Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was -- Week 11

‘Twas the night after Christmas, and over at Kettler, another week was in the books, the Caps’ record getting better."

When the Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, the Caps completed their second consecutive perfect week and extended their season-high winning streak to seven games. 

Record: 3-0-0

What made the second consecutive 3-0-0 week important for the Capitals was the “who” the wins came against as much as the “how many” wins they recorded.  The Caps opened the week by falling behind the New York Rangers, 3-1, before roaring back with six unanswered goals in a 7-3 win.  The win helped the Caps finish Week 11 a full ten points clear of the Rangers in the standings with two games in hand.  The last game of the week, a solid 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens, might have come against a depleted and struggling club, but that win enabled the Caps to finish the week 11 points ahead of a club that started the year 9-0-0.  At the moment, those two clubs are the closest pursuers of the Caps (the Canadiens tied with the Detroit Red Wings, and New York Islanders with 43 points).

Offense:  4.00/game (season: 3.12 /game; rank: 2nd)

Sure, the Caps had that seven-goal game against the Rangers to open the week, but Week 11 was a solid week offensively for the club.  It was the first time since Week 2 that the Caps scored three or more goals in each of a week’s games (edit: as a careful reader points out, the Caps didn't score three or more in all three games of Week 11...too much egg nog led me to write that, I suspect; it was still a solid week).

Illustrating how deep the club is, it was Jason Chimera who led the Caps in goals for the week and who was tied for the team lead in points (3-1-4).  Eight different Caps recorded goals, Justin Williams and Evgeny Kuznetsov with the other multi-goal weeks (two apiece).  Marcus Johansson tied Chimera for the team lead in points (1-3-4).

And more evidence of depth.  Tom Wilson recorded his second multi-point game of the season with a pair of assists in the 3-1 win over Montreal to end the week.  Dmitry Orlov also recorded his second multi-point game of the season, posting a pair of assists in the 7-3 win over the Rangers to start the week.  His three assist overall tied Wilson, Johansson, and Nicklas Backstrom for club-high in Week 11.  That is a lot of names noted for a three-game week.

Defense: 1.67/game (season: 2.12 /game; rank:1st)

Washington started Week 11 as if chickens would come home to roost, poor possession numbers over more than a month finally being reflected by a poor result on the scoreboard.  By week’s end, the Caps did not cure their possession ills, but they did bend the possession curve a bit more in their favor. 

The shots against remained a problem, the Caps allowing all three opponents 30 or more shots on goal.  But even there, progress was made.  After allowing 36 shots to the Rangers in the first game of the week (15 of them in the first period, when the Rangers scored their three goals), the Caps allowed 32 shots to the Carolina Hurricanes in the middle game of the week, then 30 shots on goal in the 3-1 win over Montreal to end Week 11.

The possession numbers looked a bit better.  Washington could not crack the 50 percent level in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 overall for the week, but they did a better job in close score situations.  After a grisly 35.6 percent Corsi for in close score situations to open the week, the Caps were 53.2 percent in those situations against Carolina and 52.9 percent against Montreal to close the week (numbers from war-on-ice.com).  It was the first time the Caps cleared 50 percent Corsi for in close score situations in consecutive games since they did so in Games 21 and 22 against the Winnipeg Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning in late November.

Goaltending: 1.67 /.949 (season: 1.99 / .929 / 1 shutout)

Washington passed a noteworthy threshold in Week 11.  For the first time this season – 34 games into the season, mind you – team goals against average fell below 2.00.  It did not look possible the way the week started.  Braden Holtby allowed three goals on the first 15 shots he faced in the first period against the Rangers to start the week.  It was a performance that almost resulted in his second consecutive game being pulled for Philipp Grubauer.  Holtby returned to the ice for the second period and stopped the last 21 shots he faced in a 7-3 win.  When he stopped 29 of 30 shots against Montreal in a 3-1 win, he ended the week turning away 50 of the last 51 shots he faced.  At the end of the week, among 28 goalies logging at least 1,000 minutes of ice time, Holtby led the league in wins (22, four more than Jonathan Quick and Corey Crawford), goals against average (1.92, 0.08 better than Ben Bishop), and save percentage (.932, .006 better than Bishop and Jake Allen).

The middle game of the week belonged to Philipp Grubauer, who was solid in a 31-save, 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.  Going back to the third period of his appearance against the Florida Panthers on December 10^th, Grubauer has stopped 41 of 42 shots on goal, an 0.60 goals against average in just over 100 minutes of ice time and a .976 save percentage.  

Power Play: 2-for-7 / 28.6 percent (season: 25.2 percent; rank: 2nd)

If there was one place in which the Caps started the week better than they finished it, it was on the power play.  In the first game of the week, the Caps scored power play goals on their last two man advantages of the contest (of three opportunities in all).  They went 0-for-2 in each of the last two games of the week, the first time they had two or fewer power play opportunities in consecutive games since Game 10 and 11 of the season on October 21^st and November 3^rd, part of a three-game streak of two or fewer man advantages (they were blanked in all three instances).

The Caps were effective, their 28.6 percent success rate for the week lifting their season success rate to 25.2 percent, but they were better in terms of efficiency.  Washington recorded 15 shots on goal in 11:31 of power play ice time (1.30 shots per minute), and it was not as if the shots were coming from odd players.  Alex Ovechkin had six shots of the team’s 15 on the power play for the week.  The odd part there was the balance.  Ovechkin had five of those shots on goal against the Rangers in the first game of the week, scoring one of the power play goals.  Justin Williams had the other power play goal for the week, also against the Rangers, in his only power play shot on goal for the week.

Penalty Killing: 9-for-10 / 90.0 percent (season: 84.7 percent; rank: 5th)

Week 11 would qualify as a good week for the penalty killers.  It was the second consecutive week that the Caps finished a week over 85 percent, the first time this season they accomplished that feat.  It was also a 90 percent week, the first time they hit or surpassed that mark since Week 3 when they killed off all nine shorthanded situations they faced.

One might have liked finishing the week with less time spent killing penalties, the Caps skating 18:20 in shorthanded situations, 6:49 more than they spent on the power play.  But they made up for it with killing off penalties in an efficient manner, allowing only 17 shots on goal in that 18:20 of shorthanded ice time (0.93 shots per minute).

Even Strength 5-on-5 Goals for/Goals Against: 9-4 / plus-5 (season, 5-on-5 goals for/goals against ratio: 1.42; rank: 1st)

If the Capitals did not dominate at 5-on-5 in terms of possession, they certainly did on the scoreboard.  What possession did not provide, persistence did.  In getting to the net, that is.  Of the nine 5-on-5 goals scored by the Caps in Week 11, only two were officially scored from beyond 15 feet (Marcus Johansson, 18 feet in the 7-3 win over the Rangers; Jay Beagle, 31 feet in the 3-1 win over Montreal).

The week made for an odd juxtaposition of 5-on-5 possession and 5-on-5 scoring.  While the Caps now sit in 15^th place in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (numbers from war-on-ice.com), they are third in total goals scored at 5-on-5 and have allowed the second fewest of 5-on-5 goals.  Their goals for-to-goals scored ratio of 1.42:1 leads the league by a wide margin (Rangers: 1.28).

