneficiary of some good work by Evgeny Kuznetsov. Dennis Wideman had the puck taken off his stick by Kuznetsov, who then began to circle behind the Calgary net. Instead of completing the circuit with the puck, he backhanded it behind him to Burakovsky, filling in where Kuznetsov departed. Burakovsky snapped the puck into the short side of the net before goalie Karri Ramo could scramble back across after tracking Kuznetsov circling behind his net.

The Caps scored three times in the second period, first on a goal by Alex Ovechkin just 30 seconds into the period. Ovechkin skated into the Calgary zone down the left side and dialed his own number from the top of the left wing circle. Ramo made the initial stop but looked in the wrong direction for the puck. Ovechkin jumped up and batted the rebound into the cage from a sharp angle for his fourth goal in four games and his 900^th career point.

Nicklas Backstrom continued his productive play after returning to the lineup this week, scoring his second goal of the season. It started with Brooks Orpik keeping the puck in the attacking zone from the Calgary blue line, the puck finding its way to the stick of Justin Williams behind the Flames’ net. Williams held the puck, and as the Calgary defense trained their eyes on Williams, Backstrom skated down the slot to take a feed from Williams and bury the puck behind Ramo to make it 3-1.

T.J. Oshie closed the scoring for Washington in the third period, taking a pass from Kuznetsov at the top of the Calgary crease and swatting it past Ramo just 41 seconds after Backstrom’s goal.

Calgary got one back early in the third period as Mark Giordano scored his first goal of the season. The Caps answered that score less than four minutes later when the third line was heard from. It was a case of one team failing to covert at one end, and the other taking advantage at the other. Dougie Hamilton split the Caps’ defense to break in on goalie Braden Holtby, but could not control the puck off his backhand to get off a shot. Tom Wilson took control and chipped the puck off the wall. Jay Beagle took over from there, batting the puck out of the zone where Jason Chimera took it in stride. Skating in with Beagle on a 2-on-1 break, Chimera called his own number and fired the puck past the blocker of relief goalie Jonas Hiller on the long side.

Backstrom closed the scoring for the evening on a do-it-yourself effort. Taking a pass from Justin Williams in his own end, Backstrom skated out with defenseman Joe Colborne a step behind trying to annoy him with his stick. Backstrom skated in on Hiller and snapped a backhand to the far side over Hiller’s glove to finish off the six-pack of goals for Washington and a 6-2 win.

Other stuff…

-- Alex Ovechkin became the 11^th active player in the NHL with 900 points with his goal in the second period. He accomplished the feat in 764 games. His 1.18 points per game for his career is higher than any of the other 10 active players with 900 or more points.

-- Goals in his first four games ties Ovechkin’s best consecutive games start in his career, set in 2013-2014 when he recorded goals in his first four game, five in all.

-- Nicklas Backstrom’s five points in his first two games matches his best two-game start in his career, set in 2009-2010 when he had five assists in his first two contests. He will be hard pressed to match his best three-game start. After putting up five points in his first two games in that same 2009-2010 season, he recorded three assists in his next game for eight-points over his first three contests.

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded three assists, his second three-assist and second three-point game of his career. His first came in March 2014 when he recorded three assists against the Vancouver Canucks in a 4-3 Caps win. With five assists he is now tied for ninth in the league in helpers.

-- Justin Williams was the fourth multi-point scorer for the Caps on Tuesday night (two assists). The Caps have now had 15 multi-point games this season from nine different players.

-- The third line of Jay Beagle, Jason Chimera, and Tom Wilson was quite frisky. As a group they recorded seven shots on goal and had 12 shot attempts.

-- This game was the fourth in five contests in which the Caps held their opponents to 20 or fewer shots on goal at 5-on-5 and the second straight game in which they held their opponent to fewer than 20 total shots on goal.

-- Going into the game, the Caps were last in the league in goals scored in the second period of games (1). With three middle period scores on Tuesday, the Caps are now 21^st. Progress.

-- The Caps were credited with one more hit than the Flames (16 to 15), but Brooks Orpik (6) and Tom Wilson (3) had more than half the team’s total. No other Capitals was credited with more than one.

-- Dmitry Orlov did not record a point, and he was charged with a penalty, but he had a team best plus-3. It was his second plus-3 game of his career, matching the result in a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres in January 2014.

In the end…

One cannot help but be pleased with the Capitals’ effort to date. Playing a team that had to be upset over losing their first three home games and seeing them score the game’s first goal, the Caps tended to business to overcome that early disadvantage. They are getting scoring from everywhere at the moment. Fifteen players have recorded points, seven of them with four or more in five games. Six players have two or more goals. And, at least so far, the offense is not coming at the expense of a leaky defense at the other end.  The path will not always be this smooth; a game like the one the Caps played against San Jose will sneak in.  But four wins in five, outscoring opponents by a 19-12 margin.  Caps fans can live with that.