Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was - Week 23

When you expect disappointment, realizing it does not do much to assuage it.  Week 23 was “California Week” on the schedule of the Washington Capitals, a week looked upon with dread by Caps fans annually.  It just has not been a very hospitable venue for the Caps over the years.  And so, when the Caps lost the first two games on the trip, it was merely more of the same.  And then came Saturday, and for a moment, things didn’t look quite as, well, disappointing.

Record: 1-2-0

Coming into this season, the Capitals had a grim history in California, going 28-52-8 with two ties.  Their more recent history was a bit more complex.  Since the dark 2004-2005 season, the Caps came into this season with a 9-12-2 record in the Golden State.  However, six of those wins were earned against the Anaheim Ducks, the first six games the Caps played in Anaheim coming out of that missed season.  They suffered their first loss in the post-lockout era last March when they dropped a 5-2 decision.  The Ducks made it two in a row with a 4-0 shutout on Tuesday to get the trip off to a rough start.

Then came the Los Angeles Kings.  The Caps went into that game with a 15-32-6 all-time record in LA with a pair of ties.  It was even worse in the post-2004-2005 season period, with the Caps recording only one win, that coming in their first visit to Los Angeles, post-lockout.  Since then, going into Thursday’s game, the Caps lost seven in a row (two in extra time).  The Caps made it eight losses in a row with a 3-1 loss.

Then came the ne plus ultra of disappointment, regular season edition.  The Caps went to San Jose to face the Sharks in the last game of the trip.  In 19 visits to San Jose, the Caps had five wins.  However, three of them came in their first three visits, all in regulation.  They were the last and only wins in regulation in San Jose, going back to October 1993. Since then, they were 2-13-1, both wins coming in extra time, coming in consecutive visits in 2014 and 2015.  But the sun does not shine on the same dog’s backside (or the same Shark) every day.  The Caps ended their run of despair to close the trip and the week with a pleasantly surprising 2-0 shutout to re-capture the top spot in the Metropolitan Division at the end of Week 23.

Offense: 1.00 /game (season: 2.99 /game, rank: 12th)

This week’s offense could be documented on a postage stamp.  The best that could be said for it was that it improved from game to game, from getting shut out to scoring one goal to scoring a pair in the win to end the week.  

No Capital had more than one goal – Lars Eller, Jakub Vrana, and Nicklas Backstrom lighting the red lamp.  No Capital had more than one point, six other players with assists.

If there was anything odd about the scoring, other than the utter lack of it, it was that four of the six assists for the week were recorded by defensemen – Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov, and John Carlson.

The forwards had an interesting week in a couple of odd ways.  Travis Boyd got a sweater for the third time this season when he skated against the San Jose Sharks.  That made two of three games he played this season coming against San Jose.  He did not record a shot on goal, one of three Caps not to do so in Week 23.  The others were Alex Chiasson (in one game) and Chandler Stephenson, who appeared in two games without a shot on goal.  That makes 32 games in 54 this season in which he did not record a shot on goal.

Defense: 2.33 / game (season: 2.93 /game, rank: 16th)

If not for the anemic offense, the defense would have been hailed as having a good week, even with allowing four goals to the Ducks in the first game of the week.  Washington allowed the three California opponents a total of just 71 shots on goal, none of them reaching the 30-shot mark.  It is the first time that the Caps allowed opponents fewer than 30 shots in three straight games since Games 30-32 when they allowed the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Colorado Avalanche a total of 82 shots.  It is the third time this season that the Caps allowed fewer than 30 shots in three consecutive games, and it is the lowest total of shots allowed in any three consecutive games this season.

If anything, the game against Anaheim was the most disappointing from a defensive standpoint.  Not in the particulars – the Caps allowed the Ducks only 18 shots on goal – but in the results.  Anaheim scored on their first shot 84 seconds into the game and on three of their first nine shots before Braden Holtby was relieved in goal.  That the Caps held the Ducks to nine shots in the first 25:37 of the game had to be, purely on its own merits, thought of in positive terms.

The Caps returned briefly to their shot-allowing ways against the Kings in the middle game of the week, allowing 14 first period shots on goal.  But holding them to a total of 14 shots over the final two periods was a welcome development, despite the loss.

What characterized the Caps’ grisly performances in San Jose over the recent history of the series was an inability to stop the Sharks’ offense.   In nine games since the 2004-2005 dark season, the Caps allowed 39 goals (4.33 per game) and allowed five or more four times.  In the entire history of the series spanning 40 games going into Saturday, the Caps had never shut out the Sharks and allowed only as few as one goal three times, each of them in Washington.  Only four times had the Caps allowed the Sharks 24 or fewer shots in games played in San Jose.  That the Caps got the shutout and allowed only 24 shots on goal made for a fine end to the week.

Goaltending: 1.70 / .928 / 1 shutout (season: 2.77 / .913 / 2 shutouts)

Washington thrives on controversy, whether political, quarterbacks, or now, goaltenders.  Braden Holtby has been in a prolonged slump, and it got no better for him in Week 23. He allowed three goals on nine shots in 25 minutes and change to the Anaheim Ducks before being relieved for the third time in six appearances.  After the game, the word came that Holtby would be given some time to “settle his game.” 

Enter Philipp Grubauer.  After a grisly start to the season in which he lost his first six decisions over eight games (all of them losses), he rebounded to go 8-2-2, 1.73, .944, with one shutout over 16 appearances going into Week 23.  He continued that run of fine play in his three appearances this week, stopping all eight shots he faced in relief of Holtby on Tuesday, stopping 26 of 28 shots against the Kings in the middle game of the week, and then turning aside all 24 shot he faced in the 2-0 shutout of the Sharks on Saturday, his second shutout of the season. It left Grubauer 9-3-2, 1.59, .947, with two shutouts over his last 19 appearances.

Power Play: 0-for-6 / 0.0 percent (season: 21.8 percent, rank: 6th)

Few chances, few shots, no goals.  Week 23 was not a good week for the man advantage, the fifth time this season that the Caps went a week without a power play goal and the first time since they went 0-for-2 in Week 14, one in which they played only one game.

It truly was a bizarre week on the power play. Alex Ovechkin did not record a shot on goal in 11:32 of power play ice time.  The Caps did not have a single power play opportunity in their win over the Sharks to end the week, the third time this season the Caps went without one and the first since they were denied any opportunities in a 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks on October 28^th.  The Caps won all three games this season in which they did not get a power play chance.

It was not as if the Caps put a lot of pressure on opponents when they did get their chances.  Six shots on goal in 11:59 of power play ice time is not a very efficient level of pressure.  Only one of those shots on goal came from a defenseman (Dmitry Orlov), while T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov “led” the team with a pair of shots apiece. Brett Connolly had the other one.

Penalty Killing: 3-for-4 / 75.0 percent (season: 79.8 percent, rank: 18th)

What was good for the goose was good for the gander, special teams-wise.  The Caps faced only four shorthanded situations all week, the fewest since they faced four (in just one game) in Week 14. Only in Week 9 did they face fewer power plays (two in two games).

