Week 10 looked a lot like Week 9 for the Washington
Capitals, and that is not a bad thing at all. For the first time since Weeks 1
and 2, the Caps put together consecutive winning weeks. Let’s take a look at how they got there in
Week 10.
Record: 2-0-1
The Caps came into the week teetering on the edge of the
playoff mix, sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division but ninth in
the Eastern Conference standings. But
they were also coming into Week 10 on a two-game winning streak. They made it three in a row with a win over
Tampa Bay on Tuesday to start the week to match their longest winning streak of
the year. The Caps could not make it
four, though, dropping a decision in overtime to Columbus. The Caps made it two in a row over Tampa Bay
to end the week on a high note, giving them a 4-0-1 record over their most
recent five games, their best five-game record of the season. It also lifted them into seventh place in the
conference standings, their highest conference ranking since they stood in seventh
place on October 27th.
Offense: 3.67/game
(season: 2.90/game; rank: T-10th)
It was a week for the top line, even if it came with a bit
of a smudge on the record. Alex Ovechkin
had a pair of goals in the first game against Tampa Bay in Week 10 and a pair
of assists in the rematch to end the week.
Nicklas Backstrom had pair of assists in the first game against Tampa
Bay and recorded a hat trick – his first career regular season hat trick – in
the second game against the Lightning.
Tom Wilson had an assist in the first game against Tampa Bay and a pair
of helpers – his first career multi-assist game – in the rematch. However, the top line was shut out on points
in the overtime loss to Columbus despite 12 shots on goal from the trio (nine
by Ovechkin, three by Backstrom).
The Caps did get some scoring from down the line,
though. Troy Brouwer, Brooks Laich, and
Eric Fehr combined for five goals for the week.
The defense did not have much by way of goals (Matt Niskanen has the
only one), but they did chip in six assists, three of them by John Carlson, who
is on a tear of late (2-8-10, plus-11, in his last eight games).
Defense: 2.67/game (season: 2.66/game; rank: 16th)
The eight goals allowed in three games probably looks worse
than it was. One of those goals came
with four seconds left in what would be a 5-3 win for the Caps in Tampa to
start the week (the Caps got an empty netter with less than a second left for
the final score). Another came on an
overtime power play for Columbus, a 4-on-3 situation that the Caps nearly
killed off, the goal coming with just 19 seconds left in the extra period.
As far as the goals against/on-ice record goes, Brooks Orpik
was on ice for five of the eight goals against and Matt Niskanen four among the
defensemen. Brooks Laich was on ice for
four goals against among the forwards.
Sixteen different skaters were on ice for goals against. Mike Green, Andre Burakovsky, Michael Latta,
and Jay Beagle escaped notice in that regard.
What it was not was an especially good week for possession
at 5-on-5. The Caps held their own
against Tampa Bay to start the week (Corsi-for: 53.9 percent) and broke even
against Columbus (50.0 percent). In
Saturday night’s game against the Lightning, though, the Caps were dominated
(39.2 percent). A PDO of 101.3 helped
make the week better than the underlying numbers might have suggested.
Goaltending: 2.61 GAA / .908 SV (season: 2.59 / .906 / 1 SO)
Braden Holtby figured in all three decisions for the week,
making it 12 straight decisions for Holtby.
Over those 12 games Holtby is 7-3-2, 2.35, .920. In Week 10 he was sharp when he had to be and
ended up with numbers that might not look as good as his play might have
suggested. It was in the second period
of games in which he stood out in Week 10, stopping 27 of 28 shots (.964 save
percentage). It was in the third period
that he was spotty, but owing to score effects. He allowed three goals on 28
shots in the two third periods he played against Tampa Bay, one goal coming in
the last four seconds and the other two with the Caps holding a 3-0 lead when
the scoring began. He was a perfect
27-for-27 in score-tied situations, including stopping 11 straight shots in the
second period of a scoreless game against Tampa Bay on Saturday (including a
5-on-3 Lightning power play) before the Caps registered their first shot on
goal of the period. On balance, Holtby
had a very good week.
Power Play: 2-for-12/ 16.7 percent (season: 26.5 percent;
rank: 1st)
Week 10 was unusual for the Caps in one respect – power play
opportunities. Washington had 12 man
advantage situations, making it the first week they hit double digits in power
plays since Week 5 (4-for-10) and their highest volume week of the season. The six opportunities they had against
Columbus in the middle game of the week was the most the Caps had since Game 9
against Detroit on October 29th and tied the most they had in a game
this season.
