It was bound to happen sooner or later, and perhaps it is best the Caps get this out of the way sooner rather than later. We are speaking, of course, of a winless week, one that the Caps suffered in Week 4. It left the Caps in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division that has crowded itself into eight teams separated by seven points from top to bottom.
Record (0-2-1)
The Caps dropped three one-goal decisions in Week 4, bringing their total of one-goal losses to six in six losses (0-2-4). They finished the week as one of four teams without a one-goal win this season (New York Islanders, Montreal, and Chicago being the others). Only the Anaheim Ducks had as many one goal losses as the Caps (0-3-3). It is the Caps’ longest losing streak since enduring a four-game slide in Games 10-13 last season. If there is a silver (or at least a gray) lining, the Caps lost to tough clubs, the trio – Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers – holding a combined record of 22-5-5 at the end of the week.
Offense: 2.33 / game (season: 3.36 / 6th)
When a player with four games of NHL experience at week’s end leads the team in goals, there might be issues. Brett Leason led the Caps with a pair of goals for the week, while five other Caps had one apiece. Leason also tied for the team lead in points for the week (three) with John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin. Not bad company, but on the other hand, he managed to post points in a week when nine of 11 skaters failed to do so, and seven others were held to a single point.
Defense: 3.33 / game (season: 2.64 / T-7th)
The Caps had been rather stingy in the shots allowed department, but in Week 4 they allowed an average of 30.4 shots in the three games (13th best in the league for the week), leaving them in second place in shots allowed per game for the season (27.0 allowed per game), trailing only the Seattle Kraken (25.8). It was a similar result in shot attempts, where the Caps finished 19th in the league for the week with 130 shots allowed at 5-on-5. The Caps finished the week ninth in the league in total shot attempts allowed at fives (444).
The fourth line of Nic Dowd, Carl Hagelin, and Garnet Hathaway each finished the week a minus-2 in even strength goal differential, three of eight Caps to finish minus-2. Daniel Sprong was the only Capital to finish plus-2 in goal differential at evens.
Goaltending: 3.34 / .890 (season: 2.61 / .902)
Neither Vitek Vanecek nor Ilya Samsonov had stellar weeks for the Caps, but of the two, Vanecek was much better. He took all three decisions (0-2-1) and finished the week with a goals against average of 2.75 and a .904 save percentage. Ilya Samsonov logged only 25 minutes and change for the week and saw his stats balloon – 7.05 goals against average and a .833 save percentage.
Goaltending has become an issue for the Caps. At week’s end, among 45 goalies with at least 200 minutes logged, Vanecek ranked 16th in goals against average (2.43) and 30th in save percentage. Samsonov ranked 32nd in goals against average (2.91) and 40th in save percentage (.893). Among 39 goalies with at least five appearances, Vanecek ranked 18th in even strength save percentage (.927), while Samsonov ranked 35th (.900).
Power Play: 1-for-9 / 11.1 percent (season: 17.5 percent / 22nd)
Clearly, the Caps miss Nicklas Backstrom. A 1-for-9 week is just another disappointing week in a season of frustration with the man advantage. It is a power play that seems to have been whittled to its essence, setting up Alex Ovechkin for one timers from the left wing circle with occasional shots by John Carlson at the top of the offensive zone. They just have not had any success feeding the middle of the 1-3-1 formation for shots or goals. And, that Conor Sheary got the only power play goal for the week was surprising, but in a way a reflection of the limits of the Caps’ power play to date. Sheary does not generally get much power play time when the Caps have a full and healthy power play unit to put on the ice. It is especially frustrating in that the Caps rank sixth in power play chances per game through Week 4 (3.64).
Penalty Killing 6-for-8 / 75.0 percent (season: 76.7 percent / 22nd)
The Caps’ penalty kill to date has been rather mediocre, and the rankings show that. The Caps, who have allowed at least one power play goal in each of the first four weeks, rank 22nd in penalty killing. Fortunately, the Caps have the ninth-fewest shorthanded instances per game through Week 4 (2.73).
It was the Trevor van Riemsdyk/Nick Jensen pair who led defensemen in shorthanded ice time for the week, 2:52 per game and 2:16 per game, respectively. For van Riemsdyk, it was almost two-thirds of the Caps’ shorthanded ice time total (63.4 percent). Lars Eller led all forwards with 2:32 pr game while on penalty killing duty.
Faceoffs: 71-for-152 / 46.7 percent (46.9 percent / 25th)
The Caps finished the week on the wrong side of 50 percent overall, but things were not quite that bad. While they were just 28-for-62 in the offensive end (45.2 percent), they were 21-for-40 in the defensive end (52.5 percent).
Lars Eller was the only Capital taking at least ten draws to finish the week over 50 percent (57.4). He did it by dominating in the defensive end (13-for-18/72.2 percent) and edging over 50 percent in the neutral zone (9-for-17/52.9 percent). Evgeny Kuznetsov was sheltered, to an extent, taking 29 of his 48 faceoffs in the offensive zone, going 14-for-29 (48.3 percent).
Goals by Period
The Caps found themselves in catch-up mode for much of the week, and the goals by period reflect this, going minus-1 in first period goals and minus-3 in the second periods of games. The Caps still, however, maintained an edge in all three regulation periods for the season, all with a plus-4 in goal differential. They are the only team in the league with at least a plus-4 goal differential in each regulation period. But what sticks out, of course, is that minus-4 in overtime periods.
Year-over-Year
For all the Caps’ recent struggles, they are not far off their 11-game pace of last year, one point off that pace. The defense is better, having shaved seven goals off what they allowed through 11 games last season. Where they lag significantly is in the power play, which is converting at roughly half the rate they converted chances through 11 games last season. But the Caps have been playing better inside the rules, their penalties down by eight from last season and penalty minutes down by 17.
In the end…
It was not a good week, but the combination of key missing elements and a tough schedule left the Caps with a single standings point for the week. Rookies are getting their chance to gain game experience, and they have shown some promise. But the Caps need more production out of their scoring lines. Yes, they are missing what amounts to their second forward line, but the NHL is unforgiving. The Caps catch a bit of a break in Week 5 with a next-level downward of competition capped with a game against a Penguins team that has been decimated by illness and injury. The Caps need to take advantage to step up their game.
Three Stars
- First Star: Brett Leason (2-1-3, plus-1, first NHL goal/point, three-game points streak, six shots on goal, seven shot attempts)
- Second Star: Alex Ovechkin (1-2-3, plus-1, 18 shots on goal, 27 shot attempts, four takeaways, 22:15 average ice time)
- Third Star: Daniel Sprong (1-0-1, plus-2, nine shots on goal, 13 shot attempts)
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