Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was -- Week 4

Week 4 of the season for the Washington Capitals was about as good as it gets.  A perfect record, balanced scoring, solid defense and goaltending (for the most part; we’ll get to that). But it was necessary, given how hot the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins remain.  At week’s end the Caps, Rangers, and Penguins were clearly the class of the Metropolitan Division.  Here is how it unfolded.

Record: 4-0-0

Winning four games in a week is no mean feat.  Last season, on their way to a 56-win season, the Caps had seven four-game weeks (one was a five-game week) and swept the week just once (Week 7 of the 2015-2016 season).  The sweep of the week extended the Caps’ winning streak to five games, something they did do with some frequency last season, posting winning streaks of five or more games five times.  The 8-2-1 record with which the Caps finished Week 4 resulted in one of the odd consistencies of this team.  Over their last 106 regular season games dating back to Game 70 of the 2014-2015 season, the Caps have a record of 73-23-10.  That works out to a per-82 game record of 56-18-8, precisely the record they posted in 2015-2016.  Sustaining that level of production over more than 100 regular season games is nothing short of amazing.

Offense:  3.50/game (season: 3.00 /game; rank: T-9th)

The Caps got goal scoring form top-six forwards (or at least top-six-ish in Marcus Johansson), they got goal scoring from that “secondary” group.  They got balance in points recorded, getting points from 15 different skaters, 11 forwards and four defensemen.  Alex Ovechkin, Marcus Johansson, and T.J. Oshie led the Caps with three goals apiece.  Although he was held without a goal in the last two games of the week, Johansson still has five goals in his last five games, and six in his last eight games.  He is shooting more.  After posting four shots on goal in his first three games of the season without potting a goal, he has six goals on 19 shots in eight games.  Of 213 players with at least 20 shots on goal so far, Johansson is fifth in shooting percentage (26.1 percent).  With Oshie and Ovechkin getting three goals apiece, the Caps now have three players with more than five goals this season.  No team has more (the Rangers and Penguins also have three).

Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson led the Caps in assists with four apiece.  For Carlson, the helpers that began with an assist in the first game against the Winnipeg Jets this week broke a six-game streak without a point.  Backstrom’s three assists lifted him into the top ten in helpers for the season (tied for ninth with eight assists).

Defense: 2.00/game (season:  2.09/game; rank: 2nd)

The Caps, for the most part, continued to limit opponents’ opportunities by suppressing shots on goal.  Washington held Calgary and Florida to fewer than 25 shots, making it five times in 11 games the opponents failed to hit the 25-shot threshold against the Caps.  Washington is tied for third in games allowing 25 or fewer shots (five).  Only Los Angeles and San Jose, with seven apiece, have done it more often. 

There was a certain symmetry in offense and defense in Week 4.  Just as there were 15 skaters recording points on offense, so were there 15 skaters on ice for goals against. The only skaters spared were Brett Connolly, Andre Burakovsky, Zach Sanford, and Daniel Winnik.

As for the possession numbers, they ran contrary to the shot numbers, but that was a product of the two games against the Winnipeg Jets.  Washington was 48.1 percent in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 overall for the week, but that broke down into 50.9 percent for the games against Calgary and Florida to begin and end the week, and 45.4 percent in the two games against the Jets in the middle of the week (numbers from Corsica.hockey).

Goaltending: 1.98 /.932 (season: 1.98 / .925 / 1 SO)

Braden Holtby got all the goaltending minutes in Week 4, and he was solid overall.  A 4-0-0, 1.98, .932 record isn’t “Carey Price” or “Devan Dubnyk” hot, but it is the sort of week that allowed Holtby to inch his way up the goaltender rankings in goals against average (2.20/11^th among goalies with at least 200 minutes) and save percentage (13^th/.920).

If there was a problem, it was the third periods of games.  Holtby was 41-fo-r43 in save in the first periods of games for the week (.953 save percentage), a perfect 30-for-30 in the second periods of games, but just 39-for-45 in the third periods of games (.867).  Again, thank the Jets, who scored five goals on 27 shots in two third periods (.815 save percentage).

Power Play: 2-for-14 / 14.3 percent (season: 14.3 percent; rank: 21st)

One gets the feeling that the Caps are this close to breaking out on the man advantage.  Week 4 was not that week to do it, though.  Getting 14 opportunities was a good thing, the most they had for a single week since they had 17 in Week 20 last season.  But with two goals scored on those opportunities, the Caps have yet to score more than two power play goals in a week.  Only seven teams have fewer than the five power play goals the Caps have so far.

But the reason one might think they are close to breaking out.  The Caps managed 29 power play shots on goal in 23:07 of man advantage ice time.  Alex Ovechkin had ten of those shots, scoring one of the goals (in overtime in the second of the games against Winnipeg).  That the Caps shot 2-for-29 (6.9 percent) is something unusual to say the least.  But what the Caps did not get much of on the power play in Week 4 was shots from the middle.  T.J. Oshie had just two shots in four games, suggesting that teams are forcing the Caps to work the puck around the perimeter.  If the Caps can adjust, that 6.9 percent shooting percentage could improve.

Penalty Killing: 9-for-10 / 90.0 percent (season: 80.6 percent; rank: 18th)

It was almost a perfect week – the Caps allowed the Florida Panthers a power play goal in the last game of the week – but nine out of ten shorthanded situations killed is still a good week. After going just 13–for-18 killing penalties in their first six games (72.2 percent), the Caps are now 12-for-13 in their last five games (92.3 percent).  The Caps did a fairly good job of limiting shots on goal, holding opponents to 15 power play shots on goal in 16:04 of ice time.  And it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to go a perfect 10-for-10 killing power plays.  Last season he Caps had three perfect weeks, but all of them were accomplished facing fewer than ten opponent power plays.

Faceoffs: 137-for-252 / 54.4 percent (season: 52.5% / rank: 4th)

It was a pretty good week in the circle for the Caps.  They lost the overall battle to the Calgary Flames in the first game of the week (46.7 percent) but won the last three games, finishing over 55 percent in all of them.  The Caps were consistent across the zones as well, winning in the offensive end (55.2 percent), the defensive end (53.3 percent), and in the neutral zone (54.4 percent).  Six players took at least ten draws for the week, and five of them finished over 50 percent.  Justin Williams led the quintet with 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) with T.J. Oshie (69.2 percent), Jay Beagle (58.8 percent), Nicklas Backstrom (54.8 percent), and Lars Eller (54.0 percent) doing the honors. Evgeny Kuznetsov was the only Caps taking more than ten draws (26-for-60) and winning less than 50 percent of them (43.3 percent).  The odd part of that is that Kuznetsov’s overall winning percentage for the season improved to 41.9 percent, but he is still 90^th of 98 players taking at least 100 draws in winning percentage.