Faceoffs: 81-for-166 / 48.8 percent (season: 49.91% / rank: 17th)

The Caps slipped below 50 percent on faceoffs for the season in Week 11 on a 48.8 percent week.  It was another case of a tale of two ends.  The Caps went just 22-for-50 in the offensive end (44.0 percent) but went 34-for-63 in the defensive end (54.0 percent).  The odd part of the week on a team basis was its only winning effort in the circle.  The Caps won 26 of 43 draws in their 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in the middle game of the week.  Compare the 43 draws in that game to the 65 in the win over the Rangers and the 58 in the win over the Canadiens.  The 43 faceoffs was a reflection of the hectic pace of the game, a lot of end to end action with very few whistles.

On an individual basis, it is no surprise that Jay Beagle led the Caps for the week with a 54.3 percent winning effort.  Among players taking at least 250 draws, Beagle ranks sixth in the league at 58.0 percent.  He was especially effective in the defensive end in Week 11, winning 14 of 20 faceoffs (70.0 percent).

If there was a surprise, it was Evgeny Kuznetsov credited with a 53.8 winning percentage for the week on 21 wins in 39 draws taken.  Most of that was a function of his neutral zone performance – 11-for-15 (73.3 percent).

Goals by Period:

More evidence of solid offense; the Caps scored goals in eight of nine periods for the week.  And, except for that three-goal first period to open the week, the Caps were stingy at the other end, allowing goals in only two of the other eight periods of hockey.  After catching the Rangers at the 7:01 mark of the second period in the first game of the week, the Caps played the last 152:59 of the week either tied or ahead in games.

The Caps are the only club in the league to have allowed 25 or fewer goals in each of the three regulation periods this season.  How impressive it that?  There are 14 teams in the league to have allowed more than 25 goals in each of the three regulation periods this season.

In the end…

It was another fine week in a season full of them for the Capitals so far this season.  Ten winning weeks in 11 tries, fastest club to 26 wins (34 games, beating the 1991-1992 club that did it in 40 games).  The Caps lead the league in scoring defense and are second in scoring offense.  Only the Caps and the Dallas Stars have an average goal differential of 1.00 goals per game.  The Caps are top five in power play (second) and penalty killing (fifth).  While there are possession issues that point to a lingering “productivity” problem, the performance of this club to date is little short of remarkable.  Week 11 had it all on display, an ability to comeback in games, a stifling defense that can win one-goal games, an opportunistic offense that can take advantage of a team with its own injury and performance issues.  This is not just a dominant team at the moment, but a versatile one.  It can beat opponents in a variety of ways and in a variety of game styles.  Can it last?  At the moment, the Caps offer little evidence that is cannot.

Three Stars:

• First Star: Jason Chimera (3-1-4, plus-4, shorthanded goal, game-winning goal, goals in three consecutive games, points in four straight games and five of six contests)
• Second Star: Tom Wilson (0-3-3, plus-5, reached double digits in points for the season (12^th Capital to do so), answered challenge to scrap with Montreal’s Jarred Tinordi)
• Third Star: Philipp Grubauer (31-save effort in 2-1 win over Carolina, first time he won in consecutive appearances since his first two appearances of the season)

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 2 - Hurricanes 1

The Washington Capitals wrapped up the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule in a nice bow with a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.  In what was a surprisingly low-scoring contest, the Caps rode a 31-save effort from goalie Philipp Grubauer, and timely goals from Michael Latta and Jason Chimera to the win.

Carolina dominated the pace and geography of the contest in the early going, but it was Washington getting on the board first.   Latta started the play he would finish, taking a pass from Dmitry Orlov in the neutral zone and skating the puck to the Carolina line.  There, he left the puck for Andre Burakovsky who fired a shot at goalie Cam Ward.  The shot was stopped, but the rebound was left in the slot where Latta, skating hard toward the net, swiped at it in stride and sent it past Ward to make it 1-0, Caps, at the 15:52 mark of the first period.

That would be how the score remained until midway in the second period.  It was a case of simple things done well paying off for the Caps.  Jay Beagle won a faceoff to the left of Ward, drawing the puck back to John Carlson.  From the right point, Carlson sent a low drive to the net that clicked off the skate of Jason Chimera and past Ward’s right pad to make it 2-0 at the 12:49 mark of the period.

From there, it was up to Grubauer, who was spelling Braden Holtby for this contest.  Grubauer was solid, allowing a solitary goal when a shot by John-Michael Liles caromed hard off the end boards to Kris Versteeg at the side of the net.  Versteeg pulled the puck to his forehand, and from a difficult angle flipped the puck over Grubauer’s right pad to halve the lead.  That would be as close as the Hurricanes would get, though, and the Caps skated into the holidays with a 2-1 win, their sixth straight.

Other stuff…

-- The Caps left Carolina with a commanding lead in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference.  Washington has a ten-point lead on the New York Islanders in the Metro with two games in hand.  They hold a ten-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens for the conference lead with two games in hand over the Habs as well.

-- Jay Beagle did it again.  His assist on Jason Chimera’s goal and the ensuing win makes the Caps 33-0-4 in the last 37 games in which Beagle recorded a point.

-- The pace of this game was amazing.  Nowhere is that revealed more clearly than in the faceoffs.  There were only 43 draws in the game, the Caps winning 26 of them.  Beagle shined here, too, going 14-for-18 (77.8 percent).

-- Grubauer’s win was his first in a game he started since October 31^st (a 26-save effort in a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers).  Along with the 7-for-7 performance in relief of Braden Holtby in the Caps’ 5-3 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, he is 38-for-39 in his last two appearances (.974).  Four periods is not a trend, but it is welcome nonetheless.

-- The Caps reached the 25-win mark in 33 games (25-6-2).  It is the fastest to 25 wins in team history, and it is not close.  Three other teams (1985-1986, 1991-1992, and 2008-2009) got to 25 wins in their 39^th games.  The Caps now have two-six-game and one five-game winning streaks this season.

-- Michael Latta has two goals on his last five shots on goal; Jason Chimera has goals in consecutive games and two goals on his last six shots.  Not bad for the lower half of the forward lines.

-- The 21 shots on goal was not a season low, but they could see it from Raleigh.  The Caps also had 21 shots on goal in a 4-1 win at Florida on December 10^th.  Their season low in shots was 19 in a 3-2 win at Montreal on December 3^rd. 

-- Possession numbers are still a problem.  The Caps had 40 shot attempts at 5-on-5 to 64 for Carolina.  It was the third worst shot attempt differential at 5-on-5 of the season, and the alarming thing is that the two instances of worse shot differential came in the last ten days – a minus-25 against Tampa Bay on December 12^th and a minus-27 against Pittsburgh on December 14^th.  Yes, the Caps won both games (numbers from war-on-ice.com).

-- John Carlson extended his point streak to seven games with his assist on the Jason Chimera goal.  He is 2-6-8 over those seven games and is 2-12-14 over his last 13 games.  He is now tied for fourth in scoring among defensemen in the league (6-21-27).

-- Andre Burakovsy had an assist, breaking a six-game streak without a point.  The last point he recorded, in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on December 5^th, also snapped a six-game streak without a point.  We hope this is not a pattern.

