The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!
The last time that the Washington Capitals and the Chicago
Blackhawks met on the ice, 42,832 fans took in one of the most thrilling games
of the season, a 3-2 Caps victory at Nationals Park in the Bridgestone Winter
Classic. The winning goal was scored by Troy
Brouwer with just 12.9 seconds left in regulation, and Braden Holtby stopped a
Patrick Kane drive with one second left to clinch the victory.
It was arguably the high point of the Capitals’ season. For the Blackhawks, it was far from it. In June, they skated the Stanley Cup around
United Center for their third championship in six seasons and sixth in club
history.
The defending champions visit Verizon Center on Thursday
night, jetting in from Philadelphia, where they meet the Flyers on Wednesday
night. Chicago stumbled out of the gate,
allowing three first period goals and dropping their season opener to the New
York Rangers, 3-2, perhaps a bit distracted from the hoopla that goes with
another banner raising for the champs.
The Blackhawks put that loss behind them in short order, spoiling
the New York Islanders’ first home game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, then
finishing off the Islanders in their home-and-home set, 4-1, last Saturday.
Fans are well acquainted with the core of the Blackhawks –
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith.
However, Chicago is not being shy about giving youngsters a chance at
contributing from responsible positions. The salary cap demands that the Blackhawks – or any successful team – find a
way to integrate younger players into productive roles, and Chicago is having
success doing that in the early going.
Teuvo Teravainen, an 18th overall draft pick in 2012 who had four goals
and ten points in 18 playoff games last spring, is picking up where he left off
last June with a goal and an assist in three games.
Then there is Trevor van Riemsdyk. The younger brother of James van Riemsdyk of
the Toronto Maple Leafs, Trevor went undrafted, playing instead for three years
with the University of New Hampshire. He
was signed to a two-year entry level deal by the Blackhawks last July and made
the parent club out of training camp. He
has rewarded that vision early on with a goal and an assist in three games, his
goal coming on the only shot on goal he has recorded to date.
With the Blackhawks playing Wednesday night in Philadelphia,
it is not certain who would get the call in goal for the Blackhawks. Corey Crawford has split two decisions while
posting a save percentage of .921. What
he does not have is much success against Washington. He is 2-3-1, 3.52, .883 in six career appearances
against the Caps, and he has never won in Washington (0-2-1, 4.06, .887).
Backup Scott Darling is, if nothing else, capable of
blocking out the sun, a linebacker-sized goaltender (he is 6’6”, 232). He won in his only start this season, stopping
28 of 29 shots in a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders last Saturday. He has only 15 career appearances in the NHL,
none of them against the Capitals.
Here is how the teams compared in last year’s numbers:
1. Chicago has three Stanley Cups in the last six seasons,
but they do not have the most regular season wins over that six-year span. They have 273 wins (through Tuesday's games), while the Pittsburgh
Penguins have 277 (and no Stanley Cups).
2. Patrick Kane is now his ninth season in the NHL, and he is climbing the charts
of all-time Blackhawk scorers. He
currently ranks ninth in points in franchise history (563), just 33 points
behind Jeremy Roenick (596 points). If
he records points at approximately his per-game pace over his career (0.97) he
would challenge for sixth place on that list if he plays in 82 games this season. That spot is currently held by Dennis Hull
(640 points).
3. Likewise, Jonathan
Toews is highly ranked on the franchise list of goal scorers. He is currently 13th on the list with 223
goals and could tie or overtake Doug Wilson for 12th place with a big effort on
Thursday (225 goals). With an “average”
year in terms of goals per game, he could challenge Bill Moisienko for eighth
place on the Blackhawk goal-scoring list (258) before the season is over.
4. Chicago is one of
just five teams who have yet to record a goal scored at 5-on-4 this
season. Their two power play strikes
were on a 5-on-3 advantage and a 4-on-3 advantage.