The power play in Week 10 reflected the difference between efficiency
and effectiveness. In one respect the
Caps were very efficient, recording 31 shots in 20:36 of power play ice time
(1.5 shots per minute of ice time). In
another, the Caps were very ineffective, recording only two goals on those 31
shots, including going 1-for-18 against Columbus, arguably the difference
between a 2-0-1 week and a perfect week.
And, one of the most unusual parts of the week was where the power play
goals came from – Matt Niskanen and Eric Fehr, who are not generally thought of
as consistent power play contributors.
Penalty Killing: 9-for-10/ 90.0 percent (season: 77.0
percent; rank: 26th)
It would have been a perfect week on the penalty kill, had
only the power play done better against Columbus. The Caps were 9-for-9 in regulation time in
the three games of Week 10, but they allowed a power play goal in overtime
against Columbus for the only blot on the Week 10 record. Here, the Caps were both efficient (12 shots
in 17:38 of ice time; o.68 shots per minute) and effective (stopping 11 of
those 12 shots; a .917 save percentage).
The pivotal point of the week came in the second period
against Tampa Bay on Saturday night when the Caps killed off a full two-minute
5-on-3 power play. The Caps allowed four
shots in those two minutes, but only one of them from Steven Stamkos. Braden Holtby stopped them all, and less than
two minutes later the Caps broke a scoreless tie on their way to a 4-2 win and
a winning week.
Even Strength Goals For/Goals Against: 9-7 / plus-2 (season,
5-on-5 goals for/goals against ratio: 0.96; rank: 20th)
Win the even strength goal matchup, win the game, win the week. The Caps won both ends of their two-game set
with Tampa Bay in part by winning the even strength goal battle, 4-3 on Tuesday
and 4-2 on Saturday. Washington lost the
even strength battle against Columbus on Thursday, 2-1, and lost the game in
overtime. It was a close week in even
strength shots, the Caps winning that battle only once, oddly enough in the
overtime loss to Columbus (21-20). They
were outshot at evens in both Tampa Bay games, 33-30 on Tuesday and 22-19 on
Saturday.
The Caps have done a somewhat better job in the 5-on-5
battle recently. Winning Week 10 is part
of a run in which the Caps won or tied the 5-on-5 goal scoring battle eight
times in their last 12 games. Given the
Caps’ power play abilities (their problems getting opportunities
notwithstanding), this kind of a trend could spell a good run of success for
the Caps if they can extend it.
Faceoffs: 94-for-173 / 54.3 percent (season: percent; rank: 11th)
It was a good week in the circle, the Caps finishing 50
percent or better in all three games overall.
That’s not to say it was a great week.
The Caps’ 54.3 percent winning percentage for the week was inflated some
by a 63.5 percent winning percentage on neutral zone draws. They were at 49.2 percent on offensive zone
draws and 51.7 percent in defensive zone faceoffs.
On an individual level, 11 different skaters took at least
one faceoff, three of them taking more than 25 overall. Three of the four players taking more than 20
draws finished over 50 percent for the week: Nicklas Backstrom (68.8 percent on
48 draws), Eric Fehr (55.6 percent on 45 faceoffs), and Troy Brouwer (60.9
percent on 23 draws). Only Michael Latta
was under 50 percent, and that was by a single draw (10-for-21).
Goals by Period:
The Caps won or tied all nine periods in regulation time in
Week 10, winning three periods and tied in six.
They lost their only overtime period.
Overall, they won each regulation period: 3-2 in the first periods of
games, 3-1 in the second periods, and 5-4 in the third periods of games. It was not a dominating sort of outcome, but
its consistency is a result to be hoped for and, hopefully, extended.
In the end…
Two straight winning weeks, a 4-0-1 run in their last five
games, and all of it against Eastern Conference teams. The Caps now have a three-point lead over the
New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division (the Rangers hold
two games in hand) and a six-point lead over fifth-place Philadelphia and New
Jersey (the Caps hold two games in hand over the Devils).
There remains work to do; the Caps are still ranked in the
lower half of the league in scoring defense, 5-on-5 goals ratio, and penalty
killing, for example. Nevertheless, the
Capitals are in as good a place as they have occupied all season, especially because
they are putting this run together against Eastern Conference teams. Now we will get to see if they can continue
this good fortune with the spotlight on them in the run up to the Winter
Classic on New Year’s Day.
Three Stars:
- First Star: Nicklas Backstrom (3-2-5, plus-2, hat trick, 1 GWG)
- Second Star: Alex Ovechkin (2-2-4, plus-4, 23 shots on goal, 37 shot attempts, 14 hits)
- Third Star: John Carlson (0-3-3, plus-3, 10 shots on goal, (23:51/game ice time)