In the end…

The Capitals do find a way.  Where the first line dominated the comeback wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers leading up to this contest, it was the grinders and the backup goalie leading the way in this game.  That kind of 20-man effort has overcome possession issues that have been hanging around for more than a month.  It makes one wonder just how dominant this team might be if they would just solve that problem.

Happy Holidays, Caps fans!

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 33: Capitals at Hurricanes, December 21st

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals take the ice for the last game before Christmas when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.  The Caps, fresh off two thrilling comeback victories, will be looking to head into the five-day holiday break on an up note by extending their winning streak to six games.

Offense has not been a problem for the Caps over the last week, having scored 18 goals in their last four games.  This will test their stamina, though, insofar as it will be their fifth game over an eight day period.

The Hurricanes have been more or less treading water since Thanksgiving, posting a record of 5-5-1 in 11 games since Turkey Day.  Offense has not been a problem for the Hurricanes in that stretch.  They average 3.00 goals per game in those 11 contests, and their power play went 10-for-34 (29.4 percent).   Defense, on the other hand, gave it all back and then some.  In those last 11 games the Hurricanes have allowed an average of 3.36 goals per game, and their penalty kill is just 23-for-30 (76.7 percent).

It would be hard to find a player hotter than Jeff Skinner at the moment.  In the 11 games played by Carolina since Thanksgiving, Skinner is 9-2-11, plus-1, and has a pair of hat tricks, one against the Anaheim Ducks on December 11^th and another against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 15^th.  Skinner, who despite being in his sixth NHL season is still only 23 years old, is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2014-2015 season in which he had only 18 goals in 77 games.  He has 14 in 33 games to lead Carolina.  Skinner is 9-11-20, even, in 26 career games against the Caps.  Oh, and one tantrum…

Victor Rask had a nice rookie season for the Hurricanes in 2014-2015, going 11-22-33 in 80 games.  He is on a pace to improve upon that this season.  Rask is 9-14-23 in 33 games so far this season, including a 3-7-10 run in 11 games since Thanksgiving, second best on the club in total scoring.  Rask’s improvement this season has come in his shooting efficiency, which stands at 12.7 percent at the moment, well above the 6.4 percent shooting with which he finished last year.  He has also shown himself to be a reliable power play contributor, second on the club with 11 power play points.  He has a pair of assists in five career games against Washington.

When both of your goalies are on the wrong side of .900 in save percentage, your team is going to struggle.  It is not as if Cam Ward and Eddie Lack are facing a ton of shots, either.  Carolina has given up the fewest shots per game in the league (26.2), but there are there are Ward (.899) and Lack (.876) struggling in net.  Carolina is the only team in the league having two goaltenders with more than 500 minutes of ice time and save percentages under .900.  Among 47 goalies playing at least 500 minutes this season, Ward and Lack rank 41^st and 46^th in save percentage, respectively.  Ward is 16-14-4, 2.64, .917, with four shutouts in 35 career appearances against the Caps, while Lack has one career appearance against the Caps, allowing four goals on 21 shots in a 4-3 loss to the Caps on March 14, 2014, while he was tending goal for the Vancouver Canucks.

Here is how the teams compare overall:

1.  Carolina certainly has spread its scoring around lately.  Over their last 11 games, 21 different player share in the points, including goalie Eddie Lack, who has a pair of assists.  There are 16 different skaters recording goals over the same span.

2.  The Hurricanes don’t do that whole “scoring first” thing very well.  They have scored first only 14 times; only six teams have done so fewer times.  Their winning percentage of .571 in those games (8-2-4) is third-worst in the league, ahead of only the Calgary Flames (.556) and the Vancouver Canucks (.467).

3.  While the Hurricanes have a decent offense, they have difficulty getting started in games (as evidenced by that “scoring first” thing).  Their 17 goals scored in the first period is third-fewest in the league, ahead of only the Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers (14 apiece).

4.  No team has been cited fewer times for infractions of the rules than the Hurricanes.  Carolina leads the league in fewest penalties overall (98), fewest penalty minutes (216), and fewest penalty minutes per game (6:32).

5.  Carolina is a very good possession team.  They rank fifth overall in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (53.1), sixth in score-adjusted Corsi (52.4), and seventh in close score situations (52.1; numbers from war-on-ice.com).

1.  The Caps’ 7-3 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday night was the third time in four games they scored four or more goals and the 14^th time this season that they did so.  The 14 games with four or more goals ranks third in the league behind Dallas (17) and the Rangers (15).  The Caps (14-0-0), Montreal Canadiens (12-0-0), and the New York Islanders (11-0-0)are the only clubs with ten or more games scoring four or more goals and a perfect record in doing so.

2.  Washington took a roundabout way in doing it, but they won their 17^th game of the season when scoring first when they beat the Rangers on Sunday night.  The 17 wins ranks second in the league to the Chicago Blackhawks, who have 18 wins when scoring first.  The Caps’ .944 winning percentage (17-1-0) in such games leads the league.

3.  Washington has five players with ten or more goals – Alex Ovechkin (17), T.J. Oshie (13), Evgeny Kuznetsov (10), Nicklas Backstrom (10), and Justin Williams (10).  No other team has as many.

4.  The Caps have three players with 20 or more assists – Backstrom (21), Kuznetsov (20), and John Carlson (20).  Only the Dallas Stars and Ottawa Senators have as many.

5.  The Caps’ possession struggles continue.  The Rangers out-attempted the Caps, 51-36, on Sunday night (41.4 percent Corsi-for).  The Caps are below 45 percent in four of their last five games and below 40 percent in two of them (numbers from war-on-ice.com).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Carolina: Jordan Staal

The next assist Jordan Staal records will be his 200^th in the NHL.  He has been on a roll of late to get himself into position to reach that milestone.  Staal is 4-4-8 over his last 12 games and has points in four of his last five contests.  It is quite an improvement over the 3-3-6 scoring line he posted over his first 21 games this season.  He still has some work to do to get to the half-point per game player he was for the Hurricanes in his first three seasons after arriving in Carolina from Pittsburgh (95 points in 176 games).  Staal’s scoring this season has had the flavor of empty calories, though.  In 11 games in which he registered a point, the Hurricanes are 7-3-1, a winning percentage ahead of their overall pace, but not particularly impressive otherwise.  Staal is 7-3-10, minus-5, in 34 career games against Washington.

Washington:  T.J. Oshie

T.J. Oshie is hot as a pistol at the moment.  Over his last four games he is 5-3-8 and is shooting 62.5 percent (five goals on eight shots).  He has settled in quite nicely as the top-line right wing.  There is an odd statistic that attaches to Oshie, too.  Hits… he is third on the team in credited hits with 61, behind only Alex Ovechkin (93) and Tom Wilson (91).  With the departure of Troy Brouwer and the injury to Brooks Orpik, the Caps are not credited with hits with the frequency they might have otherwise, but it is still an interesting number, given that Oshie is not the biggest player out there (5’11”/189 pounds).   Oshie is 2-5-7, even, in nine career games against Carolina.

In the end…

They say that only winning matters, and on one level that is true.  But winning as a habit is a product of playing well, and the Caps have not done so as well as the five game winning streak they bring into this game suggests.  Carolina has the capacity, given their ability to minimize shots and do well in possession numbers, to frustrate the Caps in this last game before the holiday.  The Caps just have not been a very good possession team now for more than a month.   At some point one would expect this to catch up with them, and that puts a premium on getting back to basics and pinning teams in their own end of the ice.  If they can do that against the Hurricanes, the home team’s goaltending issues come into play, and this could be a nice present to take into the holiday break.

