Record: 3-0-0
When the Capitals embarked on their trip to California, it
was the seventh straight season in which the Caps would face all three
California teams on the same trip. The
Caps had not swept any of the six previous trips, and only once – in 2013-2014
– did they earn points in all three games (2-0-1). In 18 games over the six previous trips, the
Caps compiled an 8-8-2 record, 4-2-0 in San Jose against the Sharks, 1-3-2 in
Los Angeles against the Kings, and 3-3-0 in Anaheim against the Ducks.
In 90 minutes over three games, the Caps trailed for a grand
total of 10:58, all of it in the first game of the three against the
Sharks. That span of time between the
Sharks scoring the first goal of the game and garnet Hathaway tying it was the
only time the Caps trailed during the week as they swept the California teams
on the same trip for the first time in Capitals history (they beat all three
teams in 1993-1994, but not all three on the same trip).
With the three wins, the Caps held on tightly to the best
record in the league and had their best 31-game start in team history (49
points, surpassing the 48 points that the 2015-2016 team compiled through 31
games (23-6-2). The sweep in California
also extended the Caps’ winning streak to six games by week’s end, matching their
longest of the season (Games 13-18, October 25th through November 9th). And, since starting the season with a 3-2-2
record, the Caps are 19-2-3.
Offense: 3.67/game (season: 3.61/3rd)
Six Capitals shared the 11 goals scored for the week. Oddly enough, Alex Ovechkin had none of them,
his streak of games without a goal by week’s end reaching three, matching his
high for the season. John Carlson and
Jakub Vrana picked up the slack by posting three goals apiece. Carlson’s three goals put him in the lead in
goal scoring among defensemen with 11, one more than Carolina’s Dougie
Hamilton. He had six points for the week
to lead the Caps and extend his points lead among defensemen to a whopping 15
points, 43 to 28 for Hamilton and Colorado’s Cale Makar. Vrana’s three goals gave him 15 for the
season, all of them at even strength and tying Boston’s Brad Marchand and
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl for the league lead in even strength goals.
Garnet Hathaway was the other Capital with a multi-goal
week, getting both of his in the Caps’ 5-2 win in San Jose to start the
week. It was his second career
multi-goal game, his first coming with the Calgary Flames last season in a 4-1
win over the New York Rangers on October 21, 2018. The other three goals were scored by three
Caps in three different situations.
Travis Boyd scored the game’s first goal in the Caps’ 3-2 win over
Anaheim, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a power play goal in the same contest, and Tom
Wilson scored an empty net goal in the 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
The Caps had 12 skaters record points for the week. In addition to Carlson (six) and Vrana
(four), five other Caps had a pair: Hathaway (2-0-2), Dmitry Orlov (0-2-2), Nic
Dowd (0-2-2), Lars Eller (0-2-2), and T.J. Oshie (0-2-2).
Defense: 1.67/game (season: 2.77/11th)
Playing well on the road is often a matter of simplifying
the game and playing within system boundaries.
One could argue the Caps did just that, and it was reflected in the
defensive statistics. None of the three
opponents managed as many as 30 shots on goal (Anaheim had 29). It extended the Caps’ string of games holding
teams under 30 shots to four, matching their longest such streak of the season
that occurred in the first four games of the season. The four straight games holding opponents to
fewer than 30 shots on the road is their longest of the season, surpassing the
only consecutive road games in which they did so, their first two road games of
the season.
The shot attempts at 5-on-5 had an odd quality. The Caps were edged in 5-on-5 shot attempts
in the 5-2 win over San Jose, 47-45, and they had a reasonably health edge in
shot attempts at fives in the 3-1 win over Los Angeles, 41-34, including a
plus-9 when ahead. But against Anaheim,
the Caps finished minus-16 (53-37). This
was due to the Ducks setting a season high in total missed shots for a single
game (28). Only four of the 18 skaters
for the Ducks failed to record at least one.
And, the Caps were consistent.
Only once in nine periods for the week did they allow more than ten
shots on goal (14 to the Ducks in the first period of that contest).
Goaltending: 1.67 / .935 (season: 2.67 / .912)
The Caps continue to get improved goaltending play overall
and are getting solid performances from both Braden Holtby and Ilya Samsonov
individually. Samsonov has been
especially impressive among rookies. He
won his seventh game of the season when he stopped 22 of 23 shots in the 3-1
win over the Kings in the middle game of the week. That win total is second among all rookie goalies
(New Jersey’s Mackenzie Blackwood has eight).
His 2.42 goals against average is fourth among the 13 rookie goaltenders
to dress this season and best among those appearing in more than two games. The same applies to his .917 save percentage,
fourth among all rookie goalies and best among those appearing in more than two
games.
Holtby got the first and last games of the week, allowing
two goals in each and stopping 50 of 54 shots overall. He is now 14-1-2, 2.42, .924 in his last 17
appearances. Holtby was especially sharp
early in games in Week 10, stopping 55 of 57 first and second period shots on
goal (.965 save percentage).
The goaltending has become very consistent, too. The Caps have not had consecutive
performances in goal with a save percentage under .900 since Holtby had three
consecutive games under .900, October 4th through October 10th.
Power Play: 1-for-7/14.3 percent (season: 24.5 percent/5th)
Lost in the wins was a rather forgettable week for the power
play, and there was a sameness to it.