It did not start off very well, the Caps allowing a goal on the first shot – and the first power play shot – they faced for the week, the Ducks’ Adam Henrique scoring just 84 seconds into the 4-0 Anaheim win on Tuesday.  The Caps shut out the Ducks from any further opportunities, and then they went on to kill the last three shorthanded situations for the week, allowing only three shots on goal in 5:59 over those three situations.

The three games this week allowing two or fewer power plays to opponents brought the streak to four games, tying the Caps’ longest streak of the season, that coming in Games 25-28.  Coincidentally, perhaps, three of those games were against opponents in this current streak – San Jose and Los Angeles in this week’s set of games, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, against whom the Caps started the streak in their Stadium Series game win in Week 22.

Faceoffs: 80-for-161 / 49.7 percent (season: 50.3 percent, rank: 13th)

Strange week in the circle.  Overall, one faceoff loss under 50 percent doesn’t seem like much, but the Caps were all over the place getting there.  They sandwiched good games against Anaheim (54.7 percent) and San Jose (62.3 percent) around an awful game in Los Angeles (32.7 percent).  In that game against the Kings, it was not quite as bad as the overall numbers suggested, though.  They did win 11 of 22 defensive zone draws, but they were shut out entirely in the neutral zone, losing all 13 draws in center ice.

That neutral zone blanking led to the only under-50 percent zone result for the week, the Caps finishing 19-for-47 (40.4 percent).  They did manage to win in the ends, going 32-for-63 (50.8 percent) in the offensive zone and 29-for-51 (56.9 percent) in the defensive zone.

Individually, it was a rough week for the pair of skaters at the top of the draws-taken list, Evgeny Kuznetsov (18-for-41/43.9 percent) and Nicklas Backstrom (16-for-39/41.0 percent) finishing under 50 percent.  The other two with at least ten draws taken finished over 50 percent for the week – Lars Eller (18-for-34/52.9 percent) and Jay Beagle (19-for-30/63.3 percent).

Goals by Period:

The Caps just could not get started in the first periods of games, failing to record a first period goal for the entire week, the first time since Week 3 (also in three games) that the Caps were shut out in the first periods of games.  It matters, given that the Caps have the best record in the league when leading games at the first intermission (22-0-1/.957).  And when the Caps allowed three goals in the first period over the first two games, it was a hole out of which they could not dig.

Not that the scoring was much better in the periods that followed, but there was an odd aspect to it.  The Caps held their opponents even in the second periods of games for the week at two goals apiece.  It was the third period that was strange.  The week featured three third period goals, two for opponents and one for the Caps, all of them being empty net goals.

As it is, the Caps now have negative goal differentials in the first and third periods of games for the season and a positive goal differential in the middle period, contrary to much of the season’s narrative in this category that the Caps struggle in the second periods of games.

In the end…

Well, it could have been worse.  Last season, the Caps went to California and lost all three games by a combined 13-6 margin.  This season they went 1-2-0 and were outscored 7-3.  Last season they were just 12-for-17 killing penalties out west; this season they were 3-for-4.  They posted their first ever shutout over the San Jose Sharks and recorded their first win in regulation there in more than 24 years.  And, they finished the week still at the top of the Metropolitan Division.  All in all, it was not as disappointing a week as it could have been, even if the best thing to be said about it is that California is in the rear view mirror.

Three Stars:

• First Star: Philipp Grubauer (1-1-0, 0.79, .967, one shutout)
• Second Star: Lars Eller (1-0-1, even, 10 shots on goal, 16 shot attempts, 52.9 percent faceoffs, 100^th career goal)
• Third Star: Nicklas Backstrom (1-0-1, minus-2, game-winning goal)

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 68: Capitals at Sharks, March 10th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

Horace Greeley is credited with famously remarking, “go west, young man.” The rest of the quote goes, “go west, and grow up with the country.” For the Washington Capitals, the rest of the quote might read instead, “go west, and play with all the aroma of a week-old fish taco.”

After losing two games on their three-game trip west, and scoring just one goal in 120 minutes, the Caps wrap up their journey with a visit to San Jose on Saturday to take on the Sharks. For you Caps fans of recent vintage, San Jose is not exactly saving the best part of the trip for last. Here is the complete history of the Caps in “The Capital of Silicon Valley, (seriously, that’s the town’s motto)” courtesy of the folks at hockey-reference.com:

The Caps are facing this considerable head wind while trying to end what is now a four-game road losing streak in which they have been outscored, 15-4. Their lone win in their last six road contests was a 3-2 squeaker over the Buffalo Sabres, and if one goes back one more road game, to the 7-1 pasting they took at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks, the Caps are 1-5-0 in their last six road games and have been outscored, 24-8.

Meanwhile, the Sharks “streak” on. As in, goes hot and cold, often. They started calendar year 2018 with a win in Montreal over the Canadiens, but here is their record since, broken into their streaks:

• 0-1-2
• 3-0-0
• A loss
• 2-0-0
• 0-2-2
• 2-0-0
• 0-2-0
• 2-0-0
• A loss
• 3-0-0
• 0-2-1
• 2-0-0

Only in their last two games – a loss to Columbus and a win over St. Louis in their last outing – have they given any recent indication of breaking the spell for good (or bad).

The Sharks are a very average team on offense (2.90 goals per game/15th in scoring offense on Friday morning), and they have but one 20-goal scorer at the moment. That would be Logan Couture, who appears to be breaking free of some recent history. He recorded 30-goal seasons in his first two full years in the league, finishing second in the Calder Trophy voting in his rookie year, and he had 21 goals in the 48-game abbreviated 2012-2013 season. However, in four seasons since, he did not record more than 27 goals and averaged 27.1 goals per 82 games played. He was a reliable mid-20’s goal scorer, but not elite in that class of player. And, he was injury prone, missing 56 games over those four seasons to a variety of injuries (hand, lower body, fractured leg, and mouth among them).

This season, however, Couture has dressed for 63 of the Sharks’ 67 games, missing four games in December to a concussion. In those 63 games he has 27 goals and is on a pace (33) to eclipse his career best of 32 goals in his rookie season of 2010-2011. He has been like the club as a whole, a bit on the streaky side. Couture has had six separate instances this season when he scored goals in two or more consecutive games, two of them coming in his last eight games when he alternated consecutive games with goals and consecutive games without them. If the pattern holds, he will pot one against the Caps, having gone without one in his last two contests. Couture is 4-6-10, plus-1, in 12 career games against Washington.

Brent Burns is a helper. Only Dallas’ John Klingberg has more assists this season among defensemen (49) than Burns (43, tied with Erik Karlsson). Not that this should be surprising; Burns has topped 40 assists in each of the last four seasons, including this one. What he is on a pace to do, though, is top 50 assists for the first time in his career. What has dropped off, from last year to this, is his goal scoring. Burns finished last season with a league-high, career-best 29 goals. This season he has only 10 in 67 games. At even strength, the drop-off is from 21 goals to five. Earlier this season he went 21 games between even-strength goals, and while he did have a pair in February, he does not have one since February 15th in a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. It was his last goal of any kind, his streak having reached nine games without one. Burns is 6-9-15, plus-2, in 15 career games against the Caps.

