Washington Capitals: 2017-2018 By the Tens -- Forwards: Tom Wilson

Tom Wilson

“The one who cannot restrain their anger will wish undone, what their temper and irritation prompted them to do.”

-- Horace

Tom Wilson has a well-honed ability to get under the skin of opponents.  His talent for goading opponents into taking penalties is considerable.  Among players appearing in at least 40 games this season, Wilson was third in penalties drawn per 60 minutes (source: naturalstattrick.com).  

But 2017-2018 was the season when Wilson became less an agitator, not as much a pugilist, and more a fully-formed hockey player.  Yes, he did compile a career high of 187 penalty minutes, and his 13 fights was one off his career high in 2013-2014.  However, there were those 14 goals, a career high that equaled his total from his previous two years combined.  He had a career high 21 assists and a career best 35 points.  His 15:59 in average ice time was more than three minutes per game clear of his previous high (12:56 last season).

In 2017-2018 Wilson became both a top-line forward who was not a liability at the position and became an important penalty killer, averaging more than two minutes of shorthanded ice time for the first time in his five-year career.  And, he became a more consistent contributor.  Wilson fought off a slow start – missing the first four games of the season with a suspension for boarding the St. Louis Blues’ Sam Blais in a preseason game (his second suspension of the preseason) and then recording only a single point in his first eight games of competition in the regular season.  He averaged almost half a point per game for the rest of the season (0.49 points per game in 70 games), and he had at least four points in five of his last seven ten-game segments, at least one goal in six of them.

His presence came to matter in games.  In the 22 games in which he skated at least 17:30, the Caps were 15-4-3, while they were 2-5-0 in games that he skated less than 13 minutes.  His contributions mattered, too.  He wasn’t just the protection for other top-six forwards.  He had points in 27 games, and the Caps posted a record of 21-4-2. 

Fearless’ Take… Tom Wilson was, if not a reluctant shooter in his four previous seasons, not a prolific one.  Despite appearing in all 82 games three times in those first four seasons, he never hit the 100 shot mark.  He did in 2017-2018, recording 123 shots on goal in 78 games.  His shot production was no threat to Alex Ovechkin (4.33 shots per game), but his 1.59 shots per game did matter.  The Caps lost only one game in regulation in the 19 games in which Wilson recorded three or more shots on goal (17-1-1).

Cheerless’ Take… Wilson taking penalties did seem to influence the Caps’ fortunes in a negative way, at least slightly.  In game when he took at least one penalty, the Caps were 23-14-3.  And the type of penalty seemed to matter.  In 13 games in which he was charged with a fighting major, the Caps were 9-3-1. They were just 14-11-2 when sat for reasons other than a fighting major.  However, when he avoided a visit to the penalty box altogether, the Caps were 24-11-3.

Odd Wilson Fact… Tom Wilson logged ten or more penalty minutes four times this season.  Every instance was on the road (Vancouver, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia).  Eleven of his 15 career games with 10 or more penalty minutes have been on the road.

Game to Remember… December 6^th vs. Chicago

When the Chicago Blackhawks came to town in early December, the Caps were on a roll offensively. Starting with a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on November 22^nd, Washington averaged 3.67 goals per game over a six game stretch and scored four or more four times.  Unfortunately, Tom Wilson was not doing much of the contributing, posting only a pair of assists over that span.  In fact, Wilson dragged a 14-game streak without a goal into the contest against the Blackhawks. 

However, there was a hint that Wilson might break loose against this opponent.  In his first six career games against Chicago, Wilson did not record a point.  But in his seventh game against the Blackhawks, and most recent one before this game, Wilson had a goal and two assists in a 6-0 win on January 13, 2017.

Wilson got on the board to break his personal goalless streak in the first period in this game.  After Nicklas Backstrom put the Caps in front to open the scoring mid-way through the period (a goal on which Wilson assisted), Wilson scored just under three minutes later when he took a pass from Christian Djoos at the far edge of the left wing circle and wrapped a shot around defenseman Gustav Forsling from long range and surprised Goalie Anton Forsberg 14:53 into the period.  Just 59 seconds later, Wilson had his third point of the period when he got behind the Chicago defense on a breakaway.  His shot was foiled by Forsberg, but Alex Ovechkin followed it up and beat Forsberg to make it 3-0, 15:22 into the period.

Wilson appeared once more on the score sheet, this time late in the third period.  With the Caps ahead, 5-2, but the Blackhawks on a power play and their goalie pulled, Wilson was gifted the puck from a clot of players between the hash marks.  In one motion he swept the puck down the ice and into the empty cage for a shorthanded empty netter, his second goal of the game and fourth point.  Wilson’s first four-point game as a Capital was one of eight four-point games the Caps would record in 2017-2018.

Game to Forget… October 14^th vs. Philadelphia

When the Capitals visited the Flyers in their home opener of the 2017-2018 season, history was not on their side.  Washington had never defeated the Flyers in their home opener, losing four times and tying once.  Tom Wilson had his own issues against the Flyers.  In 17 career games against Philadelphia coming into this season, Wilson had one goal and three assists.  On top of that, he had 60 penalty minutes against the Flyers, more than he recorded against any other team in the league.  And, he averaged about ten minutes a game against Philly, a career average lower than any team he faced save for Toronto and Montreal.

Neither the Caps nor Wilson were going to write a new chapter in their history against the Flyers in this game.  The Caps gave up a shorthanded goal late in the first period to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead and allow them to grab momentum that they would not relinquish.  The Flyers scored three more times in the second period and three times again in the third in pasting the Caps, 8-2.  The frustration for the Caps bubbled over in the third when Wilson and Flyer defenseman Radko Gudas were nailed with matching 10-minute misconduct penalties, ending Wilson’s night with no points and just 10:29 in ice time, his low for the season.  Wilson’s frustrating record against the Flyers extended through the season.  In four games against Philadelphia he had no points and was minus-4.

Postseason… In 41 postseason games coming into this season’s playoffs, Tom Wilson was not a particularly noticeable player.  He had three goals (all of them in the 2017 playoffs) and five points, going minus-8 in the process.  His 72 penalty minutes in those games helped hold him to an average of less than 11 minutes of ice time across those games. 

