Record: 2-2-0
No one is pulling away in the Metropolitan Division, and for
the Caps that is a good thing. A
break-even week left the Caps in fourth place in the division, one point behind
the New York Islanders and New York Rangers, tied for second in standings
points. In the glass half full/glass
half empty category, the Caps are hanging around in the division despite not
having so much as a single winning streak over two games so far this season
(the alternated wins and losses in Week 7) and have won consecutive games only
once so far. On the other hand, they
have yet to endure a three-game losing streak.
Then again, last year the Caps had only one three-game winning streak to
a similar point of the season, so it is not as if a sluggish start is new
territory for the club.
Offense: 2.50/game (season: 3.26/game, rank: 9th)
It was an uneven week for the Caps, who managed five goals
in their 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild in the second game of the week but
could not muster more than two in regulation time in any of the other three games,
twice held to one goal. It would not
be inaccurate to state that the light production was, in part, a product of the
Caps missing center Evgeny Kuznetsov and right winger T.J. Oshie for the last game
of the week, both injured with possible concussions in the 3-1 loss to Winnipeg.
On the other hand, the Caps are a team that has struggled a
bit in the offensive end of the ice lately.
In five of their last six games they scored two or fewer goals in
regulation time and a total of only 13 in that span. What made things a bit frustrating in Week 7,
even with the absences of Kuznetsov and Oshie, was that they got a taste of
contributions from Devante Smith-Pelly and Andre Burakovsky, both of whom have
struggled with getting goals, each scoring a goal during the week. Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist, and Tom
Wilson, finally hitting the ice after missing the first 16 games of the season
to a suspension, had a three-point week (1-2-3).
On the other hand, John Carlson hit a dry spell (one assist
in four games), as did Brent Connolly (an assist), and Matt Niskanen (an
assist). Christian Djoos went the week
without a point, extending his streak without a point to 11 games. Michal Kempny was 0-for-Week 7 and is without
a point in six games. Dmitrij Jaskin dressed for just one game, was
blanked on the score sheet for the week, and is still looking for his first goal
as a Capital after 13 games.
Defense: 2.75/game (season: 3.26/game, rank: 25th)
The Caps had their best defensive week, or at least their
most consistent one, in a while in one respect.
They held all four opponents in Week 7 to fewer than 30 shots and a
total of 100 in all. It was the first
time this season that the Caps managed to hold opponents under 30 shots in a
game in consecutive games, let along four in a row.
The shot attempts against at 5-on-5 were not quite as
impressive, but they were solid, especially on the road. The Caps held all three road opponents to
approximately their average 5-on-5 shot attempts on home ice for the season:
Winnipeg (avg.: 48/46 vs. Caps), Minnesota (40/42), and Colorado (42/45).
Goaltending: 2.26 / .910 (season: 3.08 / .901 / 1 SO)
Braden Holtby had a forgettable game against the Arizona
Coyotes to start the week, allowing three goals on 17 shots over the first two
periods, leaving the Caps in too big a hole out of which they could crawl in
what would be a 4-1 loss, although in his defense, he did stop 11 of 12 even
strength shots through those first two periods.
His week would end early, though, when he suffered an upper body injury
in the morning skate before the game against the Winnipeg Jets.
That meant that Pheonix Copley, in addition to a regularly
scheduled start against Minnesota in the second game of the week, would also
get the last two games of the week, making for an unusual (especially for a
backup goaltender) three road games in four nights. He was superb, stopping 71 of 77 shots on
goal against the first (Colorado), 10th (Minnesota), and 16th-ranked
(Winnipeg) scoring offenses in the league at week’s end. Copley has bounced back strong after a slow
start. He allowed six goals on 36 shots
in a 6-0 loss to New Jersey in his first appearance for the Caps, but since
then he is 4-1-1, 2.07, .925, in six appearances.
Power Play: 1-for-10/10.0
percent (season: 29.0 percent, rank: 4th)
Week 7 was the worst week of the season for the Caps’ power
play. First, there were the
chances. The Caps enjoyed only ten power
play opportunities for the week, their second lowest average for the season
(2.50), only Week 5 being lower (four chances in two games).
Then there were the shots.
And what a strange week it was there.
The Caps had a respectable 22 shots in 19:30 of power play time for the
week. How they got there was a bit odd,
but a bit normal, too. Alex Ovechkin, as
one might expect, led the team with ten shots on goal in four games. The odd part there was that he had six of the
team’s seven shots on the power play against Winnipeg.