Goals by Period:

Balance was the key for the Caps as far as goals by period was concerned, at least on offense.  Splitting 13 goals almost evenly across the three regulation periods and adding an overtime goal saw to that.  The problem, though, was a new one.  Over the first three weeks, allowing second period goals was the problem.  In Week 4, though, the Caps shut out opponents in four straight games in the middle period.  The third period was the problem, allowing six goals overall, five of them to the Winnipeg Jets who came from two goals down and three goals down in the third period of their two games to tie the Caps before falling on a late Jay Beagle goal in one contest and an overtime goal by Alex Ovechkin in the other.  The Caps still rank tied for fifth in fewest third period goals allowed (nine), but they did slip this week.  The perfect second period left the Caps tied for eighth in fewest second period goals allowed.  They are the only team to allow fewer than ten goal in all three regulation periods so far.

In the end…

Sure, giving up multi-goal leads in the third period twice is a fate to be avoided.  Yes, the power play has yet to really break through.  OK, the possession numbers might have been better.  But four wins is four wins.  Guys from whom much is expected (Alex Ovechkin: 3-3-6, plus-1; Nicklas Backstrom: 1-4-5, plus-1; T.J.Oshie: 3-0-3, plsu-3) did as expected.  There was the secondary production (Jay Beagle: 1-2-3, plus-2; Marcus Johansson: 3-1-4, plus-1; John Carlson: 0-4-4, plus-3; Evgeny Kuznetsov: 0-2-2, plus-1; Andre Burakovsky: 0-2-2, plus-2).  And there was the unexpected (Karl Azner, Brooks Orpik, and Nate Schmidt (2) chipping in assists).  The Caps continue to be stingy in allowing shots (even if getting out-shot in a game for the first time this season, 45-27, in the first game against Winnipeg). They continue to get solid goaltending.  It is a team that is getting into a groove.  Maybe not quite there, yet, but it is a formidable team for any team to face at the moment.

Three Stars:

• First Star: Alex Ovechkin (3-3-6, plus-1, GW/OTG, 20 shots on goal, 38 shot attempts)
• Second Star: T.J. Oshie (3-0-3, plus-3, 8 shots on goal, two goals against on ice, 9-for-13 on faceoffs)
• Third Star: Jay Beagle (1-2-3, plus-2, GWG, 30-for-51 on faceoffs, two goals against on ice)

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 11: Panthers at Capitals, November 5th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

Having finished their first ten games of the season, the Washington Capitals embark on their next ten with the second of a three-game home stand on Saturday night.  The Florida Panthers visit Verizon Center for the first of two meetings in Washington this season.

After going 3-1-1 in their first five games to start the season (their only loss in regulation at the hands of the Caps), the Panthers are just 2-4-0 in their last six contests.  Scoring has been an issue in this recent skid.  Averaging just 2.33 goals per game in those six games, the Panthers recorded more than two goals just twice (accounting for both of their wins) and getting shutout by the Buffalo Sabres on October 29^th.

Jonathan Marchessault has three of the Panthers’ 14 goals over their last six games.  It gives him six on the season, one shot of his career best of seven goals in 45 games last season.  He has been a rather good indicator of Panther success in the early going.  Florida is 4-1-0 in the five games in which he has goals (oddly enough, he had two against Toronto in a 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs on October 27^th). Marchessault had an assist in the Panthers’ 4-2 loss to the Caps on October 20^th.

Vincent Trocheck also has three goals in the last six games, all of them coming in the Panthers’ last three contests.  He had one in a Florida 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on October 30^th, and he had a pair in the Panthers’ 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils this past Thursday.  Trocheck is tied for the league leads through Thursday night’s games in even strength goals (six).  We did not record a point in the Panthers’ last meeting against the Caps, and he finished a minus-2.

It is early to be invoking the term “slump,” but defenseman Aaron Ekblad is not off to a hot start, either.  He has just two goals so far this season (his only points), one of them in the Panthers’ win over the Devils on Thursday.  Both of his goals so far are of the power play variety.  Ekblad is in a bit of a penalty rut.  He has penalties taken in each of his last three games with a total of eight minutes charged.  He is, however, getting a bigger dose of ice time.  His 23:41 in average ice time so far is two minutes more per game than he averaged last season.  He was blanked on the score sheet against the Caps in their first meeting and finished a minus-2.

1.  The Panthers’ penalty killers are struggling on the road.  Florida is 26^th in the league in road penalty killing (68.9 percent).  They have given up four goals in nine shorthanded situations in their last two road games.

2.  Fortunately for the Panthers, the 31 instances in which they found themselves shorthanded on the road so far ranks as the seventh-fewest in the league.

3.  If it’s close, it’s bad for the Panthers, but they are likely to be on the good side of a blowout.  Florida is 2-3-1 in one-goal games, 3-1 in games decided by three or more goals.  They have played only one two-goal game, that being their loss to the Caps.

4.  Florida has just three players with more than two goals.  In addition to Marchessault and Trocheck (six apiece), Colton Sceviour has five.  That is 17 of the team’s 30 goals so far.

5.  Florida has very good possession numbers overall. Their 53.31 Corsi-for at 5-on-5 is fourth in the league.  It doesn’t hold up on the road, though.  On the road, they are 15^th (50.37 percent; numbers from Corsica.hockey).

1.  Marcus Johansson has six goals in ten games.  Last season he had his sixth goal in Game 30.  It does not hurt that he is shooting 30.0 percent (6-for-20).

2.  Alex Ovechkin broke a three-game streak without a goal with his two-goal effort on Thursday in the overtime win against Winnipeg.  Even with that three-game streak, Ovechkin has six goals in eight games.

3.  The Caps still rank tied for fifth in fewest third period goals allowed.  But five of the eight goals they allowed so far this season in the third period came in the home-and-home against Winnipeg.

4.  The Caps have seven wins this season when scoring first, second in the league to Montreal (eight).  No team has scored first more often than Washington (nine times).

