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.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 30: Senators at Capitals, December 16th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals come roaring back home on Wednesday night to face the Ottawa Senators at Verizon Center.  The Capitals, who wrapped up a 2-1-0 road trip with a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, will meet the Senators with a 9-1-1 record in their last 11 games.  It is good enough to lift the Caps into the top spot in the Eastern Conference, pending the result of the Montreal Canadiens contest with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

The Senators come to Verizon Center in somewhat different straits.  After posting a four-game winning streak leading up to Thanksgiving, Ottawa is 4-5-0 in their last nine games, and two of their wins were earned in overtime.   They have been outscored by a 26-24 margin in those nine games, and their special teams have left something to be desired.  Their special teams index of 97.9 reflects mediocrity on both sides of special teams – a 17.9 percent power play (5-for-28) and an 80.0 percent penalty kill (20-for-25).

If there is a hotter player in the league than Mike Hoffman, the Caps do not want to face him.  Hoffman has nine goals in this last nine game run since Thanksgiving and 13 goals in his last 14 games overall.  He has climbed into fourth overall in goals scored.  It hardly seems to be a fluke.  Hoffman has 36 goals in his last 82 regular season games played, and only ten players in the league have more goals since the start of the 2014-2015 season.  He accomplished this as a remarkably efficient shooter.  Over the past season and a third, Hoffman is shooting to a 15.4 percentage and is shooting 19.8 percent this season.  That latter mark is fifth in the league among players to have recorded at least 50 shots on goal this season.  In three career games against Washington, Hoffman is 0-1-1, even.

The flip side of the scoring in the 4-5-0 run – assists – has been largely led by Erik Karlsson, who is 2-8-10 over that span of games, the assist total tied for the team lead.  Karlsson, as any Caps fan knows, is “Mike Green 2.0,” a defenseman who can, and does put up gaudy offensive numbers.  He currently leads all NHL defensemen in points (34) and assists (27).  He is tied for fifth in goals (7).  Since he joined the Senators to stay in the 2010-2011 season, Karlsson leads all other NHL defensemen in total points, and by a wide margin, 311 to 255 for Dustin Byfuglien (a part time forward) and 252 over Keith Yandle.  At his current points pace, Karlsson would become the first defenseman to finish an 82-game season at better than 1.00 points per game since Green did it in 2009-2010 (76 points in 75 games; minimum: 60 games; Kris Letang had 38 points in 35 games in the abbreviated 2012-2013 season).  Karlsson is 2-14-16, plus-1, in 18 career games against the Caps.

In what might be an unexpected turn, goaltending has been an issue for the Senators.  Perhaps it should not be considered unexpected, though.  Over his last five seasons, including this one, Craig Anderson has alternated very good and not so good save percentages:

• 2011-2012: .914 (63 games)
• 2012-2013: .941 (24 games)
• 2013-2014: .911 (53 games)
• 2014-2015: .923 (35 games)
• 2015-2016: .915 (26 games to date)

Part of his issue might be workload.  He has been the goaltender of record for the last 15 games played by the Senators, over which he has a record of 8-5-2, 2.62, .922, with two shutouts.  That save percentage is actually an improvement over his season start, but it is that 33.5 shots per 60 minutes that is a problem.  It looks as if he will be getting a break soon, though.  Andrew Hammond was recalled form a conditioning assignment in Binghamton in the AHL after being out since November 15^th upon taking a puck to the face mask in practice.  Anderson is 11-6-1, 2.27, .928, with two shutouts in 18 career appearances against Washington.  Hammond, who is expected to get the start in Washington, is 2-0-2 overall this season with a 2.42 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.  He has a win in his only career appearance against Washington, a 4-3 overtime win last April 4th.  Oh, and there is this.  Hammond's NHL record to date is 22-1-4.  That is not a typo.  What is it with goalies whose last names begin with "H?"

Here is how the teams compare overall:

1.  Back to the shots issue.  No team has allowed more shots per game than the Senators (34.0).  Their shot differential is, by far, the worst in the league.  Their minus-6.1 is a full two shots worse than the 29^th-ranked team, the Arizona Coyotes (minus-4.1) and more than three shots worse than the 28^th-ranked teams, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers (both at minus-2.8).

2.  Only the Winnipeg Jets have allowed the first goal of games as often as the Senators (20).  They do have a 6-9-5 record in such games, but the six wins is as many as the Caps have in almost twice as many games as the Caps faced that predicament (13).

3.  There have been 277 skaters to dress for the Senators in club history, but only two have appeared in more than 1,000 games.  Chris Phillips is one of them, the franchise record holder in games played (1,179).  However, back surgery this past summer has kept him out of the lineup, and it is unlikely that he will play this season.  Among current Ottawa defensemen, only Erik Karlsson has more than 250 games of experience with the club (428), and only Marc Methot has experience comparable to Karlsson (470 games).