Martin Jones is one of those under the radar sorts of goaltenders. Maybe it’s playing on the west coast with all those late starts, and perhaps it’s he has a dull name…”Martin Jones”…not even with the French pronunciation of “Martin” (mar-TANH) like that of Martin Brodeur. But here is your odd Martin Jones fact of the day. Only Braden Holtby and Jones have received Vezina Trophy votes as the league’s top goaltender in each of the past two seasons. That’s right. Not Carey Price (once), not Sergei Bobrovsky (once), not Henrik Lundqvist (not at all). And over those two seasons, plus this one, Jones has the sixth-best goals against average among the 41 goalies with at least 5,000 minutes played (2.37, better than Holtby’s 2.38), and only three goalies have more shutouts than his 12 (Devan Dubnyk, Pekka Rinne, and Tuukka Rask each have 14). But there is the matter of shots faced. He doesn’t generally face a heavy volume, an average of 28.1 per 60 minutes over those two-plus seasons. Only 21 times in 177 games played over that span has Jones faced 35 or more shots in a game. He has been effective lately, going 7-3-1, 2.00, .935, with one shutout. Jones is 4-1-0, 2.35, .921, with two shutouts in five career appearances against the Caps.

1.  San Jose might have a lack of top-end goal scoring this season, but they do spread the points around. Of the 26 skaters to dress for the Sharks this season, 19 have at least ten points. Paul Martin is the only one of the 26 not to score at all (no points in three games). Even Eric Fehr – yes, that Eric Fehr – has a point (as in one, in six games).

2.  More on spreading things around. The Sharks have 17 different players with game-winning goals. Mikkel Boedker leads with four. No Shark with more than three goals scored this season is without a game-winner.

3.  Get a lead on this team. San Jose is one of only two teams in the Western Conference (St. Louis is the other) not to have lost a game in regulation when leading after two periods this season. They are 25-0-2 in such games.

4.  Winning when trailing after two periods is a heavy lift in the NHL, but best not to test one’s luck holding off the Sharks. Only Vegas and Los Angeles have more wins when trailing after two periods (six apiece) than the Sharks (five).

5.  The Sharks own possession in tight games. They are third in the league in shot attempts-for percentage at 5-on-5 in tied games (53.23; Nashville: 53.86, and Carolina: 54.23), and they are fifth in close games (52.23).

1.  And now, a glimpse at the difference between “efficient” and “effective.” The Capitals have 19 players who have skated in at least 41 games this season. Of that number, 12 have shooting percentages over 10 percent. This is “efficient.” The Caps are averaging 3.00 goals per game. That ranks 12th in the league in scoring offense. This is not particularly ”effective.”

2.  The Caps have not been quite as blessed, health-wise, as last season, but they have had good fortune in one respect. Of the five players who regularly skate as top-six forwards (Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and T.J. Oshie), the group has missed a total of 16 games, six of them by Oshie.

3.  Alex Ovechkin has almost lapped the field in terms of shots on goal on this roster. He has almost 100 more shots on goal (284) than John Carlson (187) and 132 more than the next highest forward (Kuznetsov…go figure…with 152).

4.  Caps road work needs, well, work. Only four skaters have a positive plus-minus in away games this season, and one of them (Taylor Chorney, club-best plus-5) is gone. Ovechkin is plus-4, Dmitry Orlov is plus-2, and Christian Djoos is plus-2. The odd ducks in this statistic?   Matt Niskanen (plus-18 at home, even on the road) and Lars Eller (plus-10 at home, minus-8 on the road).

5.  Overtime is a fickle creature. The Caps were 9-3 in their first dozen games settled in extra time this season. However, they are 0-4 in their last four, part of the 10-10-4 slump they are in since January 9th, when they won a third straight game. Since that time, the Caps are one of only three teams in the league without an extra time win (Carolina and Montreal are the others).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

San Jose: Joe Pavelski

Every so often an NHL player is held up as being the next rival for Alex Ovechkin’s dominance in goal scoring in the NHL. Corey Perry was one such player after he led the league with 50 goals in 2010-2011. He faded, having just one season with more than 35 goals in his last six years (including this one, in which he has just 14). Steven Stamkos was another after he had two 50-goal seasons in three years, the latter the first with 60 goals since Ovechkin did it with 65 in 2007-2008. Joe Pavelski did not have quite the top-end sort of season Ovechkin or the others had, but he established himself over a five-year period among the most reliable goal scorers in the league. From 2011-2012 through 2015-2016, Pavelski recorded 163 goals, third behind only Ovechkin (224) and Stamkos (193). However, he dropped to 29 goals last season, the first time since 2010-2011 that he did not finish a full season with at least 30 goals, and he has 18 in 67 games this season, a pace to finish with 22. Since he scored two goals in each of two consecutive games in early February, he has four in his last 12 games. If there is something to beware of with Pavelski, it is that all of his 11 multi-point games this season have come on home ice. Pavelski is 8-9-17, plus-6, in 16 career games against Washington.

Washington: John Carlson

John Carlson has made the top-ten rankings among defensemen in the NHL this season his own personal playground. As of Friday morning, Carlson’s rankings included:

• Goals: 12 (T-6th)
• Assists: 41 (T-4th)
• Points: 53 (T-2nd)
• Multi-Point Games: 12 (T-5th)
• Shots on Goal: 187 (8th)
• Power Play Goals: 4 (T-7th)
• Power Play Points: 25 (T-1st)
• Power Play Shots-on-Goal: 54 (T-5th)
• Power Play Minutes: 248:51 (1st)
• Power Play Time-on-Ice per Game: 3:42 (3rd)
• Time-on-Ice per Shift: 0:56 (T-4th)
• Total Team Goals Scored/On Ice: 102 (4th)
• Power Play Goals Scored/On Ice: 38 (3rd)
• Game-Winning Goals: 3 (T-8th)

Carlson has already tied a career high with 12 goals, and he is within two assists and two points of career highs (43 and 55, respectively, set in 82 games in 2014-2015). He has become a much more assertive player in the offensive end, demonstrated by his 384 shot attempts, just ten short of his career high of 394 in 2014-2015, a season in which he received votes for the league all-star team (finishing tenth in the voting), Norris Trophy (10th), and the Lady Byng Trophy (56th). His production has not waned as the season wore on, either. Carlson has not gone as many as three games without a point since the last three games of November. Since December 1st, his 10-25-35 scoring line is second in the league among defensemen (Brent Burns: 9-33-42), and only Burns has more power play points (18 to 15 for Carlson). He is 1-6-7, minus-4, in 12 career games against the Sharks.

In the end…

California is rarely kind to the Caps, and this year has offered no exception yet. San Jose has been an especially disagreeable host. The Caps have not won a game in regulation in San Jose since October 1993. How long ago was that? Keith Jones scored the game-winning goal. Dmitri Khristich had a two-point game. Rick Tabaracci was the goalie credited with the win. Arturs Irbe, who has since come and gone as a Capitals goaltending coach, took the loss.