5. Washington’s plus-5.2 shots per game differential is third best in the league, trailing only San Jose (plus-6.5) and Los Angeles (plus-5.5).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Florida: Jaromir Jagr

Jaromir Jagr scored his first goal of the season in the Panthers’ 4-2 loss to Washington on October 20^th.  He does not have a goal in seven games since.  Through his first 11 games last season he already had six goals.  His 1-4-5 scoring line does not compare well with his 11-game scoring line from last season (6-4-10).  And, his shot volumes are down.  Jagr has just one shot on goal over his last three games after putting 24 shots on goal in his first eight contests.  On the road, it has been more troublesome.  He has just one assist in five road games so far.  With this game, Jagr will have played a regular-season’s worth of games against the Caps.  In 81 career games so far, he is 32-61-93, plus-16.

Washington: Andre Burakovsky

Andre Burakovsky scored two goals on Opening Night in a 3-2 Gimmick loss to Pittsburgh.  He has yet to turn on the red light since.  In his last nine games he is 0-for-20 shooting, only four of those shots coming in his last three games.  He does have assists in three of his last five games, although he has just one assist at home so far (his only point at Verizon Center).  It is part of a longer drought on his part.  Including playoff games last spring, Burakovsky has four goals in his last 33 games.  His shooting is 4-for-62 (6.5 percent).  Burakovsky is 2-0-2, minus-1 in five career games against Florida.

In the end…

The Caps are humming along at the surface with four straight wins, but there are blemishes.  There are those five third period goals allowed to Winnipeg in two games.  There are the thin numbers of Andre Burakovsky, Justin Williams (1-1-2 in ten games), and Lars Eller (1-0-1 in ten games.  While both Williams and Eller have contributed in other ways, mostly on defense, getting supplemental scoring from the likes of these players would make one feel more confident about the level of play underlying the recent record.  Being 10-1-0 in their last 11 home games against the Panthers dating back to the 2010-2011 season is perhaps a signal that they could extend that winning streak another game.  Then again, that loss was in the Caps last game against Florida at Verizon Center.  Don’t get cocky.

Caps 4 – Panthers 1

A TWO-Point Night -- Game 10: Washington Capitals 4 - Winnipeg Jets 3 (OT)

The Washington Capitals opened a three-game home stand by wrapping up a home-an-home set of games with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.  The Caps made things far more dramatic than they had to be, losing a three-goal lead in the third period to send the game to overtime. But the Caps won it in the extra session on an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, 4-3, to record their fourth straight win.

Washington started the scoring late in the first period when Nicklas Backstrom potted his first of the season.  Backstrom started the scoring sequence when he skated the puck into the Winnipeg end and left it for Ovechkin on his left.  Ovechkin pulled up, found a shooting lane, and ripped a shot at the Jet’s cage.  Michael Hutchinson made the stop, but left a rebound in front.  Backstrom settled the bouncing puck and calmly lifted a backhand over the right pad of Hutchinson at the 14:38 mark.

T.J. Oshie added to the lead early in the second period.  Andre Burakovsky beat Julian Melchiori to a loose puck in the corner to Hutchinson’s left and fed Oshie between the hashmarks.  Oshie took a step to his left and backhanded the puck past Hutchinson’s blocker to make it 2-0 just 1:48 into the second period.

Ovechkin made it 3-0 mid-way through the period.  Mathieu Perreault tried to feed a pass to Patrik Laine to get the puck out of danger, but it was out of Laine’s reach.  Dmitry Orlov took control of the puck and slid it to Backstrom high in the offensive zone.  Backstrom turned and fed John Carlson, whose shot was stopped by Hutchinson.  He left a rebound, though, and Ovechkin darted in from the weak side to sweep a backhand under Hutchinson’s left pad at 10:04 to give the Caps the three-goal lead.

Winnipeg mounted a fierce charge in the third period, starting at the 2:11 mark on an odd play.  With the Caps on a power play, Jets defenseman Toby Enstrom broke up a pass in the neutral zone and pushed the puck back into the Caps end where Blake Wheeler gave chase.  Goalie Braden Holtby came out of his net to try to cut off Wheeler, but it just resulted in a three-car pile-up as Holtby, Wheeler, and Caps defenseman John Carlson collided.  With Holtby sprawled on the ice 20 feet from his net, Enstrom picked up the loose puck and fired it past Nicklas Backstrom, trying to cover Holtby’s net.

Three minutes later, Adam Lowry got the Jets within a goal.  Skating down the right wing, Dustin Byfuglien faked a shot, then he carried the puck deep and around the Caps’ net.  When he came out on the other side, he spied Lowry between the hash marks.  His pass was one-timed by Lowry into the back of the net to make things more interesting than Caps fans might have wanted.

Marko Dano got the Jets all the way back at the 11:11 mark of the period.  The teams battled hard for the puck below the Capitals’ goal line, where Andrew Copp sprung it free.  The puck squirted out to the edge of the right wing faceoff circle where Dano jumped on it and wrong-footed a snap shot past Holtby to even the score.

That was how the teams went to overtime.  Mid-way through the extra period the Jets made a team blunder – too many men on the ice. One minute into the ensuing power play, John Carlson controlled the puck and slid toward the middle. From that perch he moved the puck to Alex Ovechkin, who one-timed a shot from the left wing circle over Hutchinson’s glove into the top corner of the net, giving the Caps a too-close-for-comfort 4-3 overtime win.

Other stuff…

-- The game-winning goal was Alex Ovechkin’s 91^st of his career, tying him with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Recchi for 16^th place all-time.  Jaromir Jagr is the all-time leader with 133.

-- Ovechkin’s two goals gives him 109 multi-goal games in his career.  Since he came into the league in 2005-2006, that is 38 more than second place Sidney Crosby.

-- Nicklas Backstrom had a three-point game (1-2-3).  It was his first three-point game of the season and 55^th of his career, fifth among all players since he came into the league in 2007-2008.

-- John Carlson had a two-point game (0-2-2).  That is the 42^nd multi-point game of Carlson’s career, good for seventh place all-time among Caps defensemen and putting him one game behind Scott Stevens and Sylvain Cote for fifth place.

-- Ovechkin had eight shots on goal, a season high and the first time in five games he had more than four shots on goal in a contest.  Five of those shots came on power plays, including the game-winning goal.

-- The Caps did not have quite the possession advantage they had in Tuesday’s game in Winnipeg, but the still had the overall edge.  They out-shot the Jets, 32-27.  They out-attempted them, 65-53 overall.  However, Winnipeg had a shot attempts advantage at 5-on-5, 47-40 (numbers from Corsica.hockey).

-- The four-game winning streak is the first for the Caps since Games 55-58 last season.  Before starting this streak, the Caps were just 15-10-5 in their previous 30 games dating back to last season.