4.  If there is a danger zone for the Caps in this game, it is the second period.  Ottawa leads the league in goal differential in the second periods of games (plus-13).  Then again, the Caps are fourth at plus-7.

5.  Senator fans might want to turn away looking at their club’s possession numbers – 29^th in Corsi-for percentage overall (46.1), 29^th in score-adjusted Corsi-for (45.8), and 27^th in close score (46.2; numbers from war-on-ice.com).

1.  The Caps are among the more efficient shooting teams in the league with an overall 9.8 shooting percentage, eighth in the league.  Trouble is, they will be facing the top shooting team in the league in Ottawa (10.9 percent).

2.  The Caps have scored power play goals in 15 games this season.  Their record in those games is 14-0-1.  No other team has avoided a loss in regulation time when scoring a power play goal (Montreal is 12-1-3).

3.  On the other hand, the Caps have the second best record (10-2-1) in games when they allow a power play goal.  Only one team has more wins in those situations – Ottawa (11). 

4.  To complete the tour of random special teams facts, Washington is the only team in the league with a perfect record when scoring a power play goal and shutting the opponent out on the power play (6-0-0).  Three other teams have extra-time losses when scoring a power play goal and denying opponents a power play goal – Montreal (8-0-3), Calgary (0-0-2), and the New York Rangers (5-0-2).

5.  Here is an obscure random fact.  The Caps have allowed more than 50 Corsi events (shot attempts) at 5-on-5 in seven games this season.  Three of them came in the Caps’ last six games.  This is not a trend one wants to pursue (numbers from war-on-ice.com).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Ottawa: Bobby Ryan

Once upon a time, Bobby Ryan was thought to have the potential to be among the top goal scorers in the NHL.  The second overall pick in the “Sidney Crosby Draft (2005),” Ryan scored 133 goals in 249 games of Canadian juniors, then followed that up with 33 goals in 70 games in the AHL.  He began his NHL career as if he would fulfill that promise, posting more than 30 goals in each of his first four full seasons in the league.  Then came the abbreviated 2012-2013 season.  Ryan, who was in the midst of a five-year/$25.5 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks, finished with just 11 goals in 46 games.  He was traded to Ottawa the following summer for Jakob Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen and Ottawa's 1st round choice in 2014 Entry Draft.  And, it set in motion a slippage in Ryan’s goal scoring overall.  Since those four 30-plus goal seasons, he has 61 goals in 225 games, a 22-goal pace per 82 games.  It hardly seems to merit the seven-year/$50.75 million deal he signed in October 2014 to extend his stay with the Senators.  With nine goals in 31 games so far this season, he is on a pace to finish 24 goals.  Ryan is 5-4-9, minus-5, in 11 career games against Washington.

Washington:  Matt Niskanen

Matt Niskanen has quietly put together an interesting year on the power play for Washington.  Not generally thought of as a power play force, he does have 69 career power play points, which ranks in a tie for 33^rd among defensemen since his rookie season in 2007-2008.  This season he has five power play points in 53:19 of power play ice time.  On a points-per-minute basis, his efficiency is roughly the same as the number one quarterback on the power play, John Carlson (11 points in 105:12).  Niskanen has never finished with fewer than six power play points in a season; he has five so far this season (1-4-5).  He is 2-1-3 (one of those goals being a power play goal), minus-1, in 15 career games against Ottawa.

In the end…

This game poses an interesting challenge for the Caps.  Ottawa might be an elite team, or at least a much better one, but for their ghastly possession numbers (and other than the disturbance in your seats, how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln?).  They do not lack for scoring in a league that does; they do not have a superior penalty kill, but they seem to find ways to overcome that problem.  They do, however, put entirely too much pressure on their goaltenders with shot attempts and shots on goal allowed, both ranked worst in the league. 

If the Caps are to come out of their own possession funk (49.3 in score adjusted Corst-for over their last 18 games; 46.2 over their last six contests), this might be the team to serve as the cure.  If they lose the possession battle to this team, even if they win the game, it will signal a problem that needs to be addressed expeditiously before a slump in the standings plays out.

Capitals 4 – Senators 2

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 4 - Penguins 1

The Washington Capitals gave new Pittsburgh Penguin head coach Mike Sullivan a rude welcome to the NHL on Monday night as the Caps defeated the Penguins, 4-1, at Consol Energy Arena in Pittsburgh.

The Caps scored early, and they scored late, and goalie Braden Holtby did the rest to wrap up the Capitals’ three-game road trip in successful fashion.  With the win, the Caps went to 9-1-1 in their last 11 games.