The 2018 postseason was a different story.  The Stanley Cup run for the Caps afforded fans a long look at “The Compleat Wilson.”  He appeared in only 21 of the 24 games played by the Caps, missing the last three games of the conference semifinal against Pittsburgh when he was suspended for his unpenalized hit on Zach Aston-Reese.  The hit fractured Aston-Reese’s jaw and left him with a concussion.  Wilson avoided a suspension from a hit he applied to Brian Dumoulin in the previous game.

In the 21 games in which Wilson did appear, he recorded career highs in a single postseason of five goals, ten assists, 15 points, a plus-11, 34 shots on goal, and an average of 17:45 in ice time.  The Caps were 8-3 in games in which Wilson had at least one point, 4-1 in games in which he recorded a goal.  Wilson had four multi-point games in the postseason, tied with Lars Eller for fifth on the team.  And an active Wilson went hand in hand with success.  The Caps were 9-1 in games in which Wilson recorded at least two shots on goal.

In the end…

Over his first four seasons, Tom Wilson established himself as the player that fans and players of 30 other teams hated.  He could draw penalties with the best of them, get under opponents’ skin, and get into the heads of opponent fan bases.  It had its merits, to a point, deflecting attention from the more productive (in a goals and points way) assets the Caps had on the ice.

As the 2017-2018 season wore on, Wilson established something else.  He became a legitimate top six power forward who could not just protect linemates, but contribute offensively.  And, his scope of responsibility broadened to include a larger penalty killing role.  He hasn’t so much replaced his ability to instigate and annoy as much as he has supplemented it, thereby only adding to the possibilities and opportunities for opponents to lose their temper and unleash their anger, only to wish it undone when Wilson and the Caps skate off with a win.

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2017-2018 By the Tens -- Forwards: Jakub Vrana

Jakub Vrana

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

-- Benjamin Franklin

The number “13” has hardly been unlucky for Jakub Vrana.  He was taken by the Washington Capitals with the 13^th overall pick in the 2014 entry draft, wears the number “13” for the Caps (the fifth player in team history to wear it), and he scored 13 goals for the Capitals this season.  It was not all Skittles and unicorns, though.  Vrana got off to a good start in his rookie campaign, recording a pair of assists against the Ottawa Senators in the season opener and going 2-3-5 in his first six contests.  However, inconsistency crept into his game, a problem that would stalk him all season.  He went his next five games without a point and was just 2-0-2 in 14 games after that hot six-game start.

The problem was reflected in his eight ten-game segments, which displayed quite a varied level of output across those segments.  He started well (two five-point segments among his first three) and finished well (four points in each of his last two segments), but in-between it was a rather uneven level of production (between one and four points).  And his appearances as the season wore on took on an uneven character.  He missed eight of the last 33 games of the regular season after sitting for just one of the first 49 contests of the season.

The other item of note in his ten-game segments is the manner in which his ice time was reduced.  In his first segment he averaged 13:51 per game in ice time.  However, except for one segment (his sixth, when he averaged 12:59 per game) his ice time dropped in each segment until he averaged just 10:09 in his last segment of the season.  It might have played a factor in his having recorded ten of his 13 goals for the season in his first four segments, but just three in his last four segments of the season.

Fearless’ Take… Even with his uneven presence in the lineup and ice time, Jakub Vrana finished in the top-20 in goal scoring among rookies (tied for 17^th).  With 13 goals averaging 12:30 per game over 73 contests, only one of those above him in the rankings averaged less ice time (Sonny Milano had 14 goals averaging 11:39 in 55 games for Columbus).  And an active Vrana was part of a successful team.  In 21 games in which he had three or more shots on goal, the Caps were 14-5-2.

Cheerless’ Take… Yeah, about those shots on goal.  The Caps only lost one game in regulation in the ten in which he didn’t have any shots on goal (a 3-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on December 23^rd).  And among rookies, his shot attempts on ice numbers were not especially impressive.  Among 60 rookies appearing in at least 40 games, he ranked 27^th in shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 (50.15 percent).

Odd Vrana Fact… Jakub Vrana had just one point in ten games against Central Division opponents this season, the first goal of the contest in a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on December 12^th.

Game to Remember… November 22^nd vs. Ottawa

After scoring goals in consecutive games in back-to-back games against New Jersey and Philadelphia on October 13^th and 14^th, Jakub Vrana went into a slump, scoring just two goals over his next 15 games.  On the night before Thanksgiving against the Ottawa Senators, Vrana broke out of his slump.  Late in the first period, T.J. Oshie won a battle for a loose puck just inside the Senators’ blue line. Oshie curled in a snapped a pass to Evgeny Kuznetsov cutting to the net.  Kuznetsov’s attempted redirect from the side of the net was stopped by goalie Craig Anderson, but he could not control the rebound that leaked to the top of the crease.  Vrana was camped out there with inside position on Fredrik Claesson and got enough of his stick on the loose puck to nudge it past Anderson to give the Caps a 1-0 lead 15:21 into the game.

After the Caps scored on a Kuznetsov power play goal less than eight minutes into the second period to give Washington a 3-0 lead, Vrana struck again barely two minutes later.  Dmitry Orlov backhanded a pass to Kuznetsov, who carried the puck out of the Washington end and through the neutral zone.  As he approached the Ottawa blue line he tried to send the puck through Ryan Dzingel’s legs and recover it on the other side, but he lost it to Vrana on his left side.  Vrana stepped up and fired a shot that beat Anderson on the blocker side, wedging under the net frame under the water bottle where everyone but the referee lost sight of it.  The referee signaled a goal, Vrana shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “OK,” and he had his first multi-goal game as a Capital in a 5-2 win.

Game to Forget… January 21^st vs. Philadelphia

There were times this season when it just was not too clear that Vrana was fully engaged in his task.  That was the case in a mid-January game against the Flyers in Washington.  He skated three shifts in the first period for 2:57 in ice time to no effect.  Then, he skated another five shifts in the second period for 3:28 with similar results.  And that would be it.  Vrana skated eight shifts and 6:25 in ice time (his low for the season), not seeing the ice for the last 22:46 of regulation and overtime in a 2-1 Flyers win.  He finished the game with no shots on goal, no shot attempts, and one giveaway as the only crooked mark on his score sheet line.