-- The win makes the Caps 10-1-1 against the Jets in their last 12 meetings, 5-0-0 at home.

-- Braden Holtby is in the midst of an odd pattern of games. In his last seven appearances, he has allowed, in order, 1-2-3-4-1-2-3 goals.  Beware the next start.

-- Justin Williams gets the coupon for the all-you-can-eat buffet… an assist, plus-1, two shots on goal, two shot attempts blocked, a missed shot, two giveaways, a takeaway, two blocked shots, and he won four of six draws in 16:17 of ice time.

In the end…

Five third period goals allowed in their last two games, even in winning both contests, is not a plan for success.  The Caps turned Adam Lowry, who authored two of those goals (one in each game against the Jets), he with 18 career goals in 154 games coming into this season, into some reincarnation of Brett Hull.  Granted, the first Winnipeg goal was odd, but the last two were just breakdowns in their own end.  The offense struggled early, especially the power play.  That seems to be working itself out, but now, despite the penalty kill being more effective in recent games, the defense is leaking.  The Caps are tied with the Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the New York Rangers for the top spot.  But they won’t hold their place long if the third period defense keeps looking like this.

A TWO-Point Night -- Game 9: Washington Capitals 3 - Winnipeg Jets 2

The Washington Capitals had a win firmly in their grasp on Tuesday night, let it slip from their fingers, then grabbed it back late against the Winnipeg Jets to skate off with a 3-2 win to end their four-game road trip.

The Caps built a slim, but solid two goal lead over the first half the game.  It started in the last minute of the first period when Karl Alzner took a feed from Marcus Johansson and, using Jets defenseman Ben Chiarot as a screen wristed a shot over the glove of goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Johansson got one of his own mid-way through the second period.  As the Jets were watching Evgeny Kuznetsov skating the puck around the back of the Winnipeg net, Johansson set up between the hash marks in front of Hellebuyck.  When Kuznetsov came out on the other side of the Jets net, he found a passing lane to Johansson and his pass was one-timed through the pads of Hellebuyck to make it 2-0 8:15 into the period.

It looked as if that would be the way the game would end as the clock wound down underseven minutes to play in the third period.  Then Winnipeg struck twice.  Blake Wheeler fought of the defense of Nate Schmidt to work the puck off the right wing wall and feed it to Mark Scheifele at the edge of the right wing faceoff circle.  Settling a bouncing puck, Scheifele took two swipes at the puck, the second one eluding goalie Braden Holtby to cut the Caps lead to 2-1 at the 13”04 mark of the period.

Winnipeg tied the game with less than three minutes to play in regulation when Adam Lowry scored his first of the season. Joel Armia fought off Brooks Orpik to win possession of the puck at the right wing boards.  Spinning off the wall, Armia found Lowry cutting to the net.  Lowry skated patiently through the low slot, got Holtby to commit, then curled the puck around Holtby’s right pad to tie the game with just 2:25 left in the game.

It might have gone to overtime from there, but with less than a minute left, the Caps found an unexpected hero.  It started and ended with Jay Beagle.  Winning a faceoff cleanly to John Carlson, Beagle darted to the Winnipeg net.  Carlson fed the puck through, and Beagle outfought Lowry for possession.  With the puck now on his backhand, Beagle spun and, using Kuznertsov as a make-shift screen, swept the puck past Hellebucyk with 30 seconds left to break the tie and give the Caps the win to end their road trip, 3-2.

Other stuff…

-- With a goal and an assist, Marcus Johansson had his third straight multi-point game, a career best for consecutive multi-point games.  He now has five goals in nine games.  He did not record his fifth goal last season until his 23^rd game of the year.

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov had two assists for his first multi-point game of the season.  It was his first multi-point game since March 18^th of last sesason, when he had three assists in a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators.  It was the first time he had a multi-point game on the road since he had a pair of assists in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars last February 3^rd.

-- The Caps were credited with eight missed shots on Tuesday night.  Alex Ovechkin had six of them.  That represented half of his 12 shot attempts (three shots on goal, three other attempts blocked).

-- In the unusual, T.J. Oshie was the only Capital that did not record a shot attempt.

-- Winnipeg had 45 shots on goal for the game, the first time this season that the Caps allowed more than 30 shots on goal in a game and the most they allowed in a regular season game since the allowed the Pittsburgh Penguins 45 shots in a 4-1 win last February 14^th.  The last time the Caps allowed more shots on goal in a game was On November 17, 2013, when the St. Louis Blues recorded 47 shots in a 4-1 Caps win.  

-- The possession stats were as bad as you might expect.  Winnipeg enjoyed a 48-39 edge in 5-on-5 shot attempts (55.17 percent Corsi-for; numbers from Corsica.hockey).  T.J. Oshie had what was, for him, a rough night. His shot attempts differential, on ice, was minus-12 in a little over 13 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time.  And on the good side of that, Marcus Johansson’s name pops up again.  He was second in Corsi-differential (plus-5 to Tom Wilson’s plus-6).

-- Hey, don’t look now, but this is three games in a row the Caps did not allow a power play goal, extending their longest streak of games without allowing a power play goal.

-- On the bad side of that, the Caps allowed nine power play shots on goal in 6:01 of shorthanded ice time, three of them by whiz-kid Patrick Laine.  That’s playing with fire.

-- Braden Holtby made 43 saves, many of them of the highlight variety.  That was the most saves he had in a game since stopping 44 shots in a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh last December 14^th.  His save percentage for the season is now .925, rising to 12^th among goalies facing at least 100 shots.

-- Karl Alzner has two goals in nine games.  Last season he had his second goal in his 19^th game, what had been the earliest in his career hitting the two-goal mark.

In the end…

All in all, it was a good road trip.  Three wins in four games in the western provinces is never a bad thing, the Edmonton game to start the trip now looking more like a hiccup.  Still, one does not like to see the team cough up a two-goal lead in less than a five-minute span late in the third period.  But there was Jay Beagle with his seventh career game-winning goal among his 32 career goals.  We have made the point before that when Beagle scores, good things happen, and Beagle scored…good things happened.  Now, the Caps get to do it again on Thursday.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Games 9 and 10: Home and Home -- Capitals vs. Jets, November 1/3

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

On Tuesday night the Washington Capitals take the ice for an end and a beginning.  When they face the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, it will be the last of their four-game road trip to western Canada.  It also will be the start of a home-and-home set of games with the Jets that will move to Washington on Thursday.