But what it came down to was that the Caps were 0-for-9 and
misfired on 21 straight power play shots to open the week until Nicklas
Backstrom broke through in overtime against the Colorado Avalanche on a 4-on-3
power play to end the week on a high note.
Penalty Killing: 13-for-17 / 76.5 percent (season: 73.2 percent,
rank: 28th)
It was just the opposite in terms of chances on the other
side of special teams. The Caps faced 17
shorthanded situations in Week 7, the highest total of any week this season and
the second highest average (4.3 per game), topped only with 11 such situations
faced in two games in Week 3 (5.5 per game).
In those 17 shorthanded situations, the Caps allowed 26 shots on goal in
29:36 of shorthanded ice time. That is
not bad on a shots-per-minute basis, but there were just too many minutes. The Caps did rebound late, though. After allowing four goals on 15 shorthanded
situations over the first three games of the week, the Caps shut out the
Colorado Avalanche on two opportunities to end the week, breaking a six-game
streak in which the Caps allowed at least one power play goal.
Faceoffs: 117-for-234 / 50.0 percent (season: 48.7 percent,
rank: 21st)
The Capitals split the faceoffs right down the middle for
the week. On the plus side, they were
better in the ends – 53.0 percent on offensive zone draws and 51.8 percent in
the defensive end – than they were in the neutral zone (42.8 percent). And, the Caps were 50 percent or better in
three of the four games for the week, although they were very close to the
margin, finishing two of the four games at 50.0 percent, one game one faceoff
win over 50 percent (32-for-62 against Arizona), and one game two faceoff wins
under 50 percent (31-for-65 against Colorado).
This being a heavy week, schedule-wise, the Caps had five
players take ten or more draws. Nic Dowd
led the group in efficiency at 62.5 percent (10-for-16) and did it without
taking an offensive zone draw over the four games. Lars Eller was superb in the offensive end,
winning 15 of 21 draws (71.4 percent) on his way to a 56.7 percent week.
Goals by Period:
It was a rather evenly played week, by period, the result in
third period goal differential (minus-3) being the product of empty net goals
scored by Arizona in the Coyotes’ 4-1 win to start the week and by Winnipeg in
the Jets’ 3-1 win in the third game of the week. Nevertheless, the Caps finished the week with
a minus-8 goal differential in the third period. Only Vancouver has a worse differential
(minus- ). It is quite a difference from
the second period. The Caps were held
even in the middle periods of the week (4-4), leaving them with a plus-10
differential for the season. Only
Toronto (plus-11) and Tampa Bay (plus-12) are better.
Year over Year:
Nineteen games into the season, and the Capitals find
themselves just where they were at the same point last season – 21 standings
points. How they got there is a bit
different, the current version of the club splitting 124 goals down the middle,
for and against, a bit better than last year’s club, which was at a minus-5
goal differential through 19 games. One
of the odd numbers here is the 47.9 percent shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 both
last year and this year through 19 games.
Special teams are marginally more effective this season, the
plus-6 in power play goals scored more than offsetting the minus-3 in
opponents’ power play goals. The special
teams index for this season (102.2) is well clear of last year’s mark at this
point (98.1).
Grittership numbers from year to year are something of a
mixed bag. Credited hits are up over
last season, as are blocked shots.
However, the penalties are down quite a bit in number (down 11) and in
minutes (down 60). This is no doubt
largely the product of Tom Wilson missing the first 16 games of the season.
In the end…
Over the course of a long hockey season, there are some
weeks a team is just going to have to grind through. Injuries, tough opponents, taking the show on
the road, inconsistent officiating, bad luck, quirky bounces. It’s all part of the adventure. Week 7 was just such a week for the Caps, and
getting out of it with a 2-2-0 record is something to put away and move on. They are left with trying to get three of the
most important cogs in this machine back into the lineup. With another four-game week on tap, and the
Thanksgiving holiday distraction, the challenges are not diminishing soon.
Three Stars:
- First Star: Pheonix Copley (2-1-0, 2.01, .922)
- Second Star: Nicklas Backstrom (2-2-4, plus-1, 1 OT/GWG, 50.0% on faceoffs
- Third Star: Tom Wilson (1-2-3, plus-1, 19:14 average ice time, 7 PIM)
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