The Caps have shown a certain resiliency with respect to taking back the top spot in the Metropolitan Division when they were passed. Pittsburgh now occupies that spot, one point ahead of Washington. The Caps could re-take the lead, if only for a short time (the Caps play on Saturday afternoon, the Penguins in Toronto later that evening), but more than placement, it would show evidence of life that so far on this trip has been hard to measure.

Capitals 4 – Sharks 3

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 67: Capitals at Kings, March 8th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

Well, Game 1 of the California Experience did not go well for the Washington Capitals, losers of a 4-0 decision on Tuesday night to the Anaheim Ducks, their first shutout loss in Anaheim since they lost a 3-0 decision on December 11, 2002, a game noteworthy because two future head coaches in the NHL dressed for the Ducks that evening – Dan Bylsma (Pittsburgh, Buffalo) and Adam Oates (Washington). The Caps would follow up that 2002 loss with a win in Arizona against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Caps hope to duplicate that pattern of following up a shutout loss with a win when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. As rough as the Caps record has been of late (10-9-4 in their last 23 games), they have not lost consecutive games in regulation on the same road trip since Games 19 and 20 back in mid-November, when they dropped decisions to the Nashville Predators (6-3) and Colorado Avalanche (6-2).

Meanwhile, the Kings can’t figure out if they are hot or cold. They had a six-game losing streak in early January (0-6-0) followed by a 6-1-1 run. Then they lost three in a row (0-3-0). Then they won three in a row…two losses…three wins. That they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in their last outing, a 5-3 margin at home, might be viewed as an encouraging sign by Caps fans.

And frankly, the Kings are not an especially successful team on home ice. Their 16-15-3 record at STAPLES Center ranks 23rd in the league through Tuesday’s games. It might be worth noting that while the Kings cling to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, they are the only team among the league’s bottom ten clubs in home points earned that is playoff eligible in either conference as of Wednesday morning.

The Kings are a club that can defend their ice well, having allowed the second fewest goals on home ice this season (76; Minnesota: 75). What they can’t seem to do is score. They have 89 goals scored on home ice this season, one of seven teams with fewer than 90 goals scored on home ice (only Columbus, among the six teams with fewer home ice goals, is eligible for the playoffs as of Wednesday morning).

Los Angeles’ difficulties scoring at home are a bit baffling, given that the team is in the middle of the pack in scoring offense over all (2.88 goals per game/16th in the league). It is a group led by Anze Kopitar, who has rebounded nicely from a difficult season last year in which he finished with a career low of 12 goals (not including the abbreviated 2012-2013 season in which he had 10 goals). In fact, he is on a pace to hit, if not exceed his career best of 34 goals in 2009-2010. Kopitar is that superstar who few recognize as a “superstar.” But there he is, near the top of every statistical category in Kings’ history: games (906/5th), goals (282/5th), assists (525/5th), points (807/5th), power play goals (85/6th), shorthanded goals (10/tied for 5th), game-winning goals (44/4th), plus-minus (plus-86/….yes, 5th). And consistency has been the word to describe his production since the calendar turned over to 2018. In 27 games since New Year’s, Kopitar has not gone consecutive games without a point, and he is 10-21-31, plus-4, in 27 games, averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time a game. In 15 career games against the Caps, he is 9-5-14, plus-4.

Another King having a rebound year is Tyler Toffoli. After finishing the 2016-2017 season with just 16 goals in 63 games (he missed 19 games to a lower body injury), he is second on the club this season with 21 goals in 66 games. A pleasant response, from a Kings perspective, for having signed a three-year contract extension last June. He has been a surprisingly, perhaps, prolific goal scorer who, in just his sixth season with the team, has a chance to jump into the top-20 all-time in goal scoring. He would need nine goals in his last 16 games to tie Tom Williams for 20th place on the Kings’ all-time goal scoring list. That he could do that, however, seems unlikely given his recent performance. He has only three goals in his last 24 games, although two of those have come in his last five contests. Toffoli is 1-4-5, minus-1, in nine career games against Washington.

Since he took over the majority of the workload in goal for the Kings in 2008-2009, only three goalies have appeared in more games and logged more minutes than Jonathan Quick (540/31,544) – Henrik Lundqvist (603/35,209), Pekka Rine (554/32,242), and Marc-Andre Fleury (552/32,089). Of the 70 goalies in team history, Quick stands alone at the top in games played, minutes, wins (285), save percentage (.916, minimum: 50 games), and shutouts (47). Only Peter Budaj has a better goals against average (2.15 in 54 games) than Quick (2.28). And, there are the two Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP to add. His save percentage to date (.921) is among his career-best, topped only by the .929 he had in 2011-2012. His goals against average is good, if not spectacular (2.47), owing to the 31.2 shots per 60 minutes he has faced so far this season (his career average is 25.0 shots per 60 minutes).

Embedded in this year’s performance is an uncommon streakiness that divides Quick's season into three pieces. In his first dozen games, Quick was 9-2-1, 2.06, .937, with two shutouts. He followed that up by losing six straight decisions, then winning six straight decisions. Since then, he is 10-16-1, 2.74, .912, with one shutout in 27 games, and he has not won more than two straight games in that span. Quick is 8-2-0, 2.36, .916 in 10 career appearances against the Capitals.

1.  Only the Edmonton Oilers have had fewer power play chances on home ice (90) than Los Angeles (91). Maybe a good thing for the Caps; the Kings rank tenth in home power play efficiency (24.2 percent).

2.  Los Angeles has the second best penalty kill in the league overall (83.4 percent), but it ranks only seventh on home ice (84.8 percent).

3.  No team has allowed fewer shorthanded goals this season than the Kings. Their two shorthanded goals allowed is tied for fewest with San Jose and Pittsburgh.

4.  Think of the Kings’ offense like an old diesel engine. It takes a while to warm up (40 first period goals, 29th in the league), but once it does (82 third period goals/first in the league).

5.  Los Angeles might be just as happy for this game to go to overtime. The Kings have won nine of 14 extra time games this season, including both of their trick shot competitions. They have not lost an extra time in the 2018 portion of the season (2-0-0, last loss a 3-2 overtime loss to Vegas on December 28th).

1.   “Does not work or play well with others”… the Caps are tied for the league lead in misconduct penalties (eight).

2.  Only Toronto and Winnipeg have more wins when leading after one period (23 apiece) than do the Caps (22). And, the Caps remain one of just three teams not to lose a game in regulation when leading after one period (St. Louis and Vancouver are the others). Theirs is the top winning percentage in the league in such games (.957).

3.  The frustration continues. The Caps are just 2-for-31 on power plays on the road against Western Conference teams this season (6.5 percent). The last one was November 16th in Colorado against the Avalanche. Fat lot of good it did them; the Caps lost, 6-2.

4.  Tom Wilson is closing on an odd milestone of sorts. If he records four shots on goal in this game, he will hit 100 shots on goal in a season for the first time in his career.He had 99 in 2015-2016.