The Caps and the Jets are teams headed in opposite directions.  Washington won two in a row after dropping their first game on this road trip and has climbed back into third place in the Metropolitan Division (through Sunday’s games), two points behind first-place Pittsburgh with a game in hand.  On the other hand, the Jets are 2-3-0 in their last five games and have slipped to fifth in the Central Division and ninth in the Western Conference.

The Jets have been outscored, 10-8, in those last five games, half of those goals coming in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars last Thursday.  It is an offense that is struggling, especially once one gets past rookie phenom Patrik Laine, who has six of the Jets’ 22 goals thus far.  Even in his just-started career, the second overall pick in last summer’s entry draft is exhibiting a certain streakiness to his goal scoring.  Among his six goals he has a hat trick (against Toronto on October 19th in a 5-4 Jets win) and a two-goal game (against Dallas on October 27th in a 4-1- win). The season is young, but so far, as Laine goes, so go the Jets.  The Jets are 3-0-0 in games in which he scored a goal, 1-5-0 in games in which he did not.  Through Sunday’s games he is tied for the rookie scoring lead (six, with Auston Matthews), and is third in points (eight, behind Matthews and William Nylander, both of Toronto).  He is showing himself to be an efficient shooter, second among rookies in shooting percentage (20.7 percent, among rookies with at least ten shots on goal), and he leads all rookie forwards in ice time per game so far (19:22).  These games will, of course, be his first against the Caps.

Mark Scheifele is second on the team in goals (four) and tied with Laine for the team points lead overall.  Scheifele is a top-ten draft pick in his own right (seventh overall in 2011), and his progress has been more the sure and steady kind that the explosive start Laine has had.  He got a cup o’ coffee in the NHL in each of the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons (11 games between the two seasons), then stuck with the big club in the 2013-2014 season.  Scheifele recorded 13 goals in 63 games of his rookie year and built upon that, recording 15 in 82 games in 2014-2015 and 29 in 71 games last season to lead the club.  He has stumbled a bit after a hot start, going his last three games without a goal after recording one in four of his first six contest.  In seven career games against the Caps, Scheifele is 2-2-4, even.

Winnipeg might lead the league in letters among the last names of goaltenders, but what Michael Hutchinson and Connor Hellebuyck do not have is much in the way of experience.  Between them they have a total of 107 games of NHL experience.  In that respect you could call both (or one of them) the goaltending of the future for the Jets.  It is hard to come to any conclusions about either of these netminders other than to say that at the moment both are headed in the wrong direction.  Hutchinson is perhaps the more troublesome.  This is his third full season with the Jets, and his save percentage and goals against average have been moving in ways not conducive to a long-term stint as a number one goalie. Two season ago he was 21-10-5, 2.39, .914 with two shutouts in 38 games.  Last year he was 9-15-3, 2.84, .907 in 30 games.  So far this season, Hutchinson is 2-3-0, 3.09, .906, alternating good and poor performances over his five appearances.

Meanwhile, Hellebuyck is in his second season after posting a 13-11-1, 2.34, .918 record last season with two shutouts.  He is 2-2-0, 2.55, .919 in five appearances this season, and he stopped 51 of 52 shots (.981 save percentage) over his last two appearances over 83 minutes of ice time.  Based on recent performance, it would appear Hellebuyck would get the nod in this one.  He won his only other appearance against Washington, stopping 37 of 38 shots in a 2-1 win over the Caps last December 5th in Winnipeg.

1.  Winnipeg has five power play goals so far this season, four of them by Laine, who seems to like that left wing faceoff circle spot that Caps fans associate with being Alex Ovechkin’s domain.

2.  The Jets do allow a lot of shots on goal.  At 31.7 shots on goal per game, they allowed the sixth highest volume on a per game basis so far.  The odd part of that is that their possession numbers are not bad at a high level.  The Jets are 16th in the league in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (49.36 percent; numbers from Corsica.hockey).

3.  Killing penalties at home has been an issue for the Jets.  Winnipeg ranks just 25th in the league in home penalty killing (73.7 percent), and only five teams have been shorthanded more times than the Jets at home (19).

4.  Winnipeg is one of just three teams yet to win a game when outshooting their opponent.  The Jets, Buffalo, and Toronto are all 0-3-0 in those situations.

5.  Only the Philadelphia Flyers (15) and the Los Angeles Kings (14) have allowed more second period goals than the Jets (13).  Those 13 goals allowed equals the total the Jets have allowed in the first, third, and overtime periods combined.  Sound familiar, Caps fans?

1.  Then again, the second period of this game might be a bit duller than Caps fans are used to.  The Caps have scored the fewest second period goals this season (3), one fewer than the Jets (4).

2.  Washington has allowed the fewest shots on goal per game in the league (25.0 through Sunday’s games) and has the second-best Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (54.21 percent, behind the Kings at 56.38 percent).

3.  The Caps have allowed only three third period goals through eight games, fewest in the league, and one of those was an empty-netter.

4.  No team has taken a lead into the first intermission more often than the Caps so far this season.  In six such occurrences, Washington is 4-1-1.

5.  Nineteen skaters have dressed for the Caps this season, and 19 skaters have points.  Eleven of them have goals already.  Only Jay Beagle, Zach Sanford, and Nicklas Backstrom do not have a goal among the forwards.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Winnipeg: Alexander Burmistrov

You score 22 goals and record 65 points in 62 games in your first year of Canadian junior, and then you are taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2010 entry draft.  It looks as if you might have a bright future.  So what happened to Alexander Burmistrov?  That was his introduction to North American hockey, but since then the results have been underwhelming.  Perhaps jumping right into the NHL was a mistake in his developmental strategy.  He had six goals and 20 points for the then Atlanta Thrashers in his first year out of amateur hockey.  It has not gotten appreciably better.  In this, his fifth season, he has 30 goals and 80 points in 283 career games.  That works out to a 9-14-23 pace per 82 games.  That is not the profile of a high-scoring, top-six forward.  And he is not off to a hot start this season.  Burmistrov has one assist in eight games, having gone his last six contests without a point and just four shots on goal (his only four shots on goal this season).  Burmistrov has already had a rocky start to his career, having interrupted his NHL career with a temporary move to the KHL (in 2013-2014).  He has had less than ten minutes of ice time in three of his last five games.  In 18 career games against the Caps, Burmistrov is 2-2-4, even.