The Caps had only seven opportunities, the third consecutive week they
had seven chances in a third consecutive three-game week, tying their fewest chances
for a week so far this season. They
managed one goal on 14 shots in 13:46 in power play ice time, a very average
sort of week for shooting efficiency. The
Caps got shots on goal from players they wanted – Ovechkin had six, Oshie had
three, and Kuznetsov had a pair – but Kuznetsov was the only one to find the
back of the net. However, although the
Caps had something of an off week in Week 10 on the power play, they are
5-for-20 (25.0 percent) in eight games since Nicklas Backstrom last played
(November 18th).
Penalty Killing: 6-for-6/100.0 percent (season: 84.0 percent/10th)
It would be hard to do better killing penalties than what
the Caps did in Week 10. There was
holding San Jose without a power play opportunity, the first time this season
that the Caps held an opponent without a power play chance, the first time they
did it since they held the Carolina Hurricanes without a chance in a 4-1 win
last March 26th and the first time they did it on the road since
they blanked the Hurricanes in chances in Carolina in a 2-1 win on December 4,
2014.
Then there were the shots.
The Caps held their other two opponents to seven shots in six power
plays and 10:30 of shorthanded ice time.
True, the Caps beat up on weak power plays, the three California teams
ranking in the bottom ten in the league in power play efficiency at week’s end
(San Jose/22nd, Los Angeles/29th, Anaheim/30th),
but that’s what successful teams do, too.
Faceoffs: 73-for-160/45.6 percent (season: 49.5 percent/19th)
The Capitals seem to have reverted to the weak performances
in the faceoff circle that they had for much of last season. For the second consecutive week they were
stuck in the mid-40’s in winning percentage.
And, they were all over the place in Week 10. Part of the problem might have been that
whatever their faults are, and they are many, the three California teams do
fairly well in this part of the game, all three of them over 50 percent for the
season at week’s end and all of them ranking among the top 13 teams in the
league.
As it was, the Caps finished in the mid-40’s in winning
percentage against San Jose, rebounded to finish over 50 percent against Los
Angeles, but then finished in the mid-30’s against Anaheim for a very
inconsistent week. Where they were
consistent was in finishing the week under 50 percent in all three zones. Individually, Lars Eller had a good week,
especially in the ends and particularly in the offensive end, where he did not
get many chances, but he won nearly all of them (6-for-7). On the other hand, Evgeny Kuznetsov (33.3
percent), Nic Dowd (42.4 percent) and Travis Boyd (40.0 percent) had weeks that
were not memorable.
Goals by Period:
The goals by period are a reflection of a club that did not
trail much, and when it did only did so for a short time. They allowed the one first period goal
against San Jose that put the Caps behind for the only time all week, but they
dominated the period otherwise. They
continued their ability to win second periods, although not by a wide margin in
Week 10. It gave the Caps a bit of a
cushion for third periods, which they lost in the aggregate, but only by a
single goal. As it is, the Caps and
Vancouver were the only teams in the league at week’s end to score more than 30
goals in each of the three regulation periods.
Year-over-Year:
The year-over-year numbers are impressive in that they are
so much better in many cases than a very good performance at the same point
last season. Most important, the Caps
are three-wins better than a 19-win team at the 31-game mark last season. Those 19 wins were tied for fifth-highest in
the league through 31 games last season.
The Caps have 22 this season, one behind Tampa Bay’s pace through 31
games last season on their way to a record-tying 62-win season.
In other respects, the Caps continue to out-pace last
season’s performance through 31 games in many areas. The goals scored are down a bit, but the
scoring defense is improved, allowing ten fewer goals so far than at the same
point last season. As has been the case
in weeks leading up to this one, shots are up, shots allowed are down. Penalty killing is still on the positive
change side this season, as is faceoff winning percentage (despite the recent
struggles). Shot attempts-for at 5-on-5
has improved as well. It paints a
picture of a very complete team that competes in a broad range of statistical
categories that allow them to win in a variety of ways.
In the end…
The California trip is not the death march along the beach
that it was for years for the Caps, but it is still a challenge. Given those circumstances, even against three
teams that have had their share of struggles this season, a sweep has to place
Week 10 among the best weeks of the season for the Caps so far. The variety of the manner in which the Caps
win games was on full display. Whereas
the Caps were steamrolling clubs with prolific offense for much of the first
third of the season, they held all three California teams (and all four teams
on the four-game road trip that started in Detroit) to two or fewer goals, the
longest stretch of holding opponents to two or fewer goals for the Caps so far
this season. Over an 82-game schedule,
teams have hot streaks, and they have slumps, and strengths and weaknesses are
identified and exposed. At the moment,
though, the Caps are a hot team with few weaknesses, and those they do have are
being overcome on a regular basis by a deep team at both ends of the ice.
Three Stars:
- First Star: John Carlson (3-3-6, plus-4, 2 game-winning goals, 11 shots, 17 shot attempts, three blocked shots, 22:15 average ice time)
- Second Star: Jakub Vrana (3-1-4, plus-3, 1 game-winning goal, eight shots, 12 shot attempts)
- Third Star: Carl Hagelin (0-1-1, plus-3, led team with 5:46 in shorthanded ice time with no goals against)
Captain rates the week…
Four puppers
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