A TWO-Point Night: Washington Capitals -- Game 14: Capitals 3 - Penguins 1

The Washington Capitals wrapped up their two-game set in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night with a 3-1 win – their first over the Penguins this season – to earn a split of their two-game set and jump over the Pens into fourth-place in the East Division.

 

First Period

It did not take long for the Caps to put themselves in a hole.  Zdeno Chara was sent to the penalty box 1:53 into the game on a holding call, putting the Pens on a power play.  Then, Garnet Hathaway joined Chara in the box for goaltender interference at 3:32, giving Pittsburgh a 21 second 5-on-3 advantage.  The Caps’ penalty kill came through, though, killing off both ends of the Penguin power play.

The early power plays gave the home team momentum in the possession area, but they could not convert, and the Caps clawed back some of that momentum over the last half the period, which ended scoreless.

-- Despite being out-shot, 10-5, over the first 7:29, the Caps rebounded to out-shoot the Pens, 10-3, over the last 12:31 to take a 15-13 edge in shots to the locker room.  Pittsburgh still had a 21-18 edge in shot attempts.

-- While the Pens recorded five shots on their two power plays, the Caps led in even strength shots, 11-8.

-- Nick Jensen led the Caps with four shots on goal and four shot attempts.

-- The Caps were 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) on faceoffs in the first period. Nic Dowd was a perfect 5-for-5, while Evgeny Kuznetsov was 1-for-6 (16.7 percent).  Dowd was the only Capital to win more than one draw in the period.

Second Period

It was the Penguins’ turn to go short early as the period opened, Jake Guentzel heading to the penalty box on a holding call just 13 seconds into the period.  But like the Pens in the first period, the Caps were unable to convert the opportunity, posting two shots on goal, both from Alex Ovechkin.

It would be the Caps drawing first blood, however, when Conor Sheary scored at the 4:52 mark, snapping a shot from the right wing circle over the left shoulder of goalie Tristan Jarry.  The play was made, however, when Nick Jensen outfought two Penguins to pry the puck out of the corner and feed it to Richard Panik at the goal line, who relayed it to Sheary.

On the ensuing faceoff, Evgeny Kuznetsov was tripped by Evgeni Malkin, and the Caps had their second power play of the evening.  The Caps did not convert, though, and they skated on with their one-goal lead.

Washington got their second power play of the period when Pierre-Olivier Joseph went off for high-sticking at the 9:12 mark.  The Pens had a shorthanded opportunity early in the power play, but a Brandon Tanev breakaway was stymied by goalie Vitek Venecek.

The Caps did not score on the power play, but they made it 2-0 shortly after the Penguin penalty expired.  Jakub Vrana got his fifth goal of the season when T.J. Oshie, skating down the left wing boards, whipped a backhand pass through the defense the width of the ice to Vrana circling into the right wing circle.  Vrana whipped a shot over Jarry’s glove, and it was 2-0 at the 11:31 mark.

Pittsburgh’s lack of discipline rose up again at the 18:16 mark when Mike Matheson took a minor penalty for goaltender interference.  The Caps did not convert, but they carried 44 seconds of man-advantage time in to the third period.

-- The Caps out-shot the Pens, 19-5, in the second period, and they out-attempted them, 27-12.

-- Lars Eller led the club through two periods with six shots on goal.

-- John Carlson’s 16:18 in ice time through two periods was almost two full minutes more than the next Capital (Ovechkin: 14:38).

Third Period

The Caps got off to a fine start in the final frame when Lars Eller made it 3-0, 1:09 into the period. Richard Panik wrestled a loose puck from two Penguins in the left wing circle and created some separation to give him a passing lane to Eller in the low slot.  The pass was right on Eller’s tape, and he smacked it past a diving Jarry to give the Caps the three-goal lead.

It got worse for the home teams when Joseph went off on his second penalty of the night, interference at 6:57 the call.  Washington was unable to convert, but the power play did shave another two minutes off the clock, which was almost as good in a three-goal game.

The shutout bid by Vitek Vanecek came to an end at the 15:05 mark when Zach Aston-Reese took advantage of Justin Schultz pushing John Marino into Vanecek, giving Aston-Reese an opening for his shot to break the shutout.

Things got more interesting with just over a minute left when Sheary was whistled for hooking, giving the Pens a 6-on-4advantage with their net empty.  Pittburgh could not find the back of the net with the advantage, though, and the Caps ended their losing streak, 3-1.

Other stuff…

-- The Caps had four shorthanded shots on goal in the first period, ten power play shots on goal in the second period.

-- Conor Sheary’s goal was his third of the season.  On the same scoring play, Richard Panik and Nick Jensen both recorded their third assists of the season.

-- This was the first time this season that the Caps had as many as five power play chances.  It was the first time they enjoyed that many since they had five in a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia last March 4^th and the first time on the road since they had six in a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils last February 22^nd, the night Alex Ovechkin recorded his 700^th career goal.

-- Washington outshot Pittsburgh, 42-27. It was the first time they recorded more than 40 shots in a game since January 7^th last season when they had 41 in a 6-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.  The last time they had more than 40 in a road game was December 23, 2019 in Boston, a 7-3 loss to the Bruins.

-- The Caps out-attempted the Penguins, 60-46.  After the Pens out-shot the Caps, 10-5, to start the game Washington out-shot the Penguins, 37-17.

-- Of 42 shots on goal for the Capitals, 17 came on special teams (four shorthanded and 13 on power plays).

-- Lars Eller led the Caps with seven shots on goal, and Nick Jensen added five to lead the team.

-- Washington and Pittsburgh split 58 faceoffs down the middle, 29 wins apiece.

-- John Carlson was the only defenseman to log more than 20 minutes (25:09).