Postseason… Jakub Vrana’s time was doled out sparingly in the postseason, averaging 11:56 in 23 games (he sat for Game 2 in the opening round series against Columbus).  And, he scored only three goals in those 23 games, tenth on the club.  But he was one of six Capitals with at least two game-winning goals.  Both came in the conference semi-final series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The first came in Game 2 when he scored from between the hash marks on a power play to put the Caps up, 2-0, in what would be a 4-1 win.  The other came in Game 5 when, after a great save by Braden Holtby to preserve what was a 3-3 tie, he skated with Alex Ovechkin to the other end.  Ovechkin carried the puck wide, and as he was about to curl around the net fed the puck to Vrana cutting across the low slot.  Vrana wasted no time in finding the back of the net before goalie Matt Murray could get back into the net after setting up for an Ovechkin shot that never came.  Vrana finished his first postseason as a Capital with a 3-5-8, plus-5 scoring line.

In the end…

Jakub Vrana can skate, he has great hands, and he has a lethal shot.  He has the potential to be the best pure sniper of a shooter on this club since Peter Bondra.  But his consistency needs to catch up to his talent.  He has a tendency to go silent and disengaged for stretches, even games at a time.  But he has yet to play his 100the game in the NHL, and he will not be 23 years old until February.  He has time and room to improve those mental aspects of his game that need development.  As he grows and progresses in those areas, improvement, achievement, and success will accompany his game.  This season was a step in that direction.

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2017-2018 By the Tens -- Forwards: Chandler Stephenson

Chandler Stephenson

“Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.”

-- John Keats

Chandler Stephenson took each rung of the developmental ladder in its turn.  Drafted by the Washington Capitals in the third round in 2012 (one spot ahead of Philadelphia Flyer defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, it should be noted), Stephenson spent another season with the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League before getting a taste of professional action with the Hershey Bears late in the 2012-2013 season.  That was followed up by three more seasons with the Bears with a couple of brief stints with the Caps in 2015-2016 (nine games) and in 2016-2017 (four games). 

With the Caps having lost a number of forwards after the 2016-2017 season, there was room for advancement on the 2017-2018 roster, but there would be competition for bottom-six spots, even with the departure of Daniel Winnik after last season.  Stephenson was one name in the mix, competing with off-season acquisitions Devante Smith-Pelly, Alex Chiasson, and Tyler Graovac; and prospects Travis Boyd, Nathan Walker, and Liam O’Brien.

Smith-Pelly, Graovac, and Chiasson were among the forwards starting on Opening Night.  Stephenson sat, and he would sit for the first nine games of the 2017-2018 season.  It seemed as if his season would be a combination of nacho duty, occasional games in the Caps’ lineup, and perhaps another year with work put in with the Bears in Hershey.  He was given a sweater in the Caps’ 10^th game of the season, in Vancouver against the Canucks.  The Caps lost decisively that evening, 6-2, but Stephenson scored a goal late in the contest, his first as a Capital.  He would prove difficult, if not impossible to dislodge from the lineup thereafter.  He dressed for 67 of the Caps’ last 73 games of the season and posted very respectable numbers for a rookie playing a bottom six role (6-12-18).  His plus-13 for the season tied for fifth among all rookies.

Stephenson’s ten-game segments were consistent, if not eye-popping.  He had points in each of the eight segments, assists in seven of them, and he was a “plus” player in six of them.  And, as happens often with bottom six/secondary scorers, when he did contribute offensively, it was part of a successful team effort.  Washington was 11-5-0 in the 16 games in which he recorded a point.

Fearless’ Take… One has the feeling that there is a goal scorer in there somewhere with Stephenson.  Although it has not yet expressed itself in his pro career, he had 30 goals in 69 games in his last year in juniors.  But he did finish seventh among 83 rookies with at least 25 shots on goal in shooting percentage (16.7 percent).  And his presence in the lineup at least coincided with success.  The Caps were 41-21-5 with Stephenson in the lineup, 8-5-2 when he was not.

Cheerless’ Take… Just like secondary scoring is important to wins from time to time, too much ice time among bottom six forwards might be an indicator of something else.  The Caps were 19-11-4 in games in which Stephenson skated 12 or more minutes, 22-10-1 in games in which he skated less than 12 minutes.  And what was up with the shooting?  Washington was 8-1-0 in games in which he had two shots (he had none with as many as three).

Odd Stephenson Fact… Chandler Stephenson was the only player in the league to appear in more than 60 games (67) and record fewer than 40 shots on goal (36).

Game to Remember… January 31^st vs. Philadelphia

The Caps were in mid-season doldrums when the Flyers came to Washington to end the January schedule.  After winning the first three games of the new calendar year, the Caps were 2-2-2 in their next six games, one of them a 2-1 overtime loss to the Flyers at Capital One Arena ten days before this game on the same ice sheet.

The Flyers put the Caps in an early hole, Nolan Patrick scoring the game’s first goal just 78 seconds into the game and extending the lead with a goal by Travis Konecny at the 7:50 mark.  The Caps erased the deficit early in the second period, courtesy of Chandler Stephenson.  In the third minute, John Carlson tried to hit Stephenson with a long pass from his own end to the Flyer blue line, but the puck was too wide of Stephenson and rimmed around the board to the opposite corner.  Lars Eller got to the puck first to wipe out an icing call and from the Olympia Corner sent a puck to the front of the net.  Goalie Michal Neuvirth stopped it, but he lost sight of it at his skates.  Stephenson darted in and poked it though his pads to halve the deficit at the 2:14 mark.  Less than a minute later, Madison Bowey found Stephenson on a long lead pass for a breakaway, and Stephenson did the rest, taking the puck just outside the Flyer blue line, skating in on Neuvirth, and slipping the puck on a backhand between his pads to tie the game at the 3:01 mark.  The Caps went on to score three more goals before the Flyers added one at the end in a 5-3 Caps win.  It was Stephenson’s first (and, to date, only) multi-goal game with the Caps. 

Game to Forget… February 22^nd at Florida

When you see “7-11,” you normally associate it with a convenience store and Slurpees.  On February 22^nd, “7:11” was Chandler Stephenson’s ice time.  He skated only 11 shifts (only two of them in the second period), managing one shot attempt (a shot on goal) and one faceoff (lost).  Of that 7:11 in ice time, 1:56 of it was skated on the penalty kill.  Stephenson was doing just that when he was a step late covering Vincent Trocheck in the high slot when the latter redirected a Jonathan Huberdeau drive past goalie Braden Holtby with 18.7 seconds left for the game-winning goal in a 3-2 Caps loss.

