Record: 1-0-1
For the third straight season,
the Caps opened the regular season with points in their first two games (2-0-0
last season, 1-0-1 in 2016-2017), defeating the Boston Bruins in the season
opener on Wednesday night, 7-0, and then dropping a 7-6 overtime decision to
the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The
win in the opener against Boston was the fifth straight season opener in which
the Caps earned at least one point (3-0-2) and the sixth straight home opener
in which they earned at least one point (5-0-1).
The road opener extended a string
of good luck for the Caps as well, despite the overtime loss, earning a point
for the fifth straight time in a road opener (3-0-2).
Offense: 6.50/game (season: 6.50/game, rank: 1st)
The Capitals did not lack for offense in Week 1. The 13 goals scored by the Caps in the two
games was a replay of last season’s first two games in which they recorded 10
goals in their first two contests. The
difference this year was that the good times were spread more evenly. Last season, Alex Ovechkin had seven of the
team’s 10 goals in Games 1 and two, and three other Caps had a goal
apiece. This time around, T.J. Oshie led
the Caps with three goals, three other Caps had two, and eight Capitals in all
had at least one goal.
In the two games in Week 1, 18 skaters dressed, and 15 of
them recorded points. Six of them had at
least two points including defenseman Brooks Orpik, whose goal against
Pittsburgh to close the week ended a 182 game streak of regular season games
without a goal dating back to February 26, 2016, when he had a goal in a 3-2
win over the Minnesota Wild. An example
of how much turnover can take place in a short amount of time, only nine
skaters from that night (including Orpik) are still with the club.
Defense: 3.50/game (season: 3.50/game, rank: T-20th)
It was all or nothing in Week 1, or more accurately, nothing
or all. The Caps held the Boston Bruins
to 25 shots in the opener. Last season
they held opponents to 25 or fewer shots ten times, but only twice in their
first 27 games, so this might have been taken as a good sign.
The sign was apparently drawn in pencil, because the Caps gave
up 41 shots on goal to the Penguins in their 7-6 overtime loss to close the
week. The 16-shot increase in shots
allowed, game to game, was the largest game to game increase in shots allowed
since the Caps allowed 15 shots to the New Jersey Devils and then 31 shots to
the Philadelphia Flyers (plus-16 in shots allowed) in Games 63 and 64 of the
2016-2017 season.
The Caps started poorly in one area that plagued them most
of last season. They were on the wrong
side of the shot attempts at 5-on-5.
Washington was a minus-4 against the Bruins in the opener, although that
was more the product of having a lead almost from the opening puck drop. They were minus-5 when ahead, which the Caps
were for all but 24 seconds in the contest.
Against Pittsburgh it was a different story. The Caps were underwater with the game tied
(minus-8), when they were in close situations (minus-10), and when they were
behind (minus-5). They managed to break
even when ahead and were minus-13 for the game.
Goaltending: 3.46 / .894 / 1 SO (season: 3.46 / .894 / 1 SO)
Braden Holtby got the nod in both games of Week 1, and he
started pretty much where he left off last spring. His 25-save shutout against Boston in the
opener was his first regular season shutout since he pitched a 24-save shutout
in beating the New York Rangers on April 5, 2017. The shutout snapped a personal string of 55
regular season appearances without a shutout. It was
his 33rd career blanking, drawing him to within two shutouts of Olaf
Kolzig for most in franchise history.
That run lasted one shot against Pittsburgh. Penguin
defenseman Jamie Oleksiak scored on the first shot of the game, the Penguins' third,
and their seventh. Holtby ended up
allowing seven goals on 41 shots in the 7-6 overtime loss. It was the first time in Holtby’s career that
he allowed as many as seven goals in a game.
Power Play: 4-8 / 50.0 percent (season: 50.0 percent, rank: T-1st)
It took the Capitals two seconds on their first power play
of the season to convert the opportunity.
Yes, it was one of those bouncing pucks that a goaltender just cannot
get a handle on, but Evgeny Kuznetsov was right there to pounce on the
opportunity.
And then for good measure the Caps converted on their second
power play of the season, this one in a more conventional way with Alex
Ovechkin one-timing a pass from the top of the left wing circle.
The Caps ended up punishing the Bruin penalty killers for
four power play goals on six opportunities, those four goals coming on ten
shots in 7:34 of power play ice time.
The Caps were so dominant with the man advantage that by the time they
used it to build a large lead, every skater finished the game having logged
some power play time.