Nicklas Backstrom got the Caps going just before the four-minute mark on a simple case of a smooth offensive zone entry.  With the Penguins having numbers on defense at their own blue line, T.J. Oshie still managed to carry the puck on the right side over the line and curl off.  Backstrom filled in the middle, and Oshie hit him with a pass in stride.  With the Penguins still backing off, Backstrom stepped up and snapped a shot over goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove and under the crossbar to make it 1-0.

Just over three minutes later the Caps struck again.  Working the puck below the Penguins’ goal line, Jason Chimera and Jay Beagle exchanged passes, Chimera eventually working the puck out and around the corner to Fleury’s left.  He sent the puck across on what looked like a pass to Tom Wilson in the slot.  The puck slid through, though, to John Carlson pinching in on the weak side.  His initial shot was stopped by Fleury, but the puck came back to Carlson.  Without having a defender close on him, Carlson was free to put the rebound back and past Fleury to make it 2-0 just over seven minutes into the game.

Pittsburgh got one back just before the 14-minute mark when they caught the Caps on a sluggish line change.  Phil Kessel carried the puck down an open right wing and as he gained the offensive zone dropped it off for Ben Lovejoy at the point.  Lovejoy fired a slap-pass into the middle where Evgeni Malkin redirected it past Holtby and off the pipe to give the Penguins some life.

It would not be much, though.  The 2-1 score held up for the rest of the first period and through the second.  In the third period, T.J. Oshie took over.  With the clock ticking toward the nine-minute mark, Oshie tried to flip the puck into the Penguin zone, but the attempt was blocked.  Backstrom collected the loose puck just outside the blue line and carried it in, where he slid a pass to Oshie on his right.  Oshie took the puck off the wall and skated down the right wing with defenseman Ian Cole on his hip.  Oshie carried him all the way around the back of the net, and with Fleury unable to get from the left post to the right, Oshie completed the wrap-around to give the Caps a 3-1 lead.

Oshie capped the scoring in the final minute when, with Malkin off on a tripping call joining Olli Maatta, who was in the penalty box on a hooking penalty, he one-timed a pass from Backstrom through the slot past Fleury’s blocker.  Fleury could only whack his stick on the end boards in frustration as the Caps skated off with a 4-1 win.

Other stuff…

--  Nice view…

-- Oshie had his second two-goal game in his last six contests.  He became the third Capital to reach the ten-goal mark this season.  Nicklas Backstrom also joined the ten-goal club earlier in the game, joining Alex Ovechkin (14) as Caps with ten or more.

-- John Carlson had a two-point game (1-1-2), extending a nice little run for him.  He has points in eight of his last 11 games (2-9-11) and is now tied for fourth in scoring among defensemen (5-18-23) with Rasmus Ristolainen of Buffalo and San Jose’s Brent Burns.

-- The 79 combined shots recorded by the teams – 45 for Pittsburgh and 34 for the Caps – are the most in any game played thus far by the Caps this season.  The 45 shots allowed was the first time this season Washington allowed more than 40 shots on goal.

-- At an individual level, the shooting was odd for both teams.  John Carlson led the Caps with eight shots on goal, a personal high this season, tying a career high he set twice before.  On the other side, Matt Cullen was the only Penguin not to record a shot on goal.

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov skated just 13:41 in this game.  That is a season low in ice time for the center.  He also lost 12 of 16 faceoffs, including eight of ten in the defensive zone.

-- Nate Schmidt continues to do well even when not getting on the scoreboard himself.  In just over 20 minutes of ice time he had six shot attempts (three on goal) and seven blocked shots to lead both teams.

-- The win was the Caps’ tenth on the road this season.  They joined the Boston Bruins as the only clubs in the Eastern Conference with ten road wins.

-- Braden Holtby just keeps rolling along.  This was his seventh straight game allowing two or fewer goals.  In his last 15 appearances he is 13-1-1, 1.64, .945.

-- The rivals were held off the scoreboard in this one.  Neither Alex Ovechkin nor Sidney Crosby recorded a point and fired blanks on nine combined shots on goal, but Ovechkin was a plus-1 (plus-13 for the season), while Crosby finished minus-1 (now a minus-7, although it was his first “minus” game in his last seven games).

In the end…

It is never bad beating Pittsburgh.  But really, 45 shots on goal?  A total of 79 shot attempts allowed?   This was the second straight game in which Washington’s Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 overall was below 40 percent, and it was their worst of the season (36.6).  They barely escaped their worst score-adjusted Corsi-for of the season.  It was another case of lots of Holtby and taking advantage of opportunities (and in this case, a weak and depleted defense).  The Caps sit atop the Eastern Conference, but not in a way that suggests a long term stay there.  Still…