Capitals 4 – Hurricanes 2

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 7 - Rangers 3

The Washington Capitals traveled to the scene of many disappointments in recent years – Madison Square Garden in New York City – and served notice that this isn’t your father’s Capitals.  It isn’t even your older brother’s.  The Caps fell behind by a 3-1 score after 20 minutes, then systematically and clinically dissected the Rangers for six unanswered goals, during which they chased the demonic Henrik Lundquvist from the Rangers’ net, and won going away, 7-3.

The first 20 minutes of this contest will not make any Capitals highlight videos.  Justin Williams did get the Caps off on the right foot when he redirected a Taylor Chorney drive past Lundqvist at the 12:03 mark after getting decked at the side of the net by Kevin Hayes.  

Then the Caps started kicking their own behind with their other foot.  The Rangers scored three times in a space of 4:21 – goals by J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider, and Dan Boyle – to take a 3-1 lead into the locker room at the first intermission.

Then the Caps unleashed the fury.  In the sixth minute of the period Justin Williams worked the puck down the left wing wall, then sent a pass into the middle for Dmitry Orlov skating down the middle.  Orlov walked down the middle and with Chris Kreider playing nominal defense, draping his stick across Orlov’s arm, Orlov slid the puck through the top of the crease.  Evgeny Kuznetsov unwrapped the present and backhanded a shot past goalie Henrik Lundqvist to make it 3-2.

Less than two minutes later, T.J. Oshie tied the game.  It was another case of indifferent (or incapable) Ranger defense.  Nicklas Backstrom fired a cross-ice dump in from the center red stripe that bounced hard out of the corner to Lundqvist’s left.  Oshie beat Marc Staal to the puck, cut to the middle, and before Dylan McIlrath could get his stick in Oshie’s path backhanded the puck past Lundqvist.

Four minutes later the Caps took the lead they would not relinquish.  With Chris Summers in the penalty box, the Caps worked the puck around the perimeter smartly on the ensuing power play.  Then, in an instant, they broke down the Rangers defense down low.  John Carlson fed Nicklas Backstrom in the right wing circle.  Backstrom took a step deeper and fed Marcus Johansson at the goal line.  Johansson snapped a pass through the crease to Alex Ovechkin at the left wing faceoff dot, and Ovechkin did the rest, firing a shot over Lundqvist’s glove high on the far side to make it 4-3.

The Caps were not done with the second period or with Lundqvist.  With the period winding down and the Caps on another power play, the Caps worked the triangle play to perfection – Backstrom from the right wing down to Johansson at the goal line and out to Williams in the slot for a one-timer that close the second period scoring and Lundqvist’s night.

The third period began with Magnus Hellberg coming in to make his NHL debut, but he fared no better than Lundqvist.  The Caps scored on their first two shots on goal, the first a shorthanded goal by Jason Chimera when he took a loose puck chipped out of the defensive zone by Tom Wilson and beat Hellberg on a breakaway.  The second came two minutes later when Evgeny Kuznetsov took advantage of some loose play by Summer behind the Ranger net to pilfer the puck and feed Marcus Johansson all alone in front for the seventh and final goal of the evening. 

Other stuff…

-- The Caps scored seven goals.  It was the first time they did that at Madison Square Garden since beating the Rangers, 7-4, on November 11, 1992.  Their plus-4 goal differential ties the best ever for the Caps on Ranger ice.  They did it twice before – April 1, 1987 in a 5-1 win and March 16, 1988 in an 8-4 win.

-- The Caps had two power play goals, giving them five in seven power play chances over their last two games.

-- Kuznetsov and Williams scored their tenth goals of the season, respectively, in this game.  That gives the Caps five skaters with ten or more goals, most in the league.

-- Nicklas Backstrom recorded three assists, the 28^th time he hit that mark in his career.  Since he came into the league in 2007-2008, only Sidney Crosby has recorded three or more assists in more games (29).

-- Going back to the third period of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Caps have scored 11 goals on their last 35 shots (31.4 percent).

-- Give Braden Holtby some credit.  He was left largely to his own wits in the first period as the Caps team defense resembled less a hockey team and more a group that was strolling on 5^th Avenue doing some window shopping.  After suffering three goals on 16 shots in the first period, not to mention nine scoring chances, he turned away all 21 he faced thereafter.

-- There were 11 different Capitals with points, five with multi-point games.  The latter was not a season high.  Washington had seven multi-point scorers in their 7-4 win over Edmonton on October 23^rd.

-- If Tom Wilson is shaving the rough edges off his game in the wake of the match penalty/rescinded match penalty against Ottawa last week, it doesn’t show.  He took three minor penalties – an unsportsmanlike conduct and a double minor for roughing – and had four hits to tie for the team lead in this game.

-- Marcus Johansson had his first three-point game of the season and his first since October 3, 2013, in a 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames.

-- On the other side of the ice, the play of Henrik Lundqvist has to be a concern to the Rangers and their capacity to overtake the Caps.  In his last 13 appearances he is 5-6-1 (one no-decision), 3.53, .899.  The Rangers can’t compete if that level of performance continues.

In the end…

No, the Caps are not going to come back from 3-0 and 3-1 deficits in consecutive games to win with any regularity, but it sure is nice to see them able to do it.  Sure, falling behind by multiple goals early in games and the possession numbers overall are problems that need to be corrected, but if there is a takeaway from these last two games, it is that the Caps have found a way to maintain their composure in the face of difficulty.  The fact that they have so many weapons at the offensive end of the ice and a goaltender at the other end who can shake off those still infrequent stretches of leaky play is a comfort to Caps fans, even when things look bleak.  And when they comeback like they did against a team that has caused them so much misery the past few seasons, it makes for a warm glow this holiday season.

Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was -- Week 10

“It’s the most wonderful week of the year.”  With apologies to the late Andy Williams, Week 10 was a wonderful week for the Washington Capitals.  Three games, three wins, a win over a bitter rival, a big comeback win, milestones, crashes, fights, intrigue.  Week 10 had something for everyone.  A Holiday Blockbuster of a week.

Record: 3-0-0

Ten was a “10.”  Week 10 was the Caps’ third perfect week of the season in terms of wins and losses, Weeks 2 (3-0-0) and 7 (4-0-0) being the others.  The week ended with the Caps on a four-game winning streak, the third time this season they cobbled together winning streaks of four or more games.  With wins over the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Caps extended their home winning streak to seven games.  They have not lost on home ice since dropping a 3-2 decision to the Dallas Stars on November 19th (7-0-0).  The Caps also closed the week with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and by a wide margin.  They have a five-point lead on the second place Montreal Canadiens and hold three games in hand over the Habs.

