Record: 0-1-1
It was a light week of work for the Caps, who have had to
deal with a quirky schedule in which they didn’t start their week’s work before
Wednesday for the fourth time in five weeks.
And, it was their third week in five in which they took the ice only
twice. The takeaway in terms of record
is that the winless week for the Caps was their first since Week 16 of last
season in which they went 0-1-1, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the
Nashville Predators and a 3-2 decision to the Montreal Canadiens.
That the Caps lost to Montreal in Week 5 at Bell Centre was perhaps
as clear an indicator that things are not quite right with the team so
far. The Caps took a 13-0-2 record in their
previous 15 games at Bell Centre into this week’s game and spit the bit in the
third period, turning a 4-3 advantage into a 6-4 loss, including allowing goals
two seconds apart in the last minute (the latter an empty netter), a record for
shortest time between two goals in NHL history.
The Caps are now 12 games into the season, and they have yet
to post wins in consecutive games. No
team can win a Stanley Cup in November, but they can lose one. Falling behind too much, too early, means
there are just so many teams to climb over as the season moves along. That the Caps are only two points clear of
the division’s last place team (New York Rangers) should be cause for concern.
Offense: 3.50/game (season: 3.75/game, rank: T-1st)
In any other week, scoring three and a half goals per game
would look good. Unfortunately, the Caps
could not score often enough to overcome deficiencies in other areas (more on
that below). The Caps had decent balance
among the scorers, five players splitting the seven goals scored (Lars Eller
and Alex Ovechkin each had a pair).
Fourteen skaters recorded points, Eller leading them with three points.
If there was an odd part of the offense on an individual
level, it was that the Caps had three defensemen record points in Week 5, none
of them being John Carlson. He averaged
more than 25 minutes in the two games, but he had only three shots on goal and
finished a minus-5 for the week. Getting
Michal Kempny and Dmitry Orlov in the scoring (each with an assist to double
their season points total) was a welcome turn.
Defense: 5.00/game (season: 3.83/game, rank: 28th)
Only five teams allowed fewer shots for the week than the
Caps, but hold off on that “stingy defense” notion. The Caps allowed 81 shots on goal in two
games; they allowed 100 shot attempts at 5-on-5 for the two games. These are not good numbers. The 63 5-on-5 shot attempts the Caps allowed
the Canadiens in the first game of the week were the most allowed to any
opponent so far. They improved in this
regard against Dallas, allowing only 37 shot attempts at fives in the second
game of the week (third-fewest through 12 games), but that was indicative of
the inconsistency that has plagued the team through the first dozen games.
Goaltending: 4.38 / .888 (season: 3.61 / .887 / 1 SO)
It was Braden Holtby’s week, and it was not one for the
scrapbooks. The defense in front of him
did not help much, but it was a return to a week without reaching the .900 save
percentage mark. Holtby has been a
goaltender that thrived on heavy shot volumes over his career, but 80 shots
over two-plus games was an extraordinarily high volume. It started with the Canadiens raining 19
shots on his net in the first period of the first game of the week, and it
ended with Dallas recording seven shots in just over three minutes of overtime
before pinning the overtime loss on Holtby.
In between it was a case of an odd pattern of shots faced. Holtby faced 30 first period shots and 26
third period shots for the week, but he took on only 17 shots in the second
periods of the two games in Week 5.
Still, the results were disappointing.
At week’s end, Holtby ranked 35th of 41 goaltenders in goals
against average (3.62; minimum: 250 minutes played) and 34th in save
percentage (.888). Curiously, it is a
familiar neighborhood in the goalie rankings.
Compare his numbers to those of former netmate Philipp Grubauer (3.56,
.893) and Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray (3.68, .890), and there are enough goalie
troubles to go around among familiar faces.
Power Play: 1-for-4/25.0
percent (season: 35.9 percent, rank: 1st)
For the fifth consecutive week the Caps finished the week
with a power play efficiency rate of 25 percent or better. That is the good news. The bad news is the small volume of chances,
only four for the two games of the week.
The Caps finished the week having enjoyed the fifth-fewest number of
power play chances in the league. That
they have the second-most power play goals (14, one behind St. Louis) is
testament to the effectiveness of their power play.