Postseason… In Chandler Stephenson’s first taste of postseason action in the NHL, he appeared in all 24 games for the Caps and contributed a pair of goals and five assists.  His seven points tied for the third most (with Evgeny Kuznetsov) by a Caps rookie in the postseason, topped only by Jakub Vrana in this same postseason (eight) and Richard Zednik (ten points in 1998).  When he scored a shorthanded goal in the Caps’ 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in the series-clinching Game 6 win, he because the first Caps rookie to score a shorthanded goal in the postseason.  If there was an oddity in his postseason it was that his first and last games of the playoffs were the only ones in which he skated less than ten minutes (9:44 in Game 1, 9:52 in Game 24).  Another odd occurrence was his only once recoding points in the 13 games in which he skated more than 15 minutes, recording a pair of assists in the Caps’ 4-3 overtime win against Columbus in Game 5 of their opening round series, a game in which Stephenson skated 20:38, his high in the playoffs.

In the end…

Chandler Stephenson made the most of his opportunities as a rookie on a largely veteran team.  And when it came to the postseason, he added a spark and speed that the Caps have lacked among their bottom six forwards in years past.  He established himself as a likely bottom-six fixture for years to come, especially with the departure of Jay Beagle to the Vancouver Canucks in free agency.  It was all something that might not have been on anyone’s radar when the team convened for training camp last September, but like John Keats said, “Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.”

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2017-2018 By the Tens -- Forwards: Devante Smith-Pelly

Devante Smith-Pelly

“Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.”

-- Emily Dickinson

When the sun set on July 3, 2017, the third day of the 2017 free agent signing period, Ales Hemsky signed a one-year/$1 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.  In Dallas, the Stars inked Alex Radulov to a five-year/$31.25 million deal.  Tucked away in the contract trackers was a one-year/$650,000 contract for Devante Smith-Pelly to play for the Washington Capitals.  Hemsky ended up starting the season on Montreal’s fourth line, played six games without recording a point, suffered a concussion in his seventh game, against the Anaheim Ducks, and did not dress again this season.  Radulov played in all 82 games for the Stars, recorded 27 goals and 72 points (both career highs), but his Stars failed to reach the postseason.

Smith-Pelly had an unremarkable regular season for the Capitals, posting seven goals and 16 points in 75 games.  The 75 games were a career high for “DSP,” but the offensive numbers were somewhat less than his career average per 82 games over his first six seasons with three clubs (Anaheim, Montreal, and New Jersey) – 10-14-24.  He averaged 12:21 in ice time, the median ice time in his seven NHL seasons.  Yes, “unremarkable” might be the adjective to describe his regular season, very much a “fourth line” sort of profile.

And nothing in his stretch run suggested he would be a particularly noteworthy player in the post season.  In his first six ten-game segments, he recorded at least one goal in four of them, and his point totals ranged from two to four points per segment.  What might have been an ominous signal for the postseason, he did not record a point after February 11^th, going his last 24 games without one.  And, he had just one “plus” game in that span, going minus-9 overall in that span.

Still, his seven goals was exceeded only once in his career (he had 14 split between Montreal and New Jersey in 2015-2016), and his 16 points was the second highest he posted with one team in a season (he had 17 54 games with Anaheim in 2014-2015 before he was traded to Montreal).  In a way, he might have been precisely what the Caps might have bargained for when signing him to modest terms in July 2017.

Fearless’ Take… DSP displayed the importance of getting multi-level production.  He had points in 16 games for the Caps, who posted a 13-1-2 record in those games.  And in those 16 games he was a plus-16.  And more ice time corresponded to more success.  In 36 games in which he skated at more than his average (12:21), the Caps were 25-9-2; they were 19-16-4 in the 39 games in which he skated under his ice time average.

Cheerless’ Take… Sometimes, fourth liners provide an edgy kind of play that teams feed off of.  That was not the case, at least so far as DSP and those “grittership” numbers were concerned.  In 21 games in which he was credited with three or more hits, the Caps were 9-9-3.  They were 8-9-1 in games in which he had at least two blocked shots.  And the Caps were barely a .500 winning percentage team when he did not find his way to the score sheet (31-24-4).

Odd Smith-Pelly Fact… Devante Smith-Pelly and Tom Wilson were the only Capitals to average at least two hits per game and at least one shot on goal per game.

Game to Remember… November 24^th vs. Tampa Bay

When the Tampa Bay Lightning visited Capital One Arena on the day after Thanksgiving, the Caps had not won consecutive games in regulation in three weeks and had not won consecutive games in regulation time on home ice all season to that point.  They were looking to end those skids against Tampa Bay after having dispatched the Ottawa Senators, 5-2, on Thanksgiving Eve at Capital One Arena.  It was a tall order, since the Lightning came to Washington winners of six of their previous seven games.

The teams exchanged first period goals, Vladislav Namestnikov opening the scoring for the Lightning on a power play and Alex Ovechkin tying the game late in the period.  Then, with the clock ticking down to the five-minute mark in the second period, Dmitry Orlov spied Smith-Pelly heading up the middle through the neutral zone and fed him the puck in stride.  As Smith-Pelly got to the Tampa blue line, he fed the puck to Jay Beagle, who fired a shot on goal.  Smith-Pelly tried to redirect the shot from in front of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, but the puck got through to the goaltender.  Vasilevskiy made the save with his left pad, but the puck came right to Smith-Pelly, who buried the rebound before Vasilevskiy could reset, and the Caps had a lead they would not relinquish.  Beagle added an empty net goal late, and the Caps had their second straight win in regulation on home ice for the first time this season.  Smith-Pelly got credit for the game-winning goal, his first and only one in the regular season.