Offense:  3.67/game (season: 3.03 /game; rank: 3rd)

Week 10 was a solid week overall in the offensive end of the rink.  It there was a movie title for it, it might be “First Line Ascendant.”  The top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and T.J. Oshie was a combined 2-2-4 in Week 9, but in Week 10 they had a good time, mostly at the expense of the Tampa Bay Lightning to close the week.  Ovechkin (2-2-4), Backstrom (1-3-4), and Oshie (4-3-7) combined for seven of the week’s 11 goals and recorded 15 points among them.  Ovechkin and Oshie did all their damage in that game against the Lightning, the first time two Capitals recorded four or more points in a game since Ovechkin and Backstrom did it (Backstrom getting five points) against the same Tampa Bay Lightning team in a 6-5 Gimmick win on December 10, 2013.  Coincidentally, in both of those games against the Lightning the Caps fell behind by 3-0 scores and pulled their goalie (both times Braden Holtby in favor of Philipp Grubauer) before coming back for the win on home ice.

Backstrom was solid all week, but did most of his damage (1-2-3) against the Pittsburgh Penguins to start the week.  It was the 50^th time in his career that Backstrom recorded three or more points in a game and the fourth time he accomplished the feat against the Penguins.  It was his assist against the Lightning to close the scoring on the week that was most significant, though.  It was Backstrom’s 600^th point in the NHL.  He became the fourth player in franchise history to reach the 600-point mark, joining Ovechkin (924), Peter Bondra (825), and Mike Gartner (789).  He is one of 37active players with 600 or more points.

Defense: 1.67/game (season: 2.16 /game; rank:1st)

Washington started Week 10 by allowing the Penguins to record 45 shots on goal, a season high in shots allowed, the first time any opponent topped 40 shots on goal against the Caps.  They closed the week in much better fashion, though, holding the Senators and the Lighting to a combined total of 46 shots on goal.  The 19 shots on goal allowed by the Caps was the third time this season that they held an opponent to fewer than 20 shots on goal.  They now have a 3-0-0 record when doing so, the only one of seven teams having allowed fewer than 20 shots three or more times to have an undefeated record.

At a possession number level, the week was uneven at best, poor at worst. Overall, opponents out-attempted the Caps by a 144-108 margin at 5-on-5, a 42.9 percent Corsi-for at evens.  On a game-by-game basis, the Caps wrapped two disappointing results (36.6 percent against Pittsburgh, 41.3 percent against Tampa Bay) around a 52.6 percent Corsi-for effort against the Senators.  This is an area in which the Caps are continuing to struggle and is, frankly, a cause for concern.  The last time the Caps had consecutive games with more shot attempts than opponents was November 12-13 against Philadelphia and Calgary.  Since then, Washington’s Corsi-for at 5-on-5 is 46.6 percent and has been under 50 percent in 11 of 15 games.

If you are going to take one play on defense away for the week, make it this one…

Goaltending: 1.67 /.945 (season: 2.03 / .926 / 1 shutout)

In a perverse way, getting pulled from a game and still managing to post a 2.02 goals against average and a .940 save percentage is a measure of just how good a season (not to mention a Week 10) Braden Holtby has had so far this season.  Holtby stopped 44 of 45 shots against the Penguins to start the week, then stopped 26 of 27 against the Senators in the second game of the week.  Against the Lightning, he allowed three goals on 12 shots before being relieved by Philipp Grubauer.  It could be said that the five goals Holtby did allow for the week were either superior plays, a nod from the hockey gods, or poor play in front of him.  The goal he allowed to Evgeni Malkin in the Pittsburgh game was a redirect from between the hash marks that hit the pipe and caromed in (thank you, hockey gods).  Bobby Ryan’s goal for Ottawa was a matter of being at the right place at the right time, the puck off a shot from Kyle Turris striking him on the rebound and caroming into the net. 

Even against the Lightning the goals had an odd character about them.  Alex Killorn scored a goal that was part patience, waiting for Holtby to commit, and part turbulence in front of the net as Holtby got tangled up with Braydon Coburn.  The Andrej Sustr goal was one Holtby might want back as he seemed a bit off his line and Sustr found the net on the far side, but again off a post and in.  The third goal, by Steven Stamkos might have been a case of too much respect being given as the Caps defense backed off, and Matt Niskanen was too late getting his stick in the way of Stamkos’ lethal wrist shot.

That left the rest of the week – the last 30:56 of the Tampa Bay game – to Philipp Grubauer, who might have made the single play to save the week’s perfect record.  With Tampa Bay holding a 3-1 lead early in the third period, they were buzzing about the Caps’ net.  The puck finally came to Vladislav Namestnikov, who had what looked like an open net from the top of the crease.  Grubauer got his right pad out and turned Namestnikov’s attempt away.  On the ensuing rush, T.J. Oshie scored to make it 3-2 in what would end up being a 5-3 win.  If Namestnikov scored on that play, this is an entirely different look at the week in review.

Power Play: 4-for-10 / 40.0 percent (season: 25.0 percent; rank: 2nd)

After a pair of weeks in which the power play struggled (2-for-19/10.5 percent), the Caps broke out in Week 10.  That was largely thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning, against which the Caps were 3-for-4 on the man advantage, the second time in two games at Verizon Center that the Caps went 3-for-4. 

It was an efficient week for the Caps, who shot 4-for-19 (21.1 percent), the 19 shots on goal coming in 12:47 of power play ice time (1.48 shots per minute).  Alex Ovechkin had two of the four power play goals, both of them against the Lightning.  It was his first two-power play goal game of the year (his first any two-goal game of the year), and his first multi power play goal game since he had a pair against the Montreal Canadiens in a 5-4 Gimmick win last April 2^nd. 

The other two power play goals came from players who had been having trouble converting with the man advantage.  T.J. Oshie recorded a power play goal against the Penguins, his first power play goal in seven games and only his second man advantage goal in 25 games.  Marcus Johansson scored a power play goal against the Lightning in the last game of the week – the game-winning goal as it turned out – his first man advantage goal in seven games and just his second in 29 games since he scored one on Opening Night.

Penalty Killing: 7-for-8 / 87.5 percent (season: 83.9 percent; rank: 6th)

The Caps have been alternating good and less good penalty killing weeks all season.  Week 10 was a good week, killing off seven of eight shorthanded situations.  Overall it was a rather efficient week, too.  The Caps held opponents to one goal on 14 shots (7.1 percent shooting), those 14 shots coming in 15:26 of shorthanded ice time (0.91 shots per minute).

It should not have been an unexpected result, though.  The only team to record a power play goal against the Caps this season – Ottawa – is ranked 11^th in the league in power play efficiency.  The teams that the Caps shutout – Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay – are ranked 28^th and 25^th, respectively, in power play efficiency.

There is something here that reflects the development of a young player.  Tom Wilson was on ice for 3:18 of the total of 15:26 in shorthanded ice time this week.  It might have been more but for his having been excused from the competition against Ottawa for committing a match penalty against Curtis Lazar.  Wilson finished the week ranked fourth among Caps forwards in average shorthanded ice time per game (1:09/game).

Even Strength 5-on-5 Goals for/Goals Against: 6-4 / plus-2 (season, 5-on-5 goals for/goals against ratio: 1.34; rank: 2nd)

A 6-4 edge in 5-on-5 goal scoring might not sound like a lot, but a 1.50 ratio of goals scored to goals allowed is rather impressive, even if it is just a one-week/three-game sample.  It is part of a larger story for the Caps this season.  They rank second in the league in their ratio of goals scored to goals allowed at 5-on-5 (1.34), and it is their best such mark since they finished the 2009-2010 seaosn with a 1.54 goals for/goals against ratio.  They are on a pace to obliterate their best season in 5-on-5 goals allowed in the most recent playoff era of the club.  Since the 2007-2008 season the fewest number of 5-on-5 goals allowed was 130 in 2010-2011.  They are on a pace to finish this season with 116 5-on-5 goals allowed.