Washington: Nicklas Backstrom

Seeing no goals next to Nicklas Backstrom’s season-to-date so far might cause Caps fans some concern, but it is not all that unusual.  Yes, last year he had four goals in his first four games.  But in 2014-2015 he had two in his first seven games.  He had one in his first nine contests in 2013-2014.  He had one in his first 17 games in 2012-2013.  He has had slow starts before in terms of personal goal scoring.  He does have five assists in eight games, though, which is not far off his pace per 82 games over his career (60.0), and he has helpers in each of his last two games.  It is reasonable to think that Backstrom is being Backstrom, a player of uncommon consistency whose game has been as dependable as the sunrise over his previous nine seasons.  If he breaks out, it could be against the Jets, against whom he is 15-27-42, plus-8 in 40 career games.

In the end…

The Caps appear to have shaken much of the early season inconsistency and, frankly, apparent disinterest off their sticks.  They have been more impressive in their last two games, building on what has been a consistently stifling defense.  Winnipeg poses an interesting test, especially in the first of the home and home games.  MTS Centre is a very difficult venue in which to play for visitors.  And Patrik Laine certainly will get the attention of players, coaches, and fans watching from Caps Nation. But there is the air of an unshakability about this club at the moment.  And it is a team deeper and more skilled than that which the Jets will ice, either in Winnipeg or in Washington.

Tuesday: Capitals 3 – Jets 1

Thursday: Capitals 4 – Jets 1

A TWO-Point Night -- Game 8: Washington Capitals 3 - Calgary Flames 1

The Washington Capitals scored early and hung on late on Sunday night to capture a 3-1 decision from the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. The win extended the Caps’ modest winning streak to two and ended Calgary’s three-game winning streak.

Washington opened the scoring barely two minutes into the game. Zach Sanford chased down a sliding puck deep in the Calgary zone. Out-dueling defenseman Mark Giordano for long enough to keep it alive for Jay Beagle to gather up below the Flames’ goal line. Beagle moved behind the Calgary net and feathered a soft backhand past out between the hash marks for Brett Connolly to one-timer past goalie Brian Elliott at the 2:01 mark.

Five minutes later the Caps scored again. With the Caps on a power play, a John Carlson drive went wide, rebounded off the end boards, and was redirected to the side boards by the Calgary defense. Nicklas Backstrom settled the puck and found Alex Ovechkin on the other side of the formation. Ovechkin one-timed a pass to the Flames’ net where Marcus Johansson was waiting to redirect the puck behind Elliott to make it 2-0 just 7:14 into the period.

Later in the first period the Flames halved the lead on an odd play. Nate Schmidt tried to bat the puck out of harm’s way at the Capitals’ blue line, but the clearing attempt was blocked by Matthew Tkachuk. The skating momentum of Tkachuk carried him into Schmidt at the top of the right wing circle. Schmidt was taken to the ice by Tkachuk as Mikael Backlund gathered up the loose puck. The collision between Tkachuk and Schmidt, arguably an interference penalty on Tkachuk, might have been enough of a distraction for goalie Braden Holtby to allow just enough room on the far side for a Backlund snap shot to sneak through to make it 2-1 13:44 into the period.

That would be all the scoring either team could muster through 59 minutes. Marcus Johansson got his second goal of the game into an empty net in the last minute. Jay Beagle timed a pass from Giordano to John Gaudreau just inside the Washington blue line perfectly, getting his stick on the pass to block it into the neutral zone. Beagle ran it down, and with Giordano trying to interrupt his progress down the left wing, Beagle floated a pass to the middle where Johansson was skating all alone. Johansson tapped the puck into the empty Calgary net with 24.1 seconds left to clinch the Caps’ 3-1 win.

Other stuff…

-- Brett Connolly’s goal was his first as a Capital. Zach Sanford’s secondary assist on the play was his first point in the NHL. Now, all 19 skaters dressing for the Caps this season have at least one point. Those two were the last.

-- Alex Ovechkin had a point before he had a shot attempt. He assisted on Johansson’s power play goal at 7:17 of the first period but did not record his first shot attempt until the 6:10 mark of the second period, a power play shot on goal. He finished with three shots on goal and five shot attempts.

-- The two-goal game by Johansson was his second straight, the first time in his career that he posted consecutive multi-goal games.  With two two-goal games this season he ties a career best for a season.  This is the third season in which he had two multi-goal games, the last one recorded in the 2014-2015 season.

-- Jay Beagle had a two-assist game, his first multi-point game of the year.  His last three multi-point games have come on the road, and five of his last six have come away from Verizon Center.

-- Brooks Orpik was the only Capital not to record a shot on goal.  He had two missed attempts.

-- Only the three members of the fourth line – Beagle, Connolly, and Sanford – had less even strength ice time than Ovechkin (12:46) in this game.

-- The Caps held the Flames to 22 shots on goal, the third time in eight games they allowed opponents 25 or fewer shots and the eighth straight game they denied an opponent more than 30 shots on goal.  The Caps now top the league in fewest shots on goal allowed per game (25.0).

-- This was the seventh time in eight games so far that the Caps scored the game’s first goal.  They are 5-1-1 in those games.

-- Washington held the anemic Calgary power play to one shot on goal in four minutes of two unsuccessful power plays.  The Flames are still 0-for-the-season at home on the power play (0-for-24), the only team yet to score a home power play goal.

-- Among 30 goalies with at least 250 minutes played this season, Braden Holtby lifted himself into the top ten in save percentage with his 21-for-22 effort.  He is now at .917 for the season.

In the end…

Another solid road effort.  The Caps are doing it a little differently this season, at least in the early going.  They are choking the life and spirit out of teams by denying them scoring chances and shots.  It has been just the thing as the offense tries to find some consistency.  And now, the Caps could make it a very successful road trip if they can handle the Winnipeg Jets in the first of a home-and-home set that will close the four-game road trip.

Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was -- Week 3

Week 3 of the season was “A Tale of Two Games”…it was the worst of games, it was the best of games; it was the worst of special teams, it was the best of special teams; it was a game of Holtby, it was the game of Grubauer…you get the picture. 

Record: 1-1-0

On the one hand, it was a light schedule, what with just two games on the docket.  On the other, they were in western Canada in the most distant road trip of the young season.  Last season, when the Caps took a similar four-game road trip to the western provinces, the Caps opened with three wins.  One of them was against the Edmonton Oilers, then a precocious team with iffy defense and goaltending that the Caps beat by a 7-4 margin.  This time around, the Oilers got their four goals, but things might be turning around in the Edmonton end of the ice in their new arena, where the Caps managed but one goal.  The Caps followed up the 4-1 loss in Edmonton with what might have been their best all-around game of the season. They dominated possession, had balanced scoring, and held an opponent to two or fewer goals for the fifth time in seven games (not counting shootout goals). 