Game to Forget…  November 30^th vs. Los Angeles

The next time the Caps took home ice after that win against Tampa, things did not end as well for Smith-Pelly or the Caps.  Things started well enough for Washington when Evgeny Kuznetsov opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the contest.  Things quickly went sour, though.  The Kings tied the game mid-way through the first period, and after the Caps regained the lead early in the second period on another Kuznetsov goal, Los Angeles scored twice in nine seconds mid-way through the period to take the lead for good.  Smith-Pelly was on ice for both goals, as well as the first one the Kings scored.  It was more action, perhaps, than he might have wished for, given that he skated just 9:35 for the game that the Caps would go on to lose, 5-2.  His minus-3 was his worst of the season, and at the offensive end of the ice he was frustrated with all three of his shot attempts blocked.

Postseason… Some players have a sense of the moment and step up their game when it matters more.  Devante Smith-Pelly made two playoff appearances before this season and went 6-2-8 in 24 games, a 20-goal scoring pace per 82 games.  Not exactly what one might expect for a bottom six forward, even if five of those goals came in 12 games with the Anaheim Ducks in the 2014 postseason.  When he scored on his only shot in the Caps’ first postseason game this spring, it was in retrospect a good omen, even if the Caps lost that game to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It would be the last time the Caps would lose a game in which DSP scored a goal in the postseason.  Six times he scored in a game, six times the Caps won.  Two of those goals were game-winning goals, one of them coming in the series clinching Game 6 win over the Blue Jackets, the other coming in Game 4 of the final against the Vegas Golden Knights that put the Caps on the brink of clinching their first Stanley Cup championship.  In addition to the two game-winning goals he scored, DSP scored another goal that gave the Caps a lead and two that tied contests, including his third-period goal in Game 5 against the Golden Knights in the final that set up the Lars Eller goal later that would clinch the Cup for the Caps.

In the end…

Some players just rise to the occasion.  Nothing in his regular season numbers this season indicated that Devante Smith-Pelly would be a factor in the postseason, let alone a critical ingredient to the success the Caps enjoyed.  But there he was, inserting himself into many meaningful moments with an impeccable sense of timing that should not have been altogether surprising given his postseason history coming into this season.  It demonstrates that good fortune can be had for those who toil in relative obscurity, but whose hard work in those situations can prepare them for their moment in the spotlight.  Devante Smith-Pelly earned his good fortune.

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2017-2018 By the Tens -- Forwards: Alex Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin

“There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.”

-- Salvador Dali

In our prognosto for Alex Ovechkin last September we wrote…

“…time plays no favorites, and Alex Ovechkin is no exception.  His constitution might push off that reckoning (he appears to be coming to training camp significantly leaner than last season), but it will come, and his production will diminish, if it has not started to already.  It makes George Bernard Shaw’s comment about time especially noteworthy.  Is there enough time for Ovechkin to realize the last of the great achievements available to an NHL player?”

The short answer to that last question is, obviously, “yes.”  After ten trips to the postseason and 120 games, Ovechkin finally got to accept the Stanley Cup from Commissioner Gary Bettman after his 121st postseason game and skate it around the rink as a champion.

It was the exclamation point on quite a season for Ovechkin.  In his 13^th NHL season he won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy for the seventh time, falling just one goal short of what would have been his eighth season of 50 or more goals.  As it was, Ovechkin became just the fifth player in NHL history to record at least 49 goals having reached the age of 32 and only the second since 1975.

It was a season that was part “hot start” and part “Mr. Consistency.”  The hot start was scoring seven goals in his first two games and recording three hat tricks 25 games into the season, a total that only two other players would match over the entire season (Connor McDavid and Alex DeBrincat).  The consistency part came mostly in the second half of the season.  In his last four ten-game segments, Ovechkin scored six goals three times and seven once (that coming in the last, 12-game segment).  As it was, he scored 26 goals in the first 41 games of the season, 23 in the last 41 games.

That consistency extended to his performances at home and on the road.  In 41 home games, Ovechkin had 26 goals, while he had 23 in 41 road games.  His point totals at home (44) and on the road (43) were almost identical.

Another number that stands out is his assist total.  He had 38 helpers in 2017, his highest assist total since he had 53 in 2010-2011.  He had four three-assist games, a total exceeded by only five other players in the league. And being a helper mattered.  The Caps were 20-5-2 in the 27 games in which Ovechkin recorded an assist.  They were 9-3-1 when Ovechkin recorded at least one assist without scoring a goal himself.

Ovechkin did all this while averaging 20:09 in ice time.  That was the third lowest of his career, although it was almost two minutes more than he averaged last season (18:22, the lowest of his career).  And, as it turned out, less Ovechkin was more Ovechkin.  In 30 games in which he skated less than 19:30, he was 24-17-41, plus-12, and the Caps were 22-6-2. 

Fearless’ Take… For being one of the most physical players in the NHL, Alex Ovechkin has demonstrated remarkable durability.  The 2017-2018 season was his fifth NHL season in which he dressed for every game (including the abbreviated 48-game season of 2012-2013), and the first time he dressed for every game in consecutive seasons since the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons.  Since he came into the league in 2005-2006, only five players have appeared in more regular season games than the 1,003 in which Ovechkin appeared.  That Ovechkin has missed a total of 29 games over his 13-year career is among the most remarkable numbers in his career (14 to injury, eight to suspensions, three to personal reasons, four other). 

Then there is the matter of his being “selfish” as a product of taking all those shots.  He did lead the league with 355 shots on goal, but that was the third-lowest total for a full 82-game season in his career.  And, it isn’t as if his not shooting helped the club.  In the 22 games in which he recorded more than five shots on goal, the Caps were 22-6-0; they were 11-6-2 in the 19 games in which he recorded two or fewer shots.

Cheerless’ Take… Kinder and gentler Ovechkin.  He had 12 games with four or more credited hits, and the Caps were 7-4-1.  In 22 games he was not credited with a hit (22?...really??) the Caps were 15-5-2.  And the thing is, he was 18-17-35, plus-7 in those 22 games.  His 139 credited hits was the lowest of his career for a full 82-game season and was only 19 more than he had in the 48-game season in 2012-2013.  And, his 32 penalty minutes was the second-lowest total he had for a full season in his career (26 PIMs in 78 games in 2011-2012).  He even had more in the abbreviated 2012-2013 season (36 PIMs in 48 games).

Odd Ovechkin Fact… Ovechkin had 21 blocked shots in 16 games this season (the third-lowest blocked shots total of his career for a full 82-game season).  The Caps were 14-1-1 in those games. 