Faceoffs: 84-for-175 / 48.0 percent (season: 50.1% / rank: 15th)

The Caps had their issues in the faceoff circle again in Week 10, finishing at or under 50 percent in each of the three games and under 50 percent for the week.  It was not quite as bad as it seemed, the final result dominated by a 41.1 faceoff winning percentage in the neutral zone for the week.  The Caps dominated in the offensive zone, winning 55.6 percent of their draws on a 25-for-45 result.  They were one under .500 in the defensive zone (36-for-74).

On an individual basis, Jay Beagle continued to be a reliable performer.  He was 22-for-41 for the week (53.7 percent).  Among players taking at least 250 draws this season, Beagle finished the week in fourth place in the league (58.4 percent).

Michael Latta was the only other Capital to take at least ten draws in Week 10 and finish over 50 percent (9-for-15/60.0 percent).  Nicklas Backstrom (49.2 percent), Evgeny Kuznetsov (37.8),a nd T.J. Oshie (45.5 percent) were Caps taking at least ten draws and finishing under 50 eprcent.

Goals by Period:

On a period-by-period basis, the Caps fought opponents to a near draw over the first two periods of games (five for, four against), then dominated in the third period by a 6-1 margin.  Four of those goals came against the Lightning in the last game of the week.  It was the first time the Caps scored four third period goals since putting up four in the third against the New Jersey Devils in a 5-1 win on February 23, 2013.

The Caps, who are the best scoring defense team in the league, continue to be stingy on a 60-minute basis. They are the only team in the league through Week 10 to have allowed fewer than 25 goals in each of the three regulation periods.

In the end…

What a week it was.  Three wins, Jason Chimera played in his 900^th NHL game; Nicklas Backstrom recorded his 600^th point; Alex Ovechkin had his first multi-goal game of the year; the Caps scored four goals in a third period for the first time in 226 games; Michael Latta had his second multi-point game of his career; Tom Wilson caused havoc, got a match penalty, faced suspension, then got his match penalty rescinded; Braden Holtby got pulled from a game and still ended the week leading all NHL goalies in wins (20), goals against average (1.92), and save percentage (.931, minimum: 750 minutes).  They beat the Penguins, held on against the Senators, and came back against the Lightning.  It was a big week with a lot going on.  But in the end it was a 3-0-0 week, and that was the best part of all. 

Three Stars:

• First Star: T.J. Oshie (4-3-7, plus-2, 66.7 percent shooting
• Second Star: Nicklas Backstrom (1-3-4, plus-2, 600^th career point)
• Third Star: Braden Holtby (2-0-0, 2.02, .940)

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 32: Capitals at Rangers, December 20th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

On Sunday evening, the Washington Capitals head off to where it all ended – in two of their last three postseasons, that is.  Washington heads to New York to take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden where their seasons ended in 2012 and 2015 with identical 2-1 scores, and where the Caps were whipped by the Rangers, 5-2, in their first meeting this season on November 3^rd. 

Since that meeting in early November, the Caps have been on a sustained run of success, going 15-3-2, and are now on a four-game winning streak.  The four-game streak is the third time this season Washington put together a winning streak of four or more games.

On the other hand, the Rangers are in a lengthy slide.  Their victory over the Caps on November 3^rd was part of a nine-game winning streak and a stretch of 13 straight games in which they earned a point 11-0-2.  Since that run came to an end on November 19^th in Tampa against the Lightning, the Rangers are 5-8-2 and have dropped from the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference to second in the division and third in the conference.

The Rangers will be returning home to Madison Square Garden after spending five of their last six games on the road, all of which they lost (they defeated the Edmonton Oilers at home, 4-2, last Tuesday). 

The biggest problem the Rangers have had is that the one player they cannot afford to have slip into a slump has done precisely that.  Goalie Henrik Lundqvist shut out the Nashville Predators on 33 shots back on November 23^rd in a 3-0 win.  It left his record at the time at 12-3-2, 1.74, .946, with two shutouts.  Since then, however, he is 3-5-1, 3.33, .896.  The Caps might be the tonic for his game, though.  Including playoff games, Lundqvist is 8-3-1, 1.54, .948, with one shutout in his last 12 appearances against the Capitals.

In Game 32 last season, Rick Nash recorded a hat trick against the Capitals in a 4-2 win at Madison Square Garden, giving him a total of 23 goals for the season to that date on his way to a career-best 42-goal season.  Through 32 games this season, Nash has ten goals, two in his last 11 contests, and he is on a pace to finish with 25 goals, which would be his lowest for a full season since his rookie year in Columbus when he had 17 in 74 games with the Blue Jackets.  Nash is 12-8-20, plus-2, in 19 career games against Washington.

If Rick Nash has been a disappointment to date this season, Oscar Lindberg has been a surprise.  A second round draft pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010, Lindberg was traded to the Rangers for Ethan Werek in May 2011.  While Werek is now toiling for the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, Lindberg is tied for second among NHL rookies in goals (10) and is fifth in points (17).  Like the rest of the team, though, Lindberg is in the midst of a slump.  He is without a point and is a minus-3 over his last six games.  He had a goal and an assist in the Rangers’ 5-2 win over the Capitals on November 3^rd, his only career appearance to date against Washington.

Here is how the teams stack up against one another overall:

1.  Since that 3-0 shutout over Nashville back on November 3^rd, the Rangers have had difficulty finding the back of the net.  They have averaged 2.46 goals per game in the 13 games since then, but nine of them came, oddly enough, in back to back losses – to Edmonton (7-5) and Calgary (5-4 in overtime) earlier this month.

2.  The Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens are the only two teams in the Eastern Conference having four defensemen with ten or more points.  For the Rangers that group includes: Keith Yandle (17), Ryan McDonagh (11), Marc Staal (10), and Dan Boyle (10).  If Dan Girardi records a point, it will make five defensemen in this group.

3.  Only four teams have had fewer power play opportunities on home ice than the Rangers (48): Philadelphia (47), Tampa Bay (47), Boston (46), and San Jose (41).

4.  New York has committed the fifth highest number of minor penalties in the league (129), exceeded only by: Vancouver (130), St. Louis (132), Columbus (137), and Winnipeg (143).

5.  As you might expect from a team in a prolonged slump, the Rangers are having possession issues.  It has been an issue all season for this club.  Overall, they rank 28^th in the league in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (46.5 percent).  They are 24^th in score-adjusted Corsi (47.3) and 21^st in close score situations (48.7).  They have yet to record consecutive games this season with more shot attempts than their opponents.

1.  When Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie each recorded four points against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night, it was the first time two Capitals turned the trick since December 10, 2013, against the Lightning.  Ovechkin had four points (all goals) and Nicklas Backstrom had five points (1-4-5) in a 6-5 Gimmick win.

2.  When Oshie finished the night with four points, it gave the Caps six skaters with 20 or more points this season.  No team in the league has more (Ottawa also has six).

