We love the work of Elliotte Friedman, whose “31 Thoughts”
in podcast and column form are required listening/reading for hockey fans. So, in the spirit of respect, the cousins and
I are going to brazenly steal the format as the Caps hit the 31-game mark for
the season. So, here are “31 Things”…
1. The Caps hit the
20-win mark in Game 29 of the regular season.
It was just the third time in team history that the Caps hit the 20-win
mark in fewer than 30 games. They did it
in 1991-1992, when they went 20-8-0 in their first 28 games, and again in
2015-2016, going 20-6-2 in their first 28 games.
2. Washington is the
most lethal team on the power play in recent NHL history. Since 2012-2013 through 31 games this season,
the Caps have converted 23.3 percent of their man advantages. Pittsburgh is second over that period (22.3
percent).
3. This year’s club
is on pace to have the best road power play in team history, since 1977-1978,
when the league started compiling team power play statistics. Through 31 games they have converted 14 of 51
power plays on the road for a 27.5 percent conversion rate. In the abbreviated 2012-2013, the Caps were
22-for-83 in road power plays (26.5 percent).
For full seasons, the highest conversion rate before this season was in
2016-2017, when the Caps went 29-for-116 on the road (25.0 percent).
4. Through 31 games
this season, the Caps are on a pace to post their best points percentage in
team history (.790). The 2009-2010 team
had a .738 points percentage. The Caps
are on a pace through 31 games to finish with 130 points.
5. The last two-plus-31
games seasons, John Carlson has 78 power play points, tops among all defensemen
and nine more than second-place Keith Yandle.
6. John Carlson has 43
points through 31 games. He is only the
fourth player in team history to reach the 40-point mark through 31 games on
the schedule and the first defenseman to do it.
Alex Ovechkin did it three times (2006-2007; 2008-2009; and 2018-2019),
Dennis Maruk did it twice (1080-1981 and 1981-1982), and Robert Lang did it
(2003-2004).
Only Maruk in team history scored more than 43 points in the team’s first 31
games, posting 48 points in 25 games through 31 games of the 1982-1983
schedule.
7. Alex Ovechkin has
goals against every NHL team over his career.
No surprise there. He has assists
against every team, too, but one – Vegas.
OK, so it’s only five games, but there it is.
8. Through 31 games
this season, the Caps are the only team in the NHL that, since the 2004-2005
lockout, compiled an aggregate shooting percentage over ten percent (10.1).
9. Ovechkin has eight
power play goals in 31 games. It is the
seventh time in his career he posted eight or more in the team’s first 31 games,
most of any player in team history. Four
players did it twice: Peter Bondra, Dave Christian, Dennis Makuk, and Mike
Ridley.
10. John Carlson has four
game-winning goals in 31 games. He is
the only defenseman in Caps history with that many in the team’s first 31
games.
11. Wilson has four game-winning goals. That number matches his career total through
last season.
12. Over the last 40
years, know which Capital had the best shooting percentage over the first 31
games? Alex Ovechkin?...nope. Peter Bondra?...nope. Alexander Semin? T.J. Oshie? Dennis Maruk? Nope, nope, and nope. It was Alan May, who had five goals on 13
shots (38.5 percent) in 28 games in the first 31 games of the 1991-1992
schedule.
13. Through 31 games,
did you think Ilya Samsonov would have a better save percentage (.917) than
Braden Holtby (.910)?
14. …or goals against
average (2.42 to 2.78)?
15. …or that Samsonov
would have as many wins as Henrik Lundqvist (seven)?
16. The league now
compiles missed shots that hit the iron of the goal frame. So far, the Caps have hit a post, a crossbar,
or both, in 24 of their 31 games. The 36
posts or crossbars hit in those 31 games are, by far, most in the league (Dallas:
28).
17. The Caps scored
three goals in Los Angeles in the middle game of their three-game trip to
California. Think that’s not a big
deal? The Caps haven’t scored more than
three goals in Los Angeles against the Kings since February 10, 2001, when they
beat the Kings, 4-3. That’s 13 straight
games in L.A. without scoring more than three goals in a game.
18. The three goals
that the Caps scored against the Ducks in Anaheim on Friday night broke a
four-game streak scoring fewer than three goals in Anaheim.
19. The Caps have now
beaten 20 different goaltenders so far this season. Ryan Miller became the 20th when
the Caps beat the Ducks, 3-2, on Friday (they beat Cam Talbot and Sergei
Bobrovsky twice this season).
20. Given this
franchise’s early history, this might not seem like much, but this year’s team
already has more standings points (49) than three other Caps teams compiled in
a full season: 1977-1978 (48), 1975-1976 (32), and the infamous inaugural team
of 1974-1975 (21). Perhaps more
impressive, this team is just three points short of the 1995-1995 team (52) and
eight points short of the 2012-2013 team (57), both of which played abbreviated
48-game seasons and both of which made the playoffs.
21. The Caps have
left the impression at times of taking a lot of penalties. However, they are averaging 9:42 in penalty
minutes per game. That is the
fifth-lowest average in team history to date.
22. Seven of the team’s
22 wins have come by three or more goals.
That is already more such wins than seven other teams in franchise
history.
23. More impressive,
this Caps team has 11 one-goal wins. Sure,
this is the era of the game occasionally decided by the freestyle competition,
but the 11 wins are still more than 15 teams in franchise history.
24. Spotting a team
the first goal hasn’t mattered to this team so far. Through 31 games, the Caps are 8-3-2 when
allowing the first goal. That .615
winning percentage is best in team history so far, eclipsing the .533 that the
2009-2010 team had (16-8-6).
25. At the other end,
this year’s Caps team is the only one in team history to date to have a .500
winning percentage when trailing after two periods (.500/4-3-1). The 2009-2010 team was 8-10-4 (.364).
26. John Carlson is
averaging 1.39 points per game through 31 games. Of more than 3,000 instances of a defenseman
playing in 30 or more games in a season since 2005-2006, that is the highest
points-per-game by a large margin, far outpacing the 1.09 points per game
posted by Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang in 35 games in the 2012-2013 season.
27. The Caps’ 14 road
wins through 31 games is the most they posted in any 31-game start in team
history. The 1991-1992 team had 12 road
wins through 31 games.
28. Todd Reirden won his 70th game as a head
coach on Friday when the Caps beat the Ducks, 3-2. It gave him a points percentage of .677
(70-30-13), the second-best points percentage in league history among coaches
with at least 100 games. Tom Johnson was
142-43-23 (.738) with Boston from 1970-1971 through 1972-1973.
29. Since the Caps
came into the league in 1974-1975, no team has scored more overtime goals through
Friday night (147, tied with Pittsburgh).
30. In that same
vein, the Caps have more one-goal wins than any other club since they came into
the league (619) through Friday night.
31. Next time,
Cheerless is doing this list.