Game to Remember… October 7^th vs Montreal

Coming into this season, no player in the NHL had more four-goal games since 2005-2006 than Alex Ovechkin.  Two of them came on home ice, one of those against the Montreal Canadiens in January 2008.  That was until the home opener of the 2017-2018 season.  Having recorded a hat trick in the season opener in Ottawa in a 5-4 Gimmick win against the Senators, Ovechkin already started the season as hot as a firecracker. 

Just 20 seconds into this game, he was a blowtorch.   With the puck squirting loose from a clot of players out of the high slot, it slid to Ovechkin at the top of the left wing circle.  He spun and fired a shot that goalie Carey Price looked as if he was not expecting, and his glove was late in stopping the shot, and the Caps were off and running.  He scored again just over two minutes later on a power play to give the Caps a 3-0 lead, and then he completed the hat trick in his second straight game with 1:50 left in the first period.  After the Habs got on the scoreboard in the fifth minute of the second period, Ovechkin restored the four-goal lead later in the period, finishing his scoring for the night with four goals in a span of 36:26 in what would be a 6-1 Capitals win. 

As it turns out, Ovechkin is the only player since the 2005-2006 season to score four goals against Montreal and has done it twice.  The last player to score four goals against the Canadiens not named “Ovechkin” was John LeClair, who scored four for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 6-2 win over Montreal in January 2002.

Game to Forget…  October 14^th at Philadelphia

Alex Ovechkin has had generally good luck against the Philadelphia Flyers.  Coming into this season he was 31-21-52 in 45 career games against the Flyers.  The game on October 14^th in Philadelphia did not add to the luster of his body of work against the Flyers.  He was on ice for the first Flyers’ goal that opened the scoring.  Then, after the Caps tied the game, he was on ice for the tie-breaking goal, a shorthanded strike with the Caps on a power play.  And it just didn’t stop.  The Flyers scored eight times on that night, and Ovechkin was on the ice for five of them in an 8-2 loss.  What made it more frustrating was his team-leading six shots on goal and ten shot attempts in less than 15 minutes of work.  He finished with no goals and no points to go along with his minus-4, a season-worst.

Postseason… 

From 2008 through 2017, Alex Ovechkin appeared in the postseason nine times.  His 97 games played in that span was tied for 34^th in the league in that period.  Nevertheless, he was tied for fourth in goals (46), tied for 19^th in assists (44), eighth in points (90), tied for sixth in power play goals (15), tied for 13^th in game-winning goals, second in goals-per-game (0.47), and tenth in points per game (0.93).  Back to those games.  In that span of years, the Caps played 97 times in the postseason.  Ovechkin did not miss a game. 

Shorter version – his numbers out-performed his games played in terms of ranking.  And yet, he was viewed widely, if not universally, as a postseason failure for not having advanced past the second round of the playoffs.  It was an exceptionally stark contrast to that of his nemesis, Sidney Crosby, who advanced out of the second round four times in the same span of years, reaching the Stanley Cup final in each of those instances and winning three times.

That was then, and 2018 was an entirely different story with an entirely different ending.  Ovechkin was a model of consistency in the postseason.  He had goals in 13 of the 24 games (only two players – Ovechkin and Mark Scheifele – had 13 or more goals in total), points in 19 of them.  He did not have consecutive games without a point, and only twice did he go more than one game without a goal (the last three games against Pittsburgh and Games 3 and 4 against Tampa).

What is more remarkable is Ovechkin’s consistency across series.  Here is how his scoring line breaks down across the four series:

• Round 1 vs. Columbus: Six games, 5-3-8, minus-1
• Round 2 vs. Pittsburgh: Six games, 4-4-7, plus-4
• Round 3 vs. Tampa Bay: Seven games, 4-3-7, plus-2
• Round 4 vs. Vegas: Five games, 3-2-5, plus-3

Seven of his 15 goals gave the Caps a lead in games, and three of those were the game’s first goal.  And there was an efficiency to the goal scoring.  Ovechkin scored a goal in each of the games in which he skated less than 18:30 in ice time, and the Caps won all eight games.  That ice time was something managed effectively for Ovechkin, whose 20:09 in average ice time for game was lower than all but two postseasons (19:48 in 2012 and 18:22 in 2017).

It was a winning formula.  Ovechkin led the league in goals scored in the postseason 15, the most in a single postseason since Crosby had 15 in 2009.  You would have to go back to 1996 to find a player who had more goals in a postseason (Joe Sakic had 18 goals in 26 games).  His six power play goals tied for the league lead and was the highest total since Evgeni Malkin had seven in 2009.

The numbers that mattered though were four, 16, and one.  Ovechkin and the Caps navigated through four rounds and 16 wins so he could carry what only one captain gets to accept from the Commissioner…

It would be one of several trophies Ovechkin earned or left a mark this season…

…but it is the Stanley Cup that one imagines it will never cease to be a source of satisfaction for Alex Ovechkin.

Photos: Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America / Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2017-2018 By the Tens -- Forwards: T.J. Oshie

T.J. Oshie

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

-- Frederick Douglass

If the NHL had an “effort-per-pound” statistic in the NHL, T.J. Oshie might be among the league leaders.  He is absolutely fearless in playing above his size (5’11”/195) in going to the hard areas of the ice and trying to impose his physical will on opponents.  It is a hard way to make a living.  That he missed only 24 games in his three seasons as a Washington Capital says something about his toughness, but 22 of those games came in the last two seasons, eight of them in 2017-2018.

The physical wear and tear as a result of his style of play might have contributed to a fall-off in goal production from a career high 33 in 2016-2017.  His 18 goals in 74 games this season were Oshie’s fewest in three years as a Capital and the lowest goal total posted in a full season since he had 12 in 49 games of the 2010-2011 season with the St. Louis Blues.

And it matters.  Oshie scored goals in 14 games this season, and the Caps were 11-1-2 in those games.  Points were weaker as an indicator of success, although the Caps did go 22-9-4 in the 35 games in which he recorded a point.

But back to the grittership.  Oshie tied Alex Ovechkin for third among the club’s forwards in hits-per-game (1.7).  His 124 credited hits made it four times in ten seasons in which he was credited with at least 100 hits.  He tied Tom Wilson for third among that group in blocked shots-per-game (0.7).  His total of 54 blocked shots made five seasons in ten in which he had at least 50.  And though he is nominally a right winger, he took 211 draws for the Caps (fifth on the team) and won 47.9 of them. 