5.  No forward in the league averages more ice time per shift than Alex Ovechkin (0:57). Evgeny Kuznetsov is second among forwards (0:55).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Los Angeles: Dustin Brown

There might not be a player in the league who has skated harder minutes for more games than Dustin Brown. Now in his 14th season, all with Los Angeles, Brown has appeared in 1,029 games, more than any player in Kings’ history except Luc Robitaille (1,077) and Dave Taylor (1,111). He has been a gritty sort who has exhibited a remarkable durability. Since the 2005-2006 season, Brown has not missed more than four games in any season. Over that same span he established himself as a reliable secondary contributor, averaging a shade under 20 goals per season. Although that production dipped in recent seasons (51 goals over four years coming into this season), he has 19 goals in 65 games so far, his highest goal total since he had 22 in 2011-2012. He is also a plus-24, a career best for Brown. Over his last 19 games his goal scoring has been unremarkable (four), but he has nine assists, significant contributions in the Kings’ 12-7-0 record in that span. Brown is 2-7-9, even, in 17 career games against the Caps.

Washington: Andre Burakovsky

Here we go again. Just when you think Andre Burakovsky might be shaking off whatever it is holding him down, he slumps under the weight again. After one goal in his first 14 games this season, he had a pair against the Dallas Starts, and folks might have thought, “here we go.” Well, there he went…nine games after that without a goal. He had goals in consecutive games at Winnipeg and At Minnesota last month, only to go his next three without one before another set of consecutive games with goals against Florida and Buffalo. Since then, Burakovsky is four games without a goal and counting. If there is a silver lining with respect to the game at hand, it is that he has scored six of his eight goals on the road this season. Three of his eight goals have come against Western Conference teams (Dallas, his only two-goal performance, Winnipeg, and Minnesota). It certainly would be good to get him on a more productive path since the Caps are 8-2-2 in the 12 games in which he has a point this season. In four career games against Los Angeles, Burakovsky is 1-1-2, plus-4.

In the end…

The Caps have a game in hand to go with their one-point lead over Pittsburgh, and they have a two-point lead over Philadelphia with both teams having played 66 games. That’s hardly a cushion, especially since the Penguins and Flyers face one another on Wednesday night. Flat crust pizzas are thicker. Worse, there are eight teams with better records in their last ten games in the Eastern Conference than the Caps’ 5-5-0 record. Even Buffalo has a better record (5-4-1). These games with Los Angeles and San Jose to close the California trip, and a meeting with the Winnipeg Jets when they return home, make up a difficult part of the schedule for the Caps. But in it lies an opportunity, too. It is a chance to measure themselves against playoff-quality opponents, and after this stretch the schedule starts to open up a bit in terms of competitive strength. Winning such games can provide the Caps with the momentum they need to wrap up the season on a high note. But California being what it is to this team, it sure won’t be easy.

Capitals 3 – Kings 2

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 66: Capitals at Ducks, March 6th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals take to the road this week on their annual California trip, visiting Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose over the next five days, a trip that could have considerable influence on the standings in two divisions – the Metropolitan, where only three points separate the first-place Capitals and the third-place Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday morning, and in the Pacific Division, where only two points separate the three teams the Caps will play this week.

The Caps will visit the Anaheim Ducks to open this three game trip, hoping to extend a winning streak to a third game for the first time since they beat the Carolina Hurricanes on January 2^nd in the third straight of what would be a five-game winning streak.  It will be a challenge.  When the Ducks beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-3, on Sunday night, it brought their record over their last dozen games to 8-2-2.

The Ducks’ success in their last dozen games has been more a product of defense, having allowed more than two goals in regulation time only twice – a 6-5 Gimmick loss to Edmonton on February 25^th and last night’s win over Chicago.  One might think that would reflect well on a goaltender, but both Ducks goalies have fine numbers over those dozen games.  John Gibson started eight of those games and is 6-1-1, 1.93, .942 in that span.  Gibson has established himself as one of those goalies with fine numbers that not a lot of folks know about.  At the moment, he has a career best .925 save percentage this season, fifth-best in the league among 35 goalies with at least 1,500 minutes played.  It is the third consecutive season in which Gibson has posted save percentages of .920 or better. And, he has been consistent.  Over his last 20 appearances, Gibson has not had consecutive games in which his save percentage was under .920.  In four career appearances against the Caps, he is 0-2-2, 3.45, .888.

Gibson’s backup has played well, too, and he is much more familiar to Caps fans.  Ryan Miller might be on the back nine of his career, now in its 15^th NHL season, but he has provided strong support on those occasions when Gibson needs a break.  Over the Ducks’ last dozen games, Miller is 2-1-1, 2.05, .948, with one shutout, a 41-save gem against the Dallas Stars on February 21^st.  Overall, his .925 save percentage in 23 games is his best since he posted a .929 save percentage in 69 games with the Buffalo Sabres in 2009-2010, a season in which he won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie.  Miller is 17-14-0, 2.54, .916, with three shutouts in 32 career appearances against the Caps. 

The Ducks have not been especially prolific in the offensive end lately, scoring 34 goals in the 8-2-2- run (2.83 per game).  Rickard Rakell has six of those goals to lead the club.  It is no surprise, since Rakell leads – and by a substantial margin – the team in goals scored this season (27, ten more than Ondrej Kase).  Rakell can score goals in bunches.  He has four multi-goal games this season, including a hat trick in the 6-5 trick shot loss to Edmonton on February 25^th.  Rakell’s recent production gives him a total of 26 goals this season and puts him on a pace to challenge his career best in goals scored (33) set last season.   In six career games against Washington, he is 1-0-1, minus-2.

Anaheim gets good production from its back line, four defensemen with more than 20 points this season, all of them with at least five goals scored.  Hampus Lindholm leads the group with nine goals.  He has developed nicely for the Ducks since he was taken with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 entry draft.  After a rookie season in 2013-2014 which he went 6-24-30, plus-29, and finished seventh in the Calder Trophy voting for top rookie, he posted a career best 34 points the following season.  He slipped under 30 points the last two seasons, but his nine goals so far this year are just one short of his career best (10 in 2015-2016).  He had done it by being efficient.  Nine goals on 100 shots – 9.0 percent – is tied for first with New Jersey’s Damon Severson (also with nine goals on 100 shots) among 72 defensemen with at least 100 shots this season.  He has been particularly effective against the Caps, going 2-6-8, plus-9, in nine career games against Washington.

1.  No team has been in the freestyle competition more than Anaheim this season.  So far, 11 of their 66 games have been decided in the shootout.  It should not be surprising (if not pleasant for Ducks fans) that no team has lost as often in the trick shot phase, the Ducks having seven losses.  Their problem is two-fold.  They don’t shoot well (13-for-50/26.0 percent/ranked 23^rd in shooting percentage), and they don’t stop shots well (34-for-52/.654 save percentage/ranked 21^st).  Three of their last seven home games have been decided in the Gimmick (1-2 record).

2.  Anaheim ranks fourth in the league in penalty minutes per game (10:37), and no team has been whistled for more total penalties (295) or more minor penalties (258).

3.  One thing Anaheim does not do is out-shoot opponents.  They have done so only 19 times in 66 games, and even when they do, their record lacks accomplishment (8-9-2). 