3.  When Braden Holtby was relieved by Philipp Grubauer in the Caps’ 5-3 win over Tampa Bay on Friday night, it was the first time a Capitals goaltender did not finish a game he started this season.  It was the first time Holtby was pulled from a game since allowing three goals on 13 shots in 14:47 in a 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators last March 28^th.

4.  From the “shots matter” file… The Capitals lead the league in wins when outshooting the opposition (14).  Their total of 18 games outshooting opponents is tied for third most in the league.

5.  The last time the Caps had consecutive games with more shot attempts than opponents was November 12-13 against Philadelphia and Calgary.  Since then, Washington’s Corsi-for at 5-on-5 is 46.6 percent and has been under 50 percent in 11 of 15 games.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

New York: Mats Zuccarello

As Mats goes, so go the Rangers.  In 15 games in which Mats Zuccarello has a point this season, the Rangers are 12-2-1; they are 6-9-3 in games where he is held off the score sheet.  He looked to be coming out of a slump recently, following a nine-game stretch in which he recorded a single point with a three-game points streak against the teams from Alberta (four points in two games against Edmonton and a point against Calgary).  He was blanked in his last two games, though, both of them losses, to Minnesota and to Winnipeg.  He was a minus-6 in those two games to add to his, and the Rangers’ misery.  Zuccarello is 0-5-5, plus-4, in 11 career games against Washington.

Washington: Nicklas Backstrom

When Nicklas Backstrom recorded his 600^th career point on Friday night in the Caps’ 5-3 win over Tampa Bay, he became the eighth active player to record 600 points since 2007-2008, when he entered the league.  It is an impressive list.  And he is adding to that list in as quiet a way imaginable.  Backstrom is 6-14-20, plus-7, over his last 20 games and has not gone consecutive games without a point over that stretch.  He has not had a “minus” game in his last 14 games.  If there is an odd number on his resume, it is his power play scoring.  Backstrom is tied for the team lead in power play points (12, with John Carlson), but ranks only tied for 14^th in the league.  He was tied for third in power play scoring last season (33 points) and led the league in 2013-2014 (44 points).  Backstrom is 6-19-25, minus-5, in 31 career games against the Rangers.

In the end…

Despite similar records, the Capitals are what the Rangers are not in one important respect.  Only four teams have more one-goal wins than the Caps (10), while the Rangers have more wins by three or more goals (10, leading the league) than they have one- and two-goal wins combined (9).  Almost half of the Rangers’ 34 games (16) have been settled by three or more goals, while almost half of the Caps’ 31 games (14) have been settled by a single goal.  To the extent this game remains close, it would seem to favor the Capitals.

Capitals 3 – Rangers 2

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 31: Lightning at Capitals, December 18th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

For the third time in ten games the Washington Capitals will do battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning in a contest that will end the regular season series between the two teams.  The Caps won the first two games of the series and will try to complete the season sweep at Verizon Center on Friday night.

Not much has changed since we prognostified the contest of last Saturday, so let’s go with that.    One thing to note is that except for the Caps being able to subdue the Bolts, the teams are still heading along similar paths.  Both teams won both games they played since they met last weekend, the Caps beating Pittsburgh and Ottawa (allowing a total of two goals in the process), the Lightning beating Columbus on Toronto on their respective rinks.

Here is how the teams compare overall:

1.  Tampa Bay is a resourceful road team.  Of the 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, only Boston (22) and Washington (21) have more standings points earned in their opponents’ rinks than the Lightning (20) through Wednesday’s games.

2.  Special teams have been an issue for the Lightning away from Amelie Arena.  In 18 road games, their power play has connected just seven times in 56 opportunities, good for 27^th the league in road power play efficiency.  Their penalty kill is hardly better at 78.6 percent on 44 kills in 56 shorthanded situations (22^nd in the league).  Tampa Bay’s special teams index on the road (power play plus penalty kill efficiency) is 91.1, 25^th in the league.

3.  Steven Stamkos is in the midst of a ten-game goal scoring drought, his longest since an 11-game drought in December 2008, his rookie season.  He is within three games of his career worst streak of games without a goal – 13, set earlier in that 2008-2009 rookie season.  Stamkos has not scored a goal on the road since November 5^th at Buffalo.  He has gone eight road contests without a goal on 16 shots.  He has only four shots on goal over his last five road games, no more than one shot on goal in any of them.

4.  Tampa Bay’ strength on the road so far this season is keeping opponents off the scoreboard.  Their 2.28 goals against per game ranks fourth-best in the league.  It is what allows the Lightning to have the ninth best goal differential on the road this season (plus-0.17).

5.  Possession on the road has not been so much bad for the Lightning as it has just been mediocre to just above average.  Tampa Bay ranks 14^th in Corsi-for overall at 5-on-5 on the road (48.6), 13^th in score-adjusted Corsi-for (50.1), and ninth in close score (50.0; numbers from war-on-ice.com).

1.  Looking at the Caps at home, only the New York Rangers have more standings points earned at home this season (27) than Washington (25).  Only the Dallas Stars have earned more points per home game (1.60) than the Caps (1.56).

2.  Washington has had very efficient special teams at home, but there is an odd bias to them.   The power play is 13-for-50 (26.0 percent), ranked fourth in efficiency.   However, those 50 opportunities ranks 19^th in the league.  The opportunity element is even more pronounced on the other side of special teams.  The Caps are 33-for-40 in penalty killing on home ice (82.5 percent), ranked 14^th in the league.  It is not an especially impressive number or ranking, but the 40 shorthanded situations faced are the sixth-fewest faced in the league. 

3.  Alex Ovechkin likes home cooking.  Ten of his 14 goals have been scored in the friendly confines of Verizon Center.  He is tied for sixth in home goals scored this season.  What is more, he comes to this game on a hot streak on home ice.  He has seven goals in his last 10 games on F Street. And, he has been active, recording 54 shots on goal in those ten games, finishing with six or more shots in four of the ten games.

4.  The Caps have been a good, but not overwhelming offensive team on home ice so far.  Their 2.94 goals per game ranks tied for tenth in scoring offense on home ice.  It is on the defensive side where they have been impressive.  Their 2.13 goals per game at Verizon Center is tied for fifth in the league (odd fact, the Caps are tied in both home scoring offense and defense with Nashville, both scoring 47 goals in 16 home games and allowing 34 goals).  The Caps’ plus-0.81 goal differential on home ice is tied for fifth best in the league.

5.  The Caps are struggling with their possession numbers at home.  Washington ranks 12^th in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 overall on home ice (51.9), 11^th in score adjusted Corsi-for (51.9) and 14^th in close score (51.2).  They finished below 50 percent overall in eight of their last 11 home games (numbers from war-on-ice.com). 

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Tampa Bay: Jonathan Marchessault

Jonathan Marchessault has the longest name on the club and is its smallest player at 174 pounds.  He also has goals in his last two games, the only Lightning player who can make that claim.  An undrafted free agent out of Cap-Rouge, Quebec (shouldn’t he be a Capital with that home town?), he was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets in July 2012, he played in only two games with the Jackets before he was signed last summer by the Lightning to a one-year deal.  He has shown a knack for scoring goals, having lit the lamp five times in 19 career games to date, four of those goals coming in 15 games this season.  He is without a point in two career games against the Caps.