There were numbers that might have raised some concerns about Oshie and whether he might be feeling some effects of his style of play.  He posted six goals in his first eight games this season.and ten in his first 21 games.  However, he followed up that start with just two goals in his next 42 games, perhaps affected by the apparent concussion he suffered against the San Jose Sharks on December 4^th.

Then there was the Gimmick.  Oshie is one of the most effective practitioners of the dark arts of the trick shot phase of the game.  In his nine-year career before this season, no player among the 135 taking at least 25 shots in the freestyle phase had a better shooting percentage than Oshie (54.9 percent on 39-for-71 shooting).  It made his 1-for-4 performance this season a bit out of place.

Fearless’ Take… T.J. Oshie is counted on to be a goal-scorer for this club.  His injury-influenced 18-goal total might have been a bit disappointing, coming off his 33-goal season a year previously, but Oshie contributes in many ways.  For instance, he belongs to a select, if odd club this season.  Only five players in the league were credited with at least 100 hits, took at least 100 faceoffs, recorded at least 50 takeaways, and had at least 50 blocked shots.  Oshie was one of them (Blake Coleman, Gabriel Landeskog, Vincent Trocheck, and Jamie Benn were the others).

Cheerless’ Take… T.J. Oshie’s season had a strange quality to it if you think of him as being a rambunctious player (like the big word, cuz?).  In 21 games, Oshie had three or more shot on goal, but the Caps were just 11-6-4 in those games.  In 17 games he had three or more credited hits, but the Caps were just 7-8-2 in those games.  Washington was just 5-7-2 in 14 games in which he had two or more blocked shots.  Frisky Oshie was not necessarily Effective Oshie.  And, the Caps were just 7-6-2 in games in which Oshie skated more than 20 minutes; they were 6-2-0 in games in which he skated less than 16 minutes.

Odd Oshie Fact… Oshie wears number 77 on his jersey.  He has 77 goals as a Capital, and he has 77 assists with the club in his three seasons.

Game to Remember… Usually, it would be a regular season game we would describe here, but this image with his father after the Stanley Cup clinching game -- well, it’s what kids play for…

Game to Forget… December 4^th vs. San Jose

Thirteen shifts, 10 minutes and change in ice time, one shot attempt (blocked), one hit, one takeaway.  And then there was this…

…he sat out the last 23:26 of the game and was out of the lineup for the six games that followed.  It was his lowest ice time of the season, one of 15 games without a shot on goal, one of only five games in which he did not take a faceoff.  The Caps won the game, 4-1, but Oshie might not remember much of it.  Nor might he want to.  Not for anything negative in his performance; it was just one of those nights when things go bad just before they get worse.

Postseason… The rap on Oshie when he was with the St. Louis Blues was that his postseason production was lacking.  In 30 playoff games over five seasons, he went just 5-4-9, minus-12.  This has not been a problem with the Caps.  In 49 postseason games with Washington, he is 18-25-43, plus-9.  And, he has improved his numbers in each of his three postseasons with the Caps, culminating in a 8-13-21, plus-5, scoring line this spring.  His six power play goals not only led the league in the postseason (tied with Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos), it eclipsed his total of five power play goals in 55 playoff games before this season.

Oshie had two game-winning goals, each of which came in pivotal games in their respective series.  He had the game-winner in a 4-1 Game 4 win in Columbus against the Blue Jackets to send that series back to Washington tied and with the Caps regaining a home-ice advantage after dropping Games 1 and 2 at home.  He also had a game-winner in the 3-0 win in Washington in Game 6 against the Lightning to force a seventh game in Tampa. Both game-winners came on power plays.

Oshie was especially lethal on home ice in the postseason, recording six of his eight goals at Capital One Arena and recording points in eight of the 11 games played on that ice sheet.  But the one very odd statistic that jumps off the page is that the Caps were 7-1 in games in which Oshie recorded one or no shots on goal.

In the end…

T.J. Oshie has had rather consistent numbers in St. Louis and Washington in the regular season – 310 points in 444 games with the Blues and 154 points in 222 games with the Caps.  But when Oshie signed an eight-year/$46 million deal with the Caps that started in the 2017-2018 season it was with bigger contributions in mind, and we don’t mean three-point games in January.

He delivered.  Third on the team in goals in the postseason, fourth in assists, fourth in points, tied for the top spot in power play goals, fourth in power play points, fourth in shots on goal, fifth in hits, sixth in blocked shots, second in takeaways, Oshie was all over the score sheets and the statistical tables.

That Oshie plays the game with such brio at his rather average size for an NHLer makes the game a struggle at times.  He has never appeared in more than 80 games in a season (he appeared in 80 games twice in ten seasons) and more at least 75 games only four times.  But those setbacks have not kept him from contributing when he is on the ice, and he finally found his postseason spark this year.  With the struggle did come progress.

Washington Capitals: 2017-2018 By the Tens -- Forwards: Andre Burakovsky

Andre Burakovsky

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Andre Burakovsky scored a goal in his first game, in his fourth shift as a Washington Capital in the home opener to the 2014-2014 season.  In retrospect, it was perhaps not the best thing that might have happened to him.  The 23^rd overall pick of the 2013 entry draft, he bypassed the AHL and went from Canadian junior hockey to the NHL at the age of 19.  When he scored that goal in the 2014-2015 season opener, he became the fourth-youngest Capital to score a goal in the NHL in more than 25 years (only Connor Carrick, Tom Wilson, and Jan Bulis scored goals when younger than Burakovsky).

Since then, Burakovsky has been equal parts frustration and enigma.  The frustrating part is what has become a persistent propensity for injuries.  He missed 15 games of the 2016-2017 season to a hand injury, missed another 20 games to a broken thumb this past season, and then he missed ten games of the postseason this year to an upper body injury.

The enigma part is his not being immune from the healthy scratch due to inconsistent play.  This season was no exception to the inconsistent play issue.  He had one goal in his first 14 games. He had an eight-game streak without a point in games straddling the old and new year of the season.  He had one goal in a 14-game stretch over a month from late-February to late-March. 