4.  Another thing the Ducks don’t do is lose one-goal games in regulation.  They only have three one-goal losses in 60-minute games this season.  Only the Boston Bruins have fewer (two, one of them to the Caps).  However, they can be caught in regulation.  Six of their 12 losses in extra time came in games in which they led at the second intermission.

5.  Anaheim suffers a similar problem as do the Capitals in that they are not a very efficient possession team.  Their shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 percentage (48.29) ranks 22^nd in the league, 24^th when ahead in games (44.60; numbers from NHL.com).

1.  The Caps have played 23 games against Western Conference teams so far this season to a 12-9-2 record.  They have been out-shot by exactly 100 shots (754-654).  They will be looking to improve their record against Pacific Division teams on this trip over their current .500 mark based on standings points earned/available (6-6-1).

2.  Only Columbus, among Metropolitan Division teams, has a worse power play against Western Conference teams (10.0 percent) than the Caps (15.4 percent).  The Caps have the worst power play against the Pacific Division in the league (3-for-35/8.6 percent).

3.  One of the problems with the power play against the West might be not having the puck, at least to begin power plays or after play stops.  The Caps are the only Metro team whose faceoff percentage on power plays is under 50 percent (56-for-119/47.1 percent).

4.  Among Metro teams, the Caps have averaged more penalty minutes per game (10.9) than any other, a product of their taking more major penalties (eight) than any Metro team against the West (New York Rangers: 5).  Quite an accomplishment, considering the Caps have played fewer games against the West than any other Metro team except Columbus (23 as well).

5.  Four of 13 games played by the Caps against the Pacific Division this season have gone to extra time.  The Caps are the only Metro team to record two overtime goals against Pacific Division teams.  One came against Anaheim in the Caps’ 3-2 win at Capital One Arena on December 16^th.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Anaheim: Cam Fowler

There have been 113 defensemen to dress for the Anaheim Ducks since they came into the league in 1993-1994 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.  Only Ruslan Salei (594) and Francois Beauchemin (577) have appeared in more games as a Duck than Cam Fowler (548).  Fowler has been among the more consistent offensive defensemen in the NHL since he was taken by the Ducks with the tenth overall pick in the 2010 entry draft.  In six full seasons with the club before this year (not including the abbreviated 2012-2013 season), Fowler never finished with fewer than 28 points, and that came in a 69-game season (2015-2016) in which he missed 13 games to a sprained knee.  He ranks third all-time in goals for the franchise (53) and second in points (246), trailing only Scott Niedermayer (264).  He leads the team in blueline scoring this season (29 points).  Fowler does not have a goal against Washington in his career, all seven of his points in 11 career games coming on assists.  He is also a minus-9 in his career against the Caps, the only worse number being minus-11 in 27 games against the Dallas Stars.

Washington: Alex Ovechkin

It might sound strange to say of a Western Conference team, but Alex Ovechkin has a history against the Anaheim Ducks.  He recorded his first career hat trick against the Ducks in 2006, scoring all of the Caps’ goals and the hat trick goal coming in overtime in a 3-2 win.  He has points in 11 of the 15 games he skated against the Ducks.  He was famously benched late in a one-goal game against the Ducks in November 2011 as the Caps were trying for the tying goal in the last minute of regulation (they got it, courtesy of Nicklas Backstrom, and won a 5-4 decision in overtime on another Backstrom goal).  This season, it was Ovechkin who scored the overtime game winner back in December in the Caps’ 3-2 win over the Ducks.  And when Ovechkin scores against this team, the Caps win; the Caps are 7-0-0 in the games against the Duck in which he scored at least one goal.  He has a chance to make more history at the expense of the Ducks as he inches toward his 600th career goal, two goals short going into this game.  Overall, Ovechkin is 10-13-23, minus-3, in 15 career games against Anaheim.

In the end…

Big trip, big games.  The Caps will be in first place in the Metropolitan Division at the end of this game, no matter what, given who plays and who is idle, but a win would be welcome as the Caps make up the game in hand they have on the Philadelphia Flyers, currently in second place two points behind Washington.  This might be the best team of the three California teams to open against on this road trip, the Caps enjoying an 8-7-1 all-time edge against the Ducks in California with six wins in their last seven trips to Anaheim (although they did get pasted, 5-0, in their last visit there).  Given Anaheim’s defensive emphasis in their most recent run of success, goals might be difficult to come by in this game, which means playing smart and avoiding mistakes, a couple of things that the Caps have not consistently avoided this season.

Capitals 3 – Ducks 2

Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was - Week 22

If a week is not how you start, but how you finish, Week 22 was a good one for the Washington Capitals.  It started by getting blown out by a division rival, followed by a gritty win to try and build some positive momentum, and wrapped up with as complete a win as the team has had this season.  Perhaps it was the course correction the team needed to set it on the right path for the last five weeks of the season.

Record: 2-1-0

After marking time in Weeks 20 and 21 (3-3-2 overall for eight points in eight games), the Caps shook off a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets to start the week to finish it winning consecutive games since sweeping a home-and-home series against Columbus a month ago.

The wins in Week 22 came on home ice, including the Stadium Series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, giving the Caps 23 home wins this season, one behind the trio at the top of the home win rankings – Vegas, Winnipeg, and Pittsburgh.

The Caps earned their 2-1-0 record with a week played entirely against Eastern Conference teams, so the result might have been foretold.  Washington has the best record of any Metropolitan Division team against the Eastern Conference at week’s end (25-12-5), although the Philadelphia Flyers (22-10-7) have three games in hand against the conference compared to the Caps.

Offense: 3.00 /game (season: 3.08 /game, rank: 10th)

The Caps improved as the week went on, scoring-wise.  The team that looked like first-day-of-training-camp disorganized against Columbus on Monday ended the week firing on all cylinders in their 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs outdoors. 

If you are looking at the week as that half-full/half-empty glass, you might say the Caps did it efficiently, scoring nine goals on 82 shots (11.0 percent).  On the other hand, there were just those 82 shots (27.3 per game).  It might say something that the Caps scored five goals on 34 shots in their highest shot-volume game of the week and that the Caps are 11-3-0 in 14 games in which they recorded 34 or more shots this season.

Individually, Evgeny Kuznetsov led the club in goals and points (3-2-5), followed in total points by Nicklas Backstrom (1-3-4) and John Carlson (1-3-4).  All three had three-point nights against the Maple Leafs to end the week, each of them going 1-2-3 in that contest. 

Alex Ovechkin was the other Capitals with a multi-goal week, scoring the lone goal the Caps had against Columbus to open the week and potting one against Toronto to end it.  The latter goal was Ovechkin’s 40^th of the season, the ninth time he reached the 40-goal mark in his career.  That ties him with Mike Bossy and Mike Gartner for fourth-most in NHL history, trailing Mario Lemieux (10), Marcel Dionne (10), and Wayne Gretzky (12).

