Week 19 was one of sun and fun for the Washington Capitals,
who took advantage of their league-sanctioned bye week to bask in the glow of
their top spot in the league standings.
And when it was over, the Caps did play a game. It made for a non-winning week, but a
non-losing one as well, taken from a certain point of view.
Record: 0-0-1
When last we saw the Caps, they were 39-11-6, nine points
clear of their closest pursuer in the Metropolitan Division, the Columbus Blue
Jackets, who ended Week 18 with a 35-14-5 record. The Caps were also six points ahead of the
Minnesota Wild for the top spot in the league rankings, the Wild with a 36-12-6
record.
When Week 19 ended, the Caps suffered a 3-2 trick shot loss
to the Detroit Red Wings, bringing their streak of winning weeks to an end at
six, over which time they went 18-2-1.
The rest of the league had yet to catch up with the Caps, though. Pittsburgh leap-frogged the Blue Jackets into
second place in the Metro, but their 80 points on a 36-13-8 record was still
five points behind the Caps. The Wild
went 3-1-0 for the week, but they were still a point behind the Caps in the league
standings with 84 points, the Caps holding a game in hand.
Offense: 2.00/game (season: 3.39/game; rank: 2nd)
The Caps ended the week where they started it, behind only
the Penguins in scoring offense. The two
goals they scored against the Detroit Red Wings was just the 20th
time this season that the Caps were held to two or fewer goals. They have a record of 4-10-6 in those games,
five of the extra-time losses coming in the freestyle competition. The two goals also broke a streak of four
straight games in which the Caps scored five or more goals. It was an odd
occurrence for a club that has scored more goals in the 2017 portion of the
season than any other team, their 4.41 goals per game almost a full goal per
game more than the Minnesota Wild (3.64).
Defense: 2.00/game (season: 2.09/game; rank: 1st)
For the 35th time this season, the Caps held an
opponent to two or fewer goals in the hockey portion of the game. The odd part in the 3-2 Gimmick loss to
Detroit was that they did not win. The
Caps are 29-1-5 in games when they hold an opponent to two or fewer goals. Five of those extra-time losses are in the
Gimmick.
Making it doubly strange was that the Caps held the Red
Wings to fewer than 25 shots and still lost.
Washington is now 16-2-1 in the 19 games in which they held their
opponent to fewer than 25 shots on goal.
Goaltending: 1.85 / .913 (season: 2.00 / .927 / 10 shutouts)
Braden Holtby had a solid effort in the 3-2 loss to the Red
Wings, but the loss did end his personal streak of 14 winning decisions. Nevertheless, Holtby did finish the week
fourth in the league in wins (29) despite ranking only 12th in
minutes played (2,593). The Caps remain
the only team in the league with a tandem of goaltenders each with at least 750
minutes of ice time and a save percentage of .925 or better.
Power Play: 0-for-5 / 0.0 percent (season: 21.5%; rank: 8th)
The Caps failed to take advantage of that rare occurrence
when they get five or more power play opportunities. The five they enjoyed against the Red Wings
was just the eighth time in 57 games this season that the Caps had that many
man advantages. It was the fourth time
they failed to convert any of their opportunities. The oh-fer also broke a streak of three games
with power play goals, over which they went 4-for-7. The Caps are still 18-for-60 (30.0 percent)
on the power play since January 1st.
Penalty Killing: 1-for-2 / 50.0 percent (season: 84.2
percent; rank: 5th)
The Caps are holding their opponents to fewer chances – the two
power play the Red Wings had making it three straight games allowing an
opponent just two power plays – but it was the second time in three games the
Caps allowed a power play goal. Still,
they are 14-for-16 killing penalties over their last six games, the 87.5
percent penalty kill being something that would be a plus if sustained.
Faceoffs: 33-for-73 / 45.2 percent (season: 50.0 percednt;
rank: 16th)
It was not so much that the Caps won just 45 percent of
their draws against Detroit, but how they got there. Jay Beagle, who started the week seventh in
the league in faceoff winning percentage (57.5 percent; minimum: 500 draws)
went 7-for-20 against the Red Wings and dropped back to eighth in the rankings
(56.9 percent).
Goals by Period:
The Caps started and finished the week with the fewest goals
allowed in the first period, but they did allow one to the Red Wings. It did not eat much into their first period
goal differential, which remains best in the league (plus-37), that
differential being greater than the total number of first period goals scored
by six teams).
In the end…
The league’s bye-week experiment seems to be one for which
the main outcome has been teams losing upon their return to action. The Caps’ 3-2 Gimmick loss to the Red Wings
might be considered a victory of sorts, teams combining for a record of 3-12-4
(0-8-4 in February) in their first game back after the bye. As always, the trick will be keeping “one”
from becoming “two.” Losses, that
is. The Caps have done a very good job
of precisely that, avoiding consecutive losses in their last 23 games. Week 19 might have been a welcome week off
for the players, but it did interrupt momentum, and a loss of any kind is not
what either players, coaches, or fans expect or settle for. But in the grander scheme of things, it was
not the worst of all possible outcomes.