Offense:  3.00/game (season: 2.71 /game; rank: T-15th)

Scoring one goal against Edmonton was surprising in one respect, the Caps being among the most skilled and deepest offenses in the league, largely returning the league’s second-ranked scoring offense from last season.  On the other hand, the Oilers, who allowed three or more goals in their first three games of the season, allowed a total of one goal in two games leading up to their game against the Caps. They allowed only one goal to the Caps and as of the end of the week allowed just two goals over four games.

Meanwhile, the Caps unloaded on the Vancouver Canucks, scoring five goals for the first time this season, getting points from nine different skaters, and dominating the possession numbers (a 56-35 edge in shot attempts at 5-on-5).  And it came with a couple of unexpected results.  The Caps got a five-goal game without any of them off the stick of Alex Ovechkin (the first time in 11 five-goal games he did not light the lamp), and Tom Wilson – that would be second-line Tom Wilson – got his first of the season with assists from Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson on a snipe that was certainly no fluke.

Defense: 3.00/game (season:  2.14/game; rank: 6th)

The Caps are proving to be a rather difficult team to play against in two related respects that were on display in Week 3.  They allowed Edmonton only 29 shots on goal and Vancouver only 25 shots on goal, ending the week with six straight games holding opponents under 30 goals and not yet having allowed as many as 30 shots in regulation time this season (they allowed Pittsburgh 28 shots in regulation and two in overtime in the season opener).  The Caps and Oilers split 90 shot attempts at 5-on-5 in the 4-1 Edmonton win, but Washington held the Canucks to just 35 5-on-5 shot attempts, just 0.72 shot attempts per minute at fives.  The Caps ended the week allowing the third-fewest shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (48.48; numbers from Corsica.hockey).

Goaltending: 3.00 /.889 (season: 1.99 / .921 / 1 SO)

The goaltending was efficient and inefficient in Week 3, but no in ways one might expect.  Braden Holtby took the loss in Edmonton, allowing four goals on 29 shots.  It was his second straight game with a save percentrage south of .900, and they are the only two times in which he allowed more than two goals.  Allowing a goal to Patrick Maroon when he lost track of the puck barely a minute after the Caps got within a goal was a tough play and a difficult position in which Holtby found himself, but it was a much the turning point in the contest as any other.

In the second game of the week, Philipp Grubauer did what a backup needs to do, provide solid minutes.  He might not have been as sharp as he was in his shutout of the Colorado Avalanche in Week 2, but he was solid against the Canucks, stopping 23 of 25 shots, including all six he faced as the Caps pulled away from a one-goal lead to start the third period to a 5-2 win.

Power Play: 1-for-5 / 20..0 percent (season: 14.3 percent; rank: 23rd)

Well, they got one.  With one power play goal in two games, the Caps avoided ending the week with the fewest power play goals in the league.  As it is, the three they have so far through seven games is tied with the four other teams just ahead of the New York Islanders with two extra man goals.  Marcus Johansson did the honors against the Canucks, joining T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin as the only power play goal scorers so far this season.  It was not the prettiest of goals, coming off an Oshie shot that hit the post and dropped into the crease about 12 inches from the goal line from where Johansson could swipe it in.

You could say the Caps were victimized somewhat by bad luck.  It was not for lack of shots; they had 12 shots on goal in 8:40 of power play ice time, a healthy 1.39 shots per power play minute.  T.J. Oshie had five of those 12 shots but did not convert any of them, although his miss when hitting a post resulted in Johansson’s oower play goal.  What the Caps diod not get, shooting-wise, was a lot from Alex Ovechkin who had two power play shots against Edmonton and none against Vancouver.

Penalty Killing: 6-for-7 / 85.7 percent (season: 76.2 percent; rank: 23rd)

After allowing a power play goal to the Edmonton Oilers in the first game of the week, the Caps finally stopped the bleeding on their penalty kill, denying the Canucks a goal on any of their three man advantages.  It was the first time since Game 3 against Colorado that the Caps did not allow a power play goal (they didn’t allow a goal of any kind in that one). 

The Caps held Vancouver to three power play chances after allowing four chances to the Oilers in the first game of the week, and in that respect, avoiding shorthanded situations has been the best penalty killing tool they have.  By week’s end, the Caps held opponents to three or fewer power play chances  five times in seven games. 

It was an efficient penalty kill in denying shots. In the two games the Caps allowed just ten shots on seven power plays covering 12:43 in shorthanded ice time (0.79 shots per minute).  Perhaps the Caps are turning a corner here.

Faceoffs: 66-for-132 / 50.0 percent (season: 51.4% / rank: 7th)

Two games, one over 50 percent, on under, two players finishing the week with more than 10 draws and a winning percentage over 50 percent (Nicklas Backstrom: 53.6 percent; Jay Beagle: 52.0 percent), two players finishing the week with at least ten draws and winning less than 50 percent of them (Lars Eller: 48.0 percent; Evgeny Kuznetsov: 45.7 percent).  Little wonder that the Caps split 132 draws right down the middle (66 wins, 66 losses) for the week.  If there was a noteworthy performance, it was Justin Williams against Vancouver.  He won all six draws he took, including four in the offensive end. 

Goals by Period:

If there is something the Caps still need work on, it is that second period.  While they won the first and third periods of the week, they are still coming up short in the second period.  It was another case of allowing as many goals in the second period (three) as in the first and third periods combined.  Their minus-6 goal differential in the second periods of games is tied for the fourth-worst in the league.  Given that the Caps are tied for the best first period goal differential (plus-6) and tied for the third-best third period goal differential, it’s clear that the second period is a problem that needs to be addressed.

In the end…

If you subscribe to the idea that you are only as good as your last game, then the Caps had a good week.  Yeah well, that goes only so far.  Splitting weeks is not the game plan, road trip notwithstanding.  But look at it this way.  The Caps have gone 33 consecutive weeks without a losing week (27 winning weeks and six .500 weeks) since Week 23 of the 2014-2015 season.  That is some impressive consistency.  

Three Stars:

1. First Star: Marcus Johansson (2-1-3, plus-2, game-winning goal, five shots on goal)
2. Second Star: T.J. Oshie (1-1-2, plus-1, eight shots on goal, 12 shot attempts, two blocked shots)
3. Third Star: Matt Niskanen (0-2-2, plus-2, three hits)

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 8: Capitals at Flames, October 30th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals play the second of their first set of back-to-back games this season when they head to Calgary to take on the Flames on Sunday night.  The Caps, fresh off a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, will look to win consecutive games for the first time since winning three in a row in Games 2-4.