Defense: 3.00 / game (season: 2.95 /game, rank: 19th)

Shots allowed has been an issue for the Caps this season, and seeing the volumes allowed drop from game to game in Week 22 was a welcome outcome.  The Caps allowed Columbus 35 shots in the 5-1 loss to open the week, the 23^rd time this season that Washington allowed an opponent 35 or more shots on goal.  The Caps are 13-7-3 in those games. 

However, in that game, the Caps allowed 16 shots in the first period in falling behind, 4-1.  Over the last eight periods of the week, the Caps allowed only 78 shots (one of them an empty-netter for a goal by Columbus), and only twice in those eight periods did the Caps allow more than ten shots on goal – 12 in the first period in the 3-2 win over Ottawa and 12 in the second period against Toronto to end the week.

However, it was a brutal week for the Caps in one respect.  Shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 were 120 for and 165 against.  Their minus-45 shot attempt differential was second-worst in the league for the week (Montreal: minus-56), as was their shot attempts-for percentage (42.09), barely edging Montreal (42.09).

Goaltending: 2.69 / .914 (season: 2.78 / .912 / 1 shutout)

On balance it was an okay week for Capitals goaltending.  A closer look, and it was unsettled.  Braden Holtby opened the week by continuing his struggles, allowing four goals on 16 shots in 20 minutes of work against Columbus before yielding to Philipp Grubauer.  It was not all Holtby, as the Caps were having trouble defending air in front of him, but Holtby wasn’t – and hasn’t been – sharp.  It was his sixth loss in a row and the second time in those six games that he was pulled.  Holtby came back to provide a solid effort in stopping 27 of 29 shots against the Maple Leafs in the 5-2 win to end the week, ending that personal six-game losing streak.  One hopes that weeks of a 4.53 goals against average and a .867 save percentage – his numbers in Week 22 – are at an end.

Grubauer continued a run of strong play on his own.  Coming in relief of a game already out of hand is a chance to pad numbers, but Grubauer was solid against the Blue Jackets in stopping all 18 shots he faced.  He was sharp against Ottawa in the middle games of the week, stopping all 12 shots he faced in the first period to allow the Caps to get to the first intermission with a lead and allowing just two goals on 30 shots overall.  When the week was over, one could look back over his last 20 appearances and see an impressive record – 8-5-2 (five no-decisions), 1.95, .936, with one shutout.

Power Play: 3-for-7 / 42.9 percent (season: 22.5 percent, rank: 5th)

A second straight week converting three of seven power play chances continued a strong power play run for the Caps.  Over the last six weeks, Washington is 15-for-45 (33.3 percent) over 18 games.  Over those six weeks, only the Vegas Golden Knights have a better power play (18-for-51/35.3 percent), but only three teams had fewer chances to put it on display (Detroit: 44; Edmonton: 37; and Pittsburgh: 36).

John Carlson led the team in power play points, recording assists on all three goals with the man advantage.  The goals themselves were scored by three different players – Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Alex Ovechkin.  The goal by Ovechkin was his 12^th power play goal of the season, ranking him fourth in the league in that category.

The Caps had their success as a product of accuracy more than efficiency.  Eight shots in 11:02 of power play ice time is not a particularly noteworthy result, but scoring three goals on those eight shots (37.5 percent).  That is.

Penalty Killing: 10-for-13 / 76.9 percent (season: 79.8 percent, rank: 18th)

What the power play taketh, the penalty kill gave away, the week ending minus-1 on special teams scoring (the Caps also allowed a shorthanded/empty net goal).  It was not even a case of the Caps being peppered with shots on power plays.  They allowed only 11 shots on goal in 19:10 of shorthanded ice time.  The three goals were all scored from long range, but on all of them – Artemi Panarin and Seth Jones for Columbus, and Mike Hoffman for Ottawa – it was a case of opponents doing a good job of taking the eyes away from the goaltender.

Still, we are left with the unsettling notion that this penalty kill is the Caps’ penalty kill this season.  Week 22 was the 12^th week in which they finished under 80 percent for the week, and in only three weeks in the last 21 have the Caps finished the week over 80 percent for the season to date.  For the Caps, the key might have to be limiting opportunities, but at the end of Week 22, they were tenth in the league in power play chances allowed.

Faceoffs: 98-for-184 / 53.3 percent (season: 50.3 percent, rank: 15th)

The week in the circle might be thought of as “the good and the bad.”  Fortunately for the Caps, “the good” came from those who took the highest number of faceoffs.  Nicklas Backstrom (32-for-58/55.2 percent) and Jay Beagle (34-for-42/81.0 percent) were a combined 66.0 percent.  Beagle was spectacular, to the extent such an adjective can be applied to one of the routine elements of the game.  By himself, going 23-for-28 (82.1 percent) he dragged the Caps over 50 percent in the defensive end.  Another reflection of his specialty in that area – defensive zone draws – is that he had only five offensive zone faceoffs for the week.  That he won four of them (80.0 percent) should not escape notice.  He was also on top of his game at even strength, winning 29 of 35 draws (82.9 percent).

On the bad side, both Lars Eller and Evgeny Kuznetsov finished under 40 percent for the week, Kuznetsov just managing 30 percent (9-for-30).  The pair was just 20-for-61 at even strength (32.8 percent).

If there was an odd part to the week, and perhaps a feature of this team, it is T.J. Oshie on draws.  He took seven faceoffs in Week 22.  Six of them were on power plays (he was 4-for-6), the most power play faceoffs taken among the Caps.  In fact, while Nicklas Backstrom leads the team in power play faceoffs taken (67-for-129/51.9 percent), there is Oshie at 54-for-105 (51.4 percent), second-most on the club this season.

Goals by Period:

The Caps fought to a draw in first period scoring for the week, five goals scored and five goals allowed.  Consider that Columbus scored four of those goals in barely 18 minutes of the opening game of the week, and first period defense closed well.  The odd part of the week was in the third period scoring.  The Caps did not score a goal, and that is not altogether unsurprising.  In two of the games, the competitive portion of the contest was largely settled, the Caps trailing Columbus, 4-1, after 40 minutes, and then turning the tables by taking a 5-2 lead into the third period of their game with Columbus to close the week.  Add in that the Caps took a 3-1 lead into the third period of their game against Ottawa, holding on for a 3-2 win, and the lack of third period scoring was not surprising. 

Disappointing might be another matter.  The Caps have had issues from time to time this season with taking their foot off the pedal.  It might have cost them against Ottawa, having to play the last 16:46 of that game nursing a one-goal lead and finishing with only seven third period shots on the Senators.  The Caps had a comfortable lead against Toronto going into the third period in the last game of the week, but not an insurmountable one, especially a team with as many weapons as the Maple Leafs.  The Caps managed only four shots on goal in the third period of that game, only one in the last 10:39 of the contest.

In the end…

Yes, that game against Columbus was a stinker, a game in which the Caps looked completely unprepared to play.  But they did rebound for a pair of wins, the latter played in front of a dramatic backdrop of a nationally televised outdoor game that was among the best games the team played this season.  And, with 17 games left in the season, winning two of every three games would give the Caps 22 more standings points to finish with 103 points, safely in the playoff mix. 