What they did not get in Week 5 was so much as a single
power play shot on goal against Montreal in the first game of the week. And, they had only one chance with the man
advantage. It was the second time this
season that the Caps were held to a single power play opportunity and their
second loss in such instances.
Washington had one power play chance, without converting, in a 4-1 loss
to Edmonton on October 25th.
That the Caps recorded a power play goal and earned at least
a standings point against Dallas is not unusual. It brought the Caps’ record to 5-1-2 in games
in which they scored a power play goal.
Still, four shots on goal in 7:18 of power play time is a quiet week on
this front.
Penalty Killing: 4-for-4 / 100.0 percent (season: 75.0 percent, rank: 23rd)
Here is perhaps the most bizarre week-to-week fact coming
out of Week 5. The Caps have had two
weeks in five in which their penalty killing was 80 percent are better, and
those are the two losing weeks that the Caps have had so far. Washington killed eight of ten shorthanded
situations in Week 2 and went 1-2-0. In
Week 5 they killed all four of their shorthanded situations and went
0-1-1. They did a fine job in
suppressing shots while down a man, allowing the Canadiens only two shots on
goal on two power plays and Dallas only one shot on goal on two power plays.
Faceoffs: 67-for-117 / 57.3% percent (season: 48.6 percent,
rank: 24th)
If the Caps did one thing well in Week 5, it was take
faceoffs. And here might be evidence of
how inconsequential such results are, but with a caveat. Washington did a fine job in the offensive
zone, winning 23 of 33 draws for the week (69.7 percent). But two things about defensive zone draws
were noteworthy. First, they took 43
defensive zone draws for the week, ten more than they took in the offensive
zone. Second, they won only 21 of them
(48.8 percent).
Three of the four skaters taking at least ten draws for the
week finished over 50 percent – Nicklas Backstrom (63.9 percent), Lars Eller
(61.5 percent) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (51.7 percent). Only Nic Dowd among that group was under 50
percent(43.8). All four were worse in
the defensive end than they were in the offensive end, the Caps enjoying first possession
on a regular basis in the offensive end, but having to go seeking the puck too
often in the defensive end.
Goals by Period:
Well, the Caps were consistent, just not in a way they would
like to carry forward. Three goals
allowed in each of the first, second, and third periods of games for the week
was a recipe for poor results. It is part
of a consistency that has plagued the Caps all season. Through five weeks the Caps have allowed 15
first period goals, 14 second period goals, and 15 third period goals.
On the other side, the Caps had a fine week in the period
with the long change, posting five goals in the second periods of two
games. However, one goal in each of the
first and third periods of games was indicative of slow starts and weak
finishes, although that lone third period goal (a power play goal by Evgeny
Kuznetsov) did allow the Caps to record a standings point against Dallas.
Year over Year:
Yes, the Caps do have a better record, year-over-year,
through 12 games. Yes, they score more
(almost 30 percent more goals scored).
They are closer to 50 percent in shot attempts-for percentage than they
were through 12 games last season. More
takeaways, fewer penalties. The power
play is much better than it was at a similar juncture last season, and while
the penalty kill hasn’t improved, it is having to endure those situations at a
lower frequency.
By most measure, the Caps are in a better place after 12
games this season than they were after 12 games last season, but it feels
strangely inadequate. That is one price
to pay for winning a championship.
In the end…
The Caps are 12 games in, and they haven’t won consecutive
games. That is the bottom line of what
has been an inconsistent level of production among a number of statistical
categories, even if on balance those numbers are better than last season through
as many games. The defense and goaltending have been especially troublesome, largely negating a good offense
overall and a powerful power play.
The good news here is that defense is largely a product of effort applied to
scheme, and that is something that can be corrected. That, however, will require a level of
sustained focus that has eluded the team so far. Perhaps with a more regular diet of games in
November, without the long stretches of time between games they worked through
in October, that focus will be easier to sustain. It had better be.
Three Stars:
- First Star: Lars Eller (2-1-3, 61.5 faceoff wins, 52.63% shot attempts-for on ice at 5-on-5)
- Second Star: Alex Ovechkin (2-0-2, 8 shots on goal, 20 shot attempts)
- Third Star: Nicklas Backstrom (1-1-2, even, 63.9 percent faceoff wins, six shots on goal)
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