The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!
It might be a good thing that the Washington Capitals are
heading on the road – far away – to start this week’s schedule. After surrendering five unanswered goals in a
span of 20:14 over the second and third periods, ultimately losing a 6-5
decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, taking a trip to Las Vegas isn’t the
worst thing for the Caps.
That is what lies in store for the Caps as they visit
T-Mobile Arena to face the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time since
winning the Stanley Cup on that ice sheet last June. The
Caps, who had a seven-game winning streak snapped in the loss to Anaheim, will
be looking for their first regular season win, ever, against the Golden
Knights on their rink after dropping their only regular season meeting in Las Vegas last season.
Vegas, like the Caps, will enter this game on a loss after
putting together a lengthy winning streak.
The Golden Kinghts lost to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, 2-1, in the
last game of a three-game road trip, after putting together a five game winning
streak.
What Vegas lacks in top-end goal scoring, they have in
balance this season. Three skaters share
the team lead with ten goals apiece. Not
surprisingly, Max Pacioretty is among them.
Pacioretty, who was traded to Vegas by the Montreal Canadiens for Nick
Suzuki, Tomas Tatar and Vegas' 2nd round pick in 2019 Entry Draft, had a
sluggish start with his new team, recording only two goals in his first 16
games. It was not a case of being shy
about shooting the puck, not with 44 shots on goal in those 16 games. It suggested more “slump” than something more
structural. And so it was. In his last eight games, Pacioretty has eight
goals on just 22 shots, the same shooting frequency (2.75 shots per game) that
he had in his slow start. Odd Pacioretty
fact – he is the only player to wear jersey number “67” for two franchises,
Montreal and Vegas. He is 5-11-16,
minus-3, in 29 career games against Washington.
Jonathan Marchessault is another of the skaters with ten
goals going into this contest. Since
becoming a full-time NHL-er in 2016-2017 with the Florida Panthers,
Marchessault has been a player who could push the 30-goal mark per season. He had 30 in 75 games in his last season with
the Panthers, and last season (his first with Vegas) he had 27 goals in 77
games. The ten goals he has in 28 games
this season puts him on a pace for 29 goals this season. He has been in a bit of a drought of late,
though. Marchessault is without a goal
in his last seven games, his longest streak of games without a goal this
season. Odd Marchessault fact – The
27-year old Marchessault was undrafted as an amateur and is now in his fifth
NHL organization. He was signed to his
first pro contract in June 2011 by the Connecticut Whale, the AHL affiliate of
the New York Rangers. After one season
with the Whale, he was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played two games with the Blue Jackets
before moving on to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he played in parts of two
seasons. Then it was his breakout season
with the Florida Panthers before landing in Vegas last season. Marchessault is 0-5-5, even, in nine career
games against the Caps.
Cody Eakin rounds out the trio of ten-goal scorers for
Vegas. Caps fans will remember Eakin as
a third-round pick by Washington in the 2009 entry draft. Eakin made his way up the Caps’ development
ladder, eventually appearing in 30 games for the club in 2011-2012 (4-4-8,
plus-2). After that season he was traded
to the Dallas Stars with a second-round draft pick for center Mike
Ribeiro. Eakin spent five seasons with
the Stars before being selected by Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft. Eakin is already within a goal of last year’s
total with the Golden Knights (11 in 80 games) and is more than half-way to his
career high of 19 goals in 78 games with the Stars in 2014-2015. He has been a bit streaky in his goals
scoring, opening the season with three goals in four games before a seven-game
drought. He followed that up with five
goals in seven games before a four-game streak without a goal. He had a pair of goals against Chicago on
November 27th but is without one in his last two games. Odd Eakin Fact – sometime soon, Eakin will
become the 14th player of the 2009 draft class to dress for 500
games (he has 484) and the second Capital to do so. Neither player is with the Caps any longer
(Marcus Johansson is the other). In 11
career games against the Caps, Eakin is 2-3-5, plus-1.
1. Vegas is four games behind their record after 28 games
last year (18-9-1) with a 14-13-1 record.
2. The Golden Knights
are struggling with their home power play.
It ranks only 25th in the league through Sunday (15.2
percent). What will be something to
watch for is that the Knights do not yet have a game on home ice in which they
recorded more than one power play goal at home.