What it meant for Burakovsky in the 2017-2018 season is another drop in his top end numbers over his last three seasons.  Two years ago, he had 17 goals in 79 games.  Last season it was 12 goals in 64 games.  This season it was 12 goals in only 56 games.  The points exhibited similar declines, from 38 two years ago to 35 last season to 25 this season.  This came despite increases in ice time.  He averaged 13:01 in 79 games two years ago, 13:16 in 64 games last season, and he averaged 13:50 in 56 games this season.

His injuries in in 2017-2018 season make it hard to evaluate his ten-game segments.  For example, he appeared in only one game in the second and third segments, combined (Game 30).  However, he did miss only one game in the last three segments, and he did show some improvement from segment to segment in points recorded.  The number that stands out, though, is that plus-10 in his last segment (covering 12 games).  That and his recording four of his five game-winning goals for the season. 

Fearless’ Take… Getting and keeping Burakovsky in the lineup matters.  He provided the kind of bridge scoring that supports success.  The Caps were 9-1-1 in games in which he recorded a goal and 14-2-2 in games in which he recorded a point.  It wasn’t much different from his 2016-2017 numbers – 7-1-3 when he scored a goal, 21-2-3 when he scored a point.  When he is on his game, he is a potent offensive weapon.

Cheerless’ Take… Yeah, well, about that.  He’d better be contributing offense, because if he isn’t then there doesn’t seem to be a lot there.  Oh, sure, the numbers folks love his possession numbers, but here’s the thing.  Of the 56 games he played this season, his on-ice shot attempts-for percentage at 5—on-5 was 50 percent or better in 37 games.  The Caps were 19-14-4 in those games.  Is he sacrificing outcomes (goals/points) for outputs (shot attempt numbers)?  That might not be the way to frame tine issue, but there does seem to be a disconnect there.

Odd Burakovsky Fact… Andre Burakovsky ranks third on the all-time list of Austrian-born players in career points.  He has a way to go to get to second place. 

Game to Remember… December 19^th at Dallas

The Stars have never been especially hospitable to the Caps, whether in their first incarnation in Minnesota as the North Stars, or in Dallas in their current incarnation.  Going into this season the Caps had a lifetime record of 14-26, with eight ties, against the Stars.  This year, however, the Caps were on a run when they descended on Dallas, taking a record of 10-2-0 in their previous dozen games into the December 19 contest against the Stars.  Andre Burakovsky did not have a lot of experience against the Stars, but what he had was rather good: 1-4-5, plus-3, in five games.

Burakovsky opened the scoring, finishing a 3-on-2 rush, taking a cross-ice feed from Brett Connolly and beating goaltender Ben Bishop on the long side at the 10:55 mark.  Dallas would come back to take the lead and then take it again when the Caps tied the game on a second period goal from Dmitry Orlov.  Late in the third period, though, Burakovsky returned the favor to Connolly, sending a pass out from the corner to Connolly easing down the slot.  Connolly’s one-timer beat Bishop with just 3:26 left in regulation. 

That sent the teams to overtime.  With the teams playing 3-on-3, Burakovsky sent a pass from the right point to John Carlson on the left point.  Circling to the top of the zone, Carlson dropped the puck to Burakovsky circling behind him in the opposite direction.  He went wide of Jason Spezza trying to close off the middle, and before Esa Lindell could move across to get into his path, Burakovsky unleashed a shot that beat Bishop cleanly on the far side, and the Caps had a 4-3 overtime win to extend their winning streak to a season-tying high (to that point) of four games.  For Burakovsky, it was his only two-goal game of the season and his only three-point contest of the season, despite skating just 13:18 in ice time.

Game to Forget… December 27^th at New York Rangers

The first game after Christmas was a frustrating one for the Caps, as a team and individually.  The Caps might have thought they were getting a night off, since they would face backup goalie Ondrej Pavelec instead of Henrik Lundqvist.  For Pavelec it was his first work in more than two weeks, but the time off did not seem to affect him.  He stopped all 30 shots he faced in regulation and overtime, through which the teams remained scoreless.  In the Gimmick he stopped T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin while Mats Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad beat Philipp Grubauer to give the Rangers a 1-0 win.  For Burakovsky, it was a lost evening, more or less.  He skated a team-low 8:28 (also a team-low 39 seconds per shift) and had one shot on goal.

Postseason… Andre Burakovsky had yet to make a mark in the postseason in three tries, going 6-4-10, plus-6, in 36 games, and 2018 was little different, but for different reasons.  In Game 2 of the opening round series against Columbus, he took a check from Boone Jenner and suffered an upper body injury in the exchange.  He left having skated just five shifts and 2:12 in ice time.  He would not return to the ice until Game 1 of the conference final against Tampa Bay.  He did not record a point in the first four games of the series and sat for Game 5. Burakovsky returned for Game 6 but skated just nine shifts and 7:31 in ice time, both team lows. 

If Burakovsky was saving it up for something, he cashed it in for Game 7 against the Lightning.  With the Caps holding a 1-0 lead in the second period in Tampa, he scored goals less than eight minutes apart to turn a nail-biter into a more comfortable lead.  The Caps won, 4-0, to reach the Stanley Cup final for the second time in franchise history.  The finals did not feature any Burakovsky goals, but he did have four assists in five games in the Caps’ Cup-clinching series against the Vegas Golden Knights.

In the end…

One gets the feeling that if Andre Burakovsky could remain healthy for a full season, he might eventually figure the rest of his game out and be a foundational component of this team.  It is also important to keep in mind that he will not turn 24 years of age until next February.  And, looking at his overall numbers in four years, he is averaging 16-23-39, plus-10 per 82 games, which is decent production for largely third line responsibilities and averaging 13 minutes and change in ice time.  This argues for patience.

On the other hand, his numbers, both in terms of games played and production, have dropped over the last three seasons, and he still seems prone to being largely invisible over chunks of the schedule.  In that sense, given that he has more than 250 regular season and 49 games of postseason experience, he needs to step up his game.  As he enters the last year on his current contract (he will be a restricted free agent after the 2018-2019 season) his career is coming up to a crossroads – does he take the next step to being a productive top-six quality forward, or will he continue to exhibit the injury tendencies and inconsistencies of the last three seasons?

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America