Washington: Jason Chimera

Jason Chimera has become a fixture in Washington since arriving in trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets in December 2009.  And now, he is poised to join an interesting, if obscure club.  His next goal will be his 70^th with the team, and it will make him the sixth player since the 2005-2006 lockout to post at least 70 goals and at least 100 assists with the Caps.  The others are a who’s who of the modern era of Capitals – Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Brooks Laich, and Alexander Semin.  He has been in a bit of a slump lately, going without a goal in his last seven games.  The last goal he scored on home ice was against the Lightning in a 4-2 win on November 27^th.  Chimera is 7-8-15, plus-3, in 31 career games against the Lightning.

In the end…

The Caps have two wins in two tries against the Lightning this season, and the formula has been simple.  Score first (Alex Ovechkin in the first meeting, Jay Beagle in the second), make the Lightning pay when the Caps are on the power play (3-for-4 in the first meeting, 1-for-4 in the second), spread the scoring around (nine players had points in the first game, four shared in the points in the second), and get good goaltending (Braden Holtby is 2-0-0, 1.50, .957 in the two meetings).  It has been a formula over the past four weeks, so let’s go with that.

Capitals 3 – Lightning 1

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 2 - Senators 1

The Washington Capitals won their third straight game on Wednesday night and tenth in their last 12 contests when they held on to defeat the Ottawa Senators, 2-1, at Verizon Center.

It was game that for almost 55 minutes threatened to cure insomnia among those in attendance and those watching on television or their mobile devices.  But we will get to that.

The Caps were the only team to score in those first 54 minutes and change, scoring in the first period on a goal by Michael Latta.  It was an odd play all around, not just in who was the finisher.  The Caps were going for a line change in the 15^th minute of the first period, and there was some indecision about it.  While the Caps were sorting out who was going on and who was coming off, Dmitry Orlov found himself being fed the puck at the players’ bench by Taylor Chorney.  Orlov turned and just lobbed the puck into the Senators’ end.  The Senators were having issues of their own in coverage, and Latta took advantage to dart down the middle through open ice to collect the puck.  He skated in and flipped a forehand over goalie Andrew Hammond’s glove to make it 1-0 at the 14:06 mark.

John Carlson doubled the Caps’ lead in the second period on what was a great play by Justin Williams.  He broke out of a pack of players in the neutral zone and chased down a loose puck sliding toward the Ottawa blue line.  Once in control of the puck, he skated in with Curtis Lazar on his hip and hooking him.  Having drawn the delayed penalty, Williams curled off in the right wing faceoff circle and looked as if he was reading progressions for a pass the way a quarterback would in the NFL. 

Williams looked for Latta in the middle, but he was covered.   He did not have a shooting lane, nor a passing lane to Brooks Laich setting up in front.  He spied John Carlson entering the zone and hit him in stride with a pass that Carlson one-timed past Hammond to make it 2-0, a lead that would hold up for the rest of the period and much of the third period.

The Caps were nursing that 2-0 lead when this happened…

Let’s look at the tale of the tape on this, okay?  Tom Wilson is officially 6’4”/215.  Curtis Lazar is 6’0”/209.  Giving away four inches and looking in the opposite direction while skating hunched over, if you skate into the path of the larger opponent, your head might be at the level of the bigger player’s shoulder.  But even that was not the case.  Wilson’s shoulder hit Lazar’s shoulder, and the whiplash of the unsuspecting player flipped his helmet almost off, which made the play look worse.  Wilson received a match penalty (intent to injure). 

Chris Neil getting up in Wilson’s face got him a roughing minor that reduced the ensuing power play to three minutes, but it was sufficient for the Senators to halve the lead on a goal by Bobby Ryan, who had a deflected shot from Kyle Turris bounce off his leg and past goalie Braden Holtby with 4:14 left in regulation.

That would be all the scoring, though.  Holtby turned away the last five shots on goal from Ottawa, and the Caps extended their lead in the Eastern Conference to three points over the idle Montreal Canadiens.

Other stuff…

-- Players around the league talk to one another informally, and one suspects that there is an officials’ “grapevine,” too.  Maybe they asked one another if they read this from Elliotte Friedman:

“The NHL’s Player Safety Department met with several repeat offenders in an attempt to reign them in. One was Zac Rinaldo, who escaped suspension a week earlier for hitting Sean Couturier, much to the department’s chagrin. While in Arizona during camp, Chris Pronger spoke with Steve Downie and John Scott. New Jersey’s Jordin Tootoo was offered the opportunity after being fined for a dangerous trip. Now on the radar? Washington’s Tom Wilson. Several teams have complained about his hits. As of yet, no meeting. But it’s been requested.”

And if this is true, it is bad news for Tom Wilson, who seems to be getting special attention from the striped shirts.  It is hard, looking at a replay of his hit on Curtis Lazar, to understand how it qualified as a penalty, let alone a major, and certainly not a match penalty with intent to injure.  If I’m walking down the hall, looking to my left, and walk into a wall on my right, chances are it is going to stun me.  Ramp that up to hockey speed, and it was hardly surprising that Lazar would have found himself stunned by skating into the larger player who had momentum of his own.

--  That is the third straight game in which Braden Holtby allowed just one goal, that following five straight games allowing two goals.  Over those eight games he is 7-0-1, 1.59, .952.

-- The Caps out-attempted the Senators, 22-15, at 5-on-5 in the first period.  That sort of dominance did not carry into the second period (13-9, Ottawa) or the third period (9-8, Caps).   At least they were not dominated as they had been in some recent games.

-- Alex Ovechkin had a nice poker hand in this game…four threes.  Three shots on goal, three missed shots, three shots blocked, and three hits.  No points, though.  That makes three straight games without a point, his longest such streak since a season-high four-game streak back in mid-November.

-- T.J. Oshie and Dmitry Orlov were the only Caps not to record a shot on goal.

-- Michael Latta added an assist on the John Carlson goal, giving him a two-point game, the second multi-goal game of his career.  His last one was in a 5-4 Caps win over Columbus on December 18, 2014.

-- John Carlson’s goal gave him six on the season and 24 points, good enough for fourth place by himself in total scoring among defensemen.

-- The Caps had only nine shots on goal in the last 34:17 of the game.

-- John Carlson leading the Caps defensemen in shot attempts is not surprising (he did, with seven), but Taylor Chorney was next with four (two shots on goal, two attempts blocked).

-- Matt Niskanen had the sampler meal in this one – one shot, one missed shot, one hit, one giveaway, one takeaway, one blocked shot, one penalty.

In the end…

The Caps continue to bank points without the benefit of 60 minutes of their “A” game.  That is a good thing, standings-wise, but it is a situation that still could use some improvement, even if the Caps did finish north of 50 percent in Corsi at 5-on-5 (52.6 percent). They get contributions from a variety of sources, tonight’s being Michael Latta with a pair of points.  That is another good thing.  But the best thing of all continues to be Braden Holtby, who is putting together what could be one of the most special seasons in franchise history.

Getting sturdier contributions from other places will be of some importance as the Caps move into their “rematch” phase of the schedule.  They face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday in what will be their second meeting in eight days and third in less than a month.  Then it will be the New York Rangers, who laid a 5-2 thumping on the Caps in the first game of November in the last meeting of the clubs.  It’s all part of the adventure.