It was a much quieter power play in the second game of the
week. The Caps enjoyed only two power
plays against Pittsburgh, no power play time after the 6:13 mark of the second
period. And, they managed only two shots
over the four minutes of those two man advantages (Ovechkin, John Carlson).
Penalty Killing: 6-8 / 75.0 percent (season: 75.0 percent,
rank: T-21st)
The penalty kill was a mirror image of the power play in
Week 1. Against Boston the Caps found
themselves shorthanded only twice, killing both and allowing only two shots on
goal over the four minutes of shorthanded ice time. Neither of the shots came from the dangerous
David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand, each of whom had 2:03 of the Bruins four
minutes of power play ice time.
It was a different story against the Penguins. Washington was disciplined early, putting
themselves a man down once in the first period (the Penguins scored on a power
play goal by Jake Guentzel) and once in the second period with no damage
done. Then, the wheels came off. Brett Connolly took a penalty 39 seconds into
the period, and that was followed by penalties taken by Madison Bowey at 3:53
and by Jakub Vrana at 8:40. The Caps
killed those penalties off, but their luck ran out in overtime. Evgeny Kuznetsov took a hooking penalty 19
seconds into the extra frame. Just 61
seconds later, Kris Letang made the Caps pay, blunting a comeback from a
two-goal deficit in the third period.
One of the more noteworthy items for the week was Kuznetsov taking a regular turn killing penalties. His 3:49 in shorthanded ice time for the week
almost equaled his entire total for last season (4:35).
Faceoffs: 52-130 / 40.0 percent (season: 40.0 percent, rank:
30th)
It was an awful week in the circle for the Caps. Boston has been an adept group in this phase
of the game for some time, but the Caps losing 41 of 60 draws was unusual. The 31.7 percent winning percentage was their
worst since they won just 27.6 percent of their draws (16-for-58) in a 4-3 win
over the St. Louis Blues on April 8, 2014.
The Caps were especially unsuccessful in the offensive zone, winning
only six of 25 faceoffs (24.0 percent).
Only Brett Connolly and Andre Burakovsky were over 50 percent for the game, both
players winning the only draw they took.
That performance almost made the 33-for-70 performance
against Pittsburgh a dominating one. The
Caps did a better job in the offensive zone against the Penguins, but not much,
going 9-for-23 (39.1 percent). They did
win the defensive zone (10-for-17/58.8 percent) the only zone they won in the
two games for the week.
Individually, none of the four players taking at least ten
draws for the week were as successful as 45 percent of the time. Nicklas Backstrom was 18-for-41 (43.9
percent), but his performance was mitigated in part by a 9-for-12 (75.0
percent) performance in the defensive zone.
Lars Eller was 43.5 percent on a 10-for-23 week, but he did manage to
win half of his eight offensive zone draws.
Goals by Period:
The Capitals were not only frequent in their scoring in Week
1, they spread things around nicely among the periods. Their five first period goals ranks first in
the league through Week 1, as do their five goals in the second period. Even their three third-period goals ranks in
a tie for fifth place in the league.
Here too, though, the two games were quite different, in this
case the scoring early in periods. The
Caps opened Banner Night against Boston with two goals before the first period
was two minutes old. However, against
the Penguins the Caps allowed a goal in the first two minutes of the first and
second periods, as well as the overtime game-winner, and in the third period
they allowed a goal less than three minutes into the period.
In the end…
The Caps had an eventful Week 1, what with the distractions
of a banner-raising ceremony in the season opener and having to go on the road
the next night to face their most bitter rival, rested and ready for their own
season opener. Getting three of four
points out of that scenario is hardly the worst outcome, especially since the
Caps fought back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to earn a
standings point in Pittsburgh.
The trick now will be maintaining an edge with a long layoff
until they take the ice again on Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights,
and then in another back half of a back-to-back in New Jersey against the Devils. It is part of a stern test in which four of
the first five teams that the Caps will face to open the season recorded more
than 100 standings points last season, and the fifth – New Jersey – had 97
points. So far, though, the Caps have
done nicely to start the season.
Three Stars:
- First Star: T.J. Oshie (3-2-5, plus-3, 1 PPG, 1 GWG, 6 hits, 3 blocked shots
- Second Star: Nicklas Backstrom (0-4-4, plus-3, 2 PPA, 4 takeaways, no giveaways)
- Third Star: John Carlson (2-2-4, plus-4, 1 PPG, 1 PPA, 5 blocked shots, 26:04 average ice time)
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