They do, however, have power play goals in each of their last two home
games.
3. In one respect,
Vegas will pit a strength against a Capital strength. The second periods of games have been good to
the Caps this season, but if they are to add to that, it might not come via the
power play. Vegas has the largest time
differential on special teams in the Western Conference in the second periods of games this season
(plus-18:26).
4. Conversely, Vegas has
the fourth-worst special teams time differential in the league in the third
periods of games this season (minus-10:42).
5. If Vegas leads
after two periods…bad news for the Caps.
The Golden Knights are one of three teams with a perfect record when leading
after 40 minutes (11-0-0). Toronto
(14-0-0) and Columbus (9-0-0) are the others.
1. The Caps have 12
wins when leading after two period this season.
That is tied for fourth-most in the league. Unfortunately, they missed a chance to tie
Tampa Bay for third place on Sunday.
Toronto and Nashville are tied at the top with 14 such wins apiece.
2. The 6-5 loss to the
Anaheim Ducks on Sunday was just the second one-goal loss in regulation for the
Caps this season (5-2-3).
3. High shot volumes
have not mattered to the Caps. They are
6-5-3 when recording 30 or more shots, 9-3-0 when recording fewer than 30
shots.
4. Conversely, the
Caps are 11-4-3 when allowing 30 or more shots, 4-4-0 when allowing fewer than
30 shots on goal.
5. The Caps have the
fourth-worst special teams time differential in the league (minus-22:48).
The Peerless’ Players to Ponder
Vegas: Nate Schmidt
Nate Schmidt had a disappointing start to the season. It actually started on September 2nd,
when he was suspended for 20 games for violating terms of the NHL/NHLPA
Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
He took his medicine, so to speak, and returned to action on November 18th
in typical good humor…
Unfortunately for Schmidt and the Golden Knights, his
performance has been underwhelming since his return. He goes into Tuesday’s game against his old
team with a single assist in eight games despite averaging almost 22 minutes of
ice time per game. Schmidt did not have
an especially hot start last season, going 1-3-4 in his first eight games, but
he did finish 5-31-36, plus-19 in 76 games, and the Golden Knights went 24-6-0
in games in which he recorded at least one point. It recommended him to a key role this season,
suspension or no suspension. Schmidt
has almost 300 regular season games on his resume and is entering his
chronological prime (he turned 27 last summer).
His contributions were an important ingredient in Vegas’ historic
inaugural season last year. If the
Golden Knights are to come close to replicating that feat, Schmidt’s numbers
will have to improve. He is 0-1-1,
plus-1, in two games against his former club.
Washington: Lars Eller
Lars Eller, the hero of the Stanley Cup final for the
Washington Capitals last season, has taken on a bit of a different role this
season. He is something of a cross
between “Jack-of-all-trades” and “Mr. Fix-it.”
He has seen his ice time jump by almost two minutes per game, partly due
to filling in during the injury absence of Evgeny Kuznetsov (who missed six
games with a concussion), and more responsibility on special teams, where his
penalty killing ice time is up almost half a minute a game (from 1:48 to 2:12),
and his power play ice time is up by 50 seconds a game (from 1:11 to 1:51). He has been shooting in some bad luck in the
first third of the season, his 7.7 shooting percentage (four goals on 52 shots)
his worst of his career. It has not
affected his playmaking, his 10 assists already half way to the 20 he had in 81
games last season. Eller getting on the
score sheet is generally a good thing.
The Caps are 7-1-2 in ten games in which he recorded a point so far this
season, 4-1-0 when it happens on the road.
Eller does not have a point in three career games against Vegas and is
minus-2.
In the end…
This game is a measuring stick for a veteran team. Going on the road after enduring as
gut-wrenching a loss as the Caps had on Sunday requires that such a loss not be
included in the baggage brought along.
This is the third time this season that the Caps went on the road
following a loss to wrap up a home stand.
The first time, the Caps dropped a Gimmick decision to the Florida
Panthers, and then went to Vancouver and knuckled the Canucks, 5-2. The second time, the Caps lost to the Arizona
Coyotes, and then went off and thrashed the Minnesota Wild, 5-2. We see a pattern here.
Capitals 4 – Vegas 2