But things get tougher – a lot tougher – in Week 23.  The California trip, always a challenge for the Capitals, will be the agenda for the upcoming week.  Winning two of three games on the left coast would be a success in any season.  Doing so here and now might be necessary for the Caps to preserve their thin lead in the Metropolitan Division.  It will not be easy, the three California teams with a combined 18-9-3 record over their respective last ten games.  Who said it would be easy?

Three Stars:

• First Star: Evgeny Kuznetsov (3-2-5, plus-1, 1-1-2 on power play, 1 GWG, 12 shots on goal, 15 shot attempts, second career 20-goal season)
• Second Star: John Carlson (1-3-4, minus-1, 23:11 average ice time, eighth career game with three or more points, tying Scott Stevens for fifth-most among defensemen in Caps history)
• Third Star: Philipp Grubauer (1-0-0, 1.21, .958)

A TWO-Point Night: Washington Capitals -- Stadium Series/Game 65: Capitals 5 - Maple Leafs 2

If outdoor games have become old and stale in the view of some, the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs injected new life into the format as they took the ice at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, MD, on Saturday night in their Stadium Series matchup.  The Caps broke on top with a three-goal first period and locked down a 5-2 win in a game that was one of the most entertaining of the outdoor games played to date.

First Period

It did not take long for the seal to be broken on this one.  Jay Beagle drew a penalty by Travis Dermott less than three minutes into the game, and the Caps made the Leafs pay.  Nicklas Backstrom walked the puck off the right wing wall and wristed a shot at the Toronto net.  Goalie Frederik Andersen made the save, but the rebound came out to the low slot.  Evgeny Kuznetsov was first to it, pulling it over to his forehand and snapping it past Andersen on the stick side to make it 1-0, 3:50 into the period.

Toronto tied it less than two minutes later when a drive from the right point by Roman Polak hit the skate of Zach Hyman as he was crossing in front and skittered past Holtby’s right skate to tie it at the 5:20 mark.

Then it was the captain’s turn.  It started with Backstrom dumping the puck into the Leafs’ zone from long range.  Andersen stopped the puck, but Backstrom was able to follow it up with a shot that Andersen knocked aside.  Then, Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson went to work to dig it out.  Ovechkin backed out from below the goal line as Wilson dueled for the puck.  Wilson out-fought Leo Komarov for it and fed the puck out to Ovechkin, who got inside position on Mitch Marner and snapped a shot high past Andersen’s glove to give the Caps the lead once more, just 59 seconds after the Toronto goal, at 6:19.

Washington took a two-goal lead late in the period on another power play.  With Dominic Moore off on a delay-of-game/puck-over-glass penalty, Evgeny Kuznetsov sped down the right side into the Toronto zone.  With Connor Brown straining to keep up behind him, Kuznetsov angled to the Maple Leaf net, and as he was circling around it, fed the puck out to Backstrom trailing the play.  Backstrom stuffed it in from the post to Andersen’s left, and it was 3-1 at the 16:20 mark.  That would be how the teams went to the first intermission.

The Caps led the Leafs in shots on goals, 11-7, but Toronto had a 20-19 edge in shot attempts overall.

Second Period

Toronto inched to within a goal in the eighth minute of the period when Marner dropped a pass for Nazem Kadri just inside the offensive zone.  Kadri pirouetted and wristed a shot at Holtby, who thought he had the puck at the near post, but it snuck past him at the 7:22 mark.

The Caps answered quickly again.  Jay Beagle started the scoring play by skating the puck into the right wing circle in the offensive zone and pulling it back to John Carlson.  His drive was stopped by Andersen, but the rebound came out to Chandler Stephenson on the left side.  Stephenson threw the puck at the crease where it squirted out to Carlson.  With Morgan Rielly and Jay Beagle tied up with Andersen, Carlson deposited the puck in the empty half of the net to make it 4-2, 8:05 into the period.

The Caps chased Andersen less than three minutes later.  Kuznetsov collected a loose puck and circled toward the defensive blue line.  He spied Jakub Vrana behind the defense and led him perfectly.  Vrana broke in clean on Andersen and snapped the puck through his pads at the 10:49 mark to make it 5-2, Caps.

Curtis McElhinney relieved Andersen at that point and prevented any further damage to the Leafs’ cause until the teams went to the second intermission.

The Caps out-shot Toronto, 18-12 in the period, while the Maple Leafs had a 24-21 edge in shot attempts.

Third Period

The goal scoring portion game having come to an end, the Caps did a credible job of clamping down on the Maple Leafs to deny them any opportunities to make it a competitive game once more.  They even kept their focus when the game was interrupted by a power outage at the ten-minute mark when the teams changed ends.  It made for a happy evening for Caps fans with the team skating off with a 5-2 win.

Other stuff…

-- Nicklas Backstom had four shots on goal in the first period (he finished with five).  Coming into this game he had only four games in which he had more shots on goal for the entire contest.  No other Capital had more than one shot on goal in the period.  Backstrom also had three points in the first period (1-2-3). Coming into this game he had four games in which he finished the night with three or more points.  It was his fifth game with three or more points this season.

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov had a three-point game, too (1-2-3).  It was his sixth game this season with three or more points.  His goal was his 20^th, the second time in his career he hit the 20-goal mark and passing the 19 goals he had in each of the previous two seasons.

-- John Carlson…three-point game (1-2-3).  It was his second game this season with three or more points.

-- This was the first time the Caps had three players with three or more points in a game since December 30^th, when Backstrom (1-2-3), Carlson (1-2-3), and Alex Ovechkin (0-3-3) did it in a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.

-- Jakub Vrana’s goal snapped a 25-game streak without a goal. 

-- The Caps were 2-for-2 on the power play, the first time they were perfect on more than one power play chance since they went 2-for-2 in a 4-3 overtime win over the Dallas Stars last January 21^st.

-- Braden Holtby stopped the last 16 shots he faced to clinch the win and end a personal six-game losing streak (0-4-2).

-- Tom Wilson had a Wilsonian sort of game… an assist, three shots on goal, five hits, two of them of the thunderous sort.

-- Jay Beagle was an amazing 13-for-14 on faceoffs (92.9 percent).  On the other hand, he was the only minus player for the Caps (minus-1).

-- The Caps went to 3-0-0 in outdoor games, their record trailing only that of the New York Rangers (4-0-0).  Those two teams are the only ones with more than two wins in outdoor NHL games.

In the end…

Good win.  Good win.  The Caps were quick out of the gate, stifled the Maple Leafs, opened a lead, and then shut it down in their own end.  Getting contributions from Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and John Carlson was welcome, and the goal by Alex Ovechkin seemed to give the team an early spark.  The best part might have been goalie Braden Holtby gaining confidence as the game went on, displaying some of the swagger and flair he has when he is on his game.  It is something that has been missing lately as he looked as if he was searching for pucks more than stopping them.

This is the sort of complete win the Caps needed to start the month and see them off for their California trip that will start in Anaheim on Tuesday against the Ducks.  It also allowed the Caps to head off with, for the moment, a two-point lead on the Philadelphia Flyers in the Metropolitan Division.  Every point is important now, and the Caps got two the “right” way in this game.