5. Would it surprise
you that Chicago ranks just 18th in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (48.1 percent), or that
they are 25th in offensive zone starts at 5-on-5 (43.0 percent)? Yeah, well…it’s early.
1. If Alex Ovechkin
plays, and if he gets three points he will reach the 900-point mark for his
career, extending his franchise record for points. His 897 points is currently 11th among active
players in career points, one behind Arizona’s Shane Doan for 10th place.
2. How much do the
Caps miss Nicklas Backstrom? He is
currently second among active players in assists per game (0.74 assists per
game; minimum 250 games).
3. Perhaps it would
surprise you that Ovechkin ranks fifth in assists per game among active wingers
(0.5532/game; minimum: 250 games), just ahead of Alex Tanguay (0.5519) and
Daniel Sedin (0.5474).
4. The Caps’
Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 in close score situations through two games is
49.0, 29th in the league. It is 38.0
percent in all situations in the first period, 28th in the league. It’s early (few incidences; numbers from war-on-ice.com), but…woof.
5. It is perhaps
reading too much in the third game of the season, but the Caps have not won a
Game 3 of any season in regulation time since the 2008-2009 season (5-1 over
the Vancouver Canucks).
The Peerless’ Players to Ponder
Chicago: Artemi Panarin
Where do they find these guys? Left wing Patrick Sharp went off to Dallas in
free agency, and Artemi Panarin – signed by the Blackhawks out of the KHL on a
two-year entry-level deal last April – steps in on the left side, scores the
game-winning goal in the season opener and is second on the team in points
through three games (2-2-4). Panarin is
something of a late bloomer, or was an under-the-radar player as an amateur. He went undrafted by any NHL club and did not
have an especially noticeable record with Chekhov Vitaz in parts of five
seasons in the KHL (29-45-74 in 143 games).
However, in two full seasons with St. Petersburg he lit up the
scoreboard, going 46-56-102 in 105 games, leading to his signing by the
Blackhawks. This will be his first
meeting against the Capitals.
Washington: T.J. Oshie
Okay, it’s only two games, but T.J. Oshie does not yet have
a point for his new club. We know he is going to be fine over the 82-game
season, and the top line was broken up in Game 2 against the San Jose Sharks
because of Alex Ovechkin’s absence from the lineup for personal reasons. And as early as it is, there are only five
Caps with goals and nine with points.
Still, Oshie leads the team in shots with nothing to show for it
(although he is not close to having the most shots on goal without a goal;
there are 17 players in front of him in shots on goal without a goal through
Tuesday’s games). It would be nice to
celebrate a first point/first goal on Thursday.
Oshie is 5-19-24 in 33 career games against Chicago.
In the end…
The opening of the season for the Caps is something of a
double-edged sword. On one side is the
fact that they are opening with four home games. On the other is the fact that they get a
couple of tough ones in the middle of that home stand. The Caps did sweep the two-game series
against the Blackhawks last season, both by 3-2 margins. Further, the Caps have not lost to Chicago in
Washington since January 2006 (a 4-3 overtime loss), and they have not lost to
the Blackhawks in regulation time on home ice since March 2004 (a 4-3 loss). It is not a long winning streak (four games),
but it is better than a lot of teams can say.
The Capitals got a glimpse on Tuesday of what life would be like
without their top two forwards in the lineup. It was not pleasant. Part of it was missing the players, part of
it was two new guys – Justin Williams and Oshie – still integrating themselves
into the Caps’ systems, and part of it was just poor play from too many players
who did not have an excuse. Not that
there will be any mercy shown by the Blackhawks, but the Caps do have some
success at their expense in recent years, especially on home ice. With Backstrom likely to be out at least one more game and Ovechkin’s
status uncertain (though he is expected to play), this game could be a defensive
struggle. The Caps won the last two
meetings between the clubs by a 3-2 margin.
Sounds good enough for us.
Capitals 3 – Blackhawks 2