In the Flames, the Caps will be taking on a hot team on rest.  Calgary beat Ottawa on Friday night at home, 5-2, extending their winning streak to three games and giving them a 4-2-0 record since starting the season with three straight losses (0-2-1).

Calgary comes into this game with balanced scoring, eight players having recorded at least five points through nine games.  Johnny Gaudreau leads that group with seven points and has two straight two-point games coming into the contest with Washington.  He is establishing himself as one of the best of a new generation of goal scorers.  Only three players – teammate Sean Monahan (62), Nikita Kucherov (60), and Filip Forsberg (59) – have more goals among players 23 or younger over the last three seasons than Gaudreau (56), who is in his third NHL season.  What he has not done is score a goal against the Caps.  In four career games against Washington, he has two assists and is minus-1.

Monahan is another of those players with at least five points and is tied for the team lead in goals with four.  The sixth-overall draft pick in 2013, Monahan has three straight 20-plus goal seasons on his resume coming into 2015-2016.  Four goals in nine games suggest he is on his way to a fourth straight such season and perhaps his second 30-plus goal campaign (he had 31 in his sophomore season, in 2014-2015).  The odd part of his season so far is that he does not yet have an assist to go with his four goals.  If he isn’t doing the scoring, bad things seem to happen when he is on the ice.  In four games scoring goals, the Flames are 3-1-0, and he is a combined plus-3.  In games in which he does not have a goal, the Flames are 1-3-1, and he is a combined minus-7.  Monahan is 4-2-6, plus-2 in six career games against the Caps.

The other four-goal scorer for the Flames is Michael Frolik.  Now in his ninth NHL season, Frolik is skating with his fourth club.  A player of considerable promise (10^th overall draft pick to the Florida Panthers in 2006), he has never quite measured up to that lofty selection status.  He has not had a 20-goal season since his sophomore year with Florida in 2009-2010 (21 goals).  Last season, his first in Calgary, he had 15 goals in 64 games.  After getting three goals in his first four games, he has just one in his last five contests, but that came in the Flames’ 5-2 win over Ottawa on Friday.  In 23 career games against the Caps, Frolik is 7-7-14, minus-4.

1.  Calgary has the third worst special teams index in the league (84.6, combined power play and penalty killing efficiencies), ahead of only Arizona (83.1) and Chicago (72.6).

2.  The Flames have yet to record a power play goal at home, the last team in the league without a home power play goal.  They are 0-for-22

3.  No team has allowed more power play goals at home than the Flames (9, tied with Chicago).  Just as bad, no team has been shorthanded more times so far at home than Calgary (25, tied with Pittsburgh).  The Flames are shorthanded an average of 5.0 times per game on home ice. The Flames have a healthy lead on the rest of the league in minor penalties taken (49, five more than second-most Anaheim).

4.  First periods have been good to Calgary – they are tied for third in first period goals scored (9).  Third periods have been less kind – the Flames are tied for second in most third period goals allowed (12).

5.  Only two teams have been charged with more giveaways than the Flames (95) – San Jose (110) and Montreal (105).

1.  The Caps have yet to be out-shot by an opponent this season.  Seven games, seven times outshooting their opponents.  Three times they out-shot their opponent by at least ten shots.

2.  The Caps have allowed the first goal in a game just once, the fewest times allowing the game’s first goal in the league. That came in the Caps’ 4-1 loss to Edmonton last Wednesday.

3.  The Caps have only three players with five or more points, compared to the eight that the Flames have, but 17 of the 19 skaters to dress so far this season have at least one point.  Brett Connolly and Zach Sanford are looking for their first marks on the score sheet.

4.  The Caps have just four players in “minus” territory, but some of them are names you don’t expect (or like to see) there – Nicklas Backstrom (minus-1), Dmitry Orlov (minus-1), and Andre Burakovsky (minus-2).  Sanford is the other (minus-1).

5.  The Caps are second in the league in 5-on-5 possession (54.65 percent), trailing only the Los Angeles Kings ((57.02 percent Corsi-for; numbers from Corsica.hockey).  They are fourth in league in road Corsi-for (55.21 percent).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Calgary: Brian Elliott/Chad Johnson

Goaltending has been consistent for the Flames so far, but not in quite the way they would like.  Brian Elliott, the number one netminder, and Chad Johnson have similar numbers. Elliott has a goals against average of 3.15, Johnson is at 2.89.  Elliott has a save percentage of .893, Johnson is at .901.  Their even-strength save percentages are decent (Elliott: .924, Johnson: .915), but their save percentage when a man short are not (Elliott: .778, Johnson: .824).   It is not surprising that the Flames have the 25^th-ranked team shooting percentage against in the league (11.4 percent) and the 24^th ranked scoring defense (3.44 goals against per game). Elliott is 6-3-0, 3.36, .883 in 11 career games against the Caps, while Johnson is 2-2-1, 2.58, .920 in five career appearances against the Caps.

Washington: Braden Holtby

Braden Holtby appears likely to get the call in goal for the Caps against Calgary after giving way to Philipp Grubauer in Vancouver on Saturday night.  Holtby will have three full days of rest since his last appearance, the 4-1 loss to Edmonton last Wednesday.  Last year was one of consistency for Holtby in terms of his performance on a days-rested basis.  He was 3-0-0, 2.28, .934 when playing the second night in a row; 28-4-4, 2.30, .921 with two shutouts when playing with one day’s rest; 8-3-1, 1.89, .923, with one shutout on two days’ rest; and he was 8-2-2, 2.14, .923 when playing, as he would tonight, with three or more days’ rest.  What he has not been, though, is successful against the Flames. He is 2-1-1, 3.66, .852 in five career games against the Flames.  At least he finished his last three games against Calgary; he was relieved in the first period of each of his first two career appearances against the Flames.  In his last three appearances against Calgary he has been more the beneficiary of shot suppression.  The Caps held the Flames to 20 or fewer shots in each of those games.  Holtby’s save percentage in those games is just .889, although he has two wins and an overtime loss in them.

In the end…

The Caps played well last night against Vancouver.  They were even dominating at times, especially in pinning the Canucks in their end of the ice.  The chore now is to put two such games together.  It has not been a problem of defense, nor has it even been one of the way the offense has played, necessarily. It has been a matter of results, converting opportunities at even strength and the power play.  That is what the Caps got last night in a balanced scoring effort.  So…two in a row?  Two in a row.

Capitals 5 – Flames 2