-- This was the first game since his NHL debut against Buffalo on January 15^th that Vitek Vanecek allowed fewer than two goals and only the third time in 12 appearances that he allowed fewer than three. 

In the end…

Neither of these teams are at the top of their game, and it showed over significant stretches in this game.  The Penguins could not take advantage of dominating possession early, and the Caps could not convert power plays.  In that respect, the longer this game went, the more one thought the Caps should have had more than a three-goal lead in the third period.  But it was a win, against Pittsburgh, in their barn.  It still doesn’t get much better than that.

Washington Capitals: That Was The Week That Was - Week 5

Week 5 for the Washington Capitals was a one-game week, and it was a bust at that.  By week’s end, the fine start to the season, at least insofar as wins and losses were concerned, were a memory.  The Caps posted their second consecutive losing week, but they had a full week to ponder their situation before beginning Week 6 as games with Philadelphia and Buffalo (the two-game set) were postponed due to COVID issues.  Fitting for an abbreviated week, we take an abbreviated look at the week that was.

Record: 0-1-0

One game, one loss, one ugly 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.  The details are here. 

Offense: 4.00/game (season: 3.58 / 2nd)

Four goals would be enough to win most games.  In 300 games in which they scored four or more goals since 2010-2011, the Caps won 268 times (14 losses in regulation, 18 extra time losses). They did not win their 301^st game in that span of four-goal games. 

Defense: 7.00/game (season: 3.58 / 27th)

In that same span of time, starting with the 2010-2011 season, the Caps allowed seven or more goals only 13 times.  They lost in every instance, as one might expect (0-10-3).  They lost their 14^th instance, too.

Goaltending: 6.07 / .727 (season: 3.27 / .895)

Not a good week, but at least Craig Anderson saw his first action as a Capital.  The bad news…he gave up a goal on the first shot he faced as a Cap, coming into the game in relief of Vitek Vanecek, who was excused from duty after two periods, the first time he was pulled in his NHL career.

Power Play: 1-for-1 / 100.0 percent (season: 37.0 percent / 1st)

One shot, one goal, one successful power play, 23 seconds elapsed.  When you have Alex Ovechkin, those things can happen.  But one power play?  Not enough.

Penalty Killing: 4-for-4 / 100.0 percent (season: 81.4 percent / 13th)

Four shorthanded situations, four penalties killed, one shot on goal allowed in eight minutes of shorthanded ice time.  Hard to do better, except for the four shorthanded situations part.  Too many.

Faceoffs: 21-for-44 / 47.7 percent (season: 46.7 percent / 27th)

Not a good week, not a terrible week.  A “typical” week.  Dowd had a good week in this category, though.  Backstrom, not so much.

Goals by Period:

That third period.  The goal 31 seconds into that period by Sean Couturier to give the Flyers the lead took all the air out of the Caps’ balloon.

Year-over-Year:

The slippage in recent games is clearly evident here, as the Caps have dropped under the performance level of last year’s club through 12 games in almost every category.  Even the improvement in power play efficiency is largely cancelled by 35.7 percent fewer power play chances, year over year.

In the end…

When does a “slide” become a “slump?”  The Caps have lost three consecutive games in regulation, something they did not do all last season and have not done since they lost four in a row – Games 45-48 – in 2018-2019 (that came during an overall seven game losing streak of 0-5-2).  The Caps are teetering on the brink of “slump,” something they can avoid with getting their full roster intact once more and a good Week 6 that starts against their long-time rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on Sunday afternoon.

Three Stars:

• First Star: Tom Wilson (1-3-4, even, four shots on goal, seven shot attempts, three credited hits, one takeaway, one blocked shot in 21 minutes of ice time, 3:34 of it on penalty kills)
• Second Star: Alex Ovechkin (2-2-4, minus-1, four shots on goal, nine shot attempts, two credited hits, one blocked shot)
• Third Star: Nicklas Backstrom (1-2-3, even, three shots on goal, three shot attempts, one takeaway)
  

 

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Games 13/14: Capitals at Penguins, February 14/16

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

After a week hiatus due to postponements of games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres, a product of COVID protocols, the Washington Capitals are scheduled to return to the ice on Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first of a two-game set at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.  The teams will meet for the second game of the set on Tuesday evening at the City of Bridges.

The Penguins come into this game a team that is grinding through it schedule the way a new car driver in the old days might have been grinding his gears because he did not know how to use a clutch.  Since posting their only win in regulation this season, a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on January 24^th, the Penguins are 2-3-1, both of their extra time wins earned in third period come-from-behind-to-tie fashion before they took the extra standings point in extra time, a 5-4 win in overtime over the Rangers and a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders in a Gimmick last Thursday.

Even though the Penguins have considerable offensive talent at forward, how Sidney Crosby goes is still largely how the Penguins go.  And over this 2-3-1 stretch, Crosby has not been particularly Crosby-esque.  Over those six games he is 1-2-3, minus-3, and is without a power play point (as is the rest of the team).  He does, however, have a game-deciding Gimmick goal that was the difference in the 4-3 win over the Islanders on Thursday.

But for three games against the New Jersey Devils that were postponed due to COVID issues with the Devils, Crosby would likely be celebrating against the Caps his 1,000th NHL game played.  As it is, he stands at 996 games as an NHLer.  And while the season is yet young, even a player as gifted as Crosby cannot push back time forever.  Through 12 games, his 0.33 goals per game is the lowest of his career, as is his 0.50 assists per game. He stand at “only” 0.83 points per game, and while this would be an enviable rate of production for the majority of NHL players, Crsoby has never averaged less than a point a game for a season in his career.  It would surprise no one if Crosby went on a scoring spree that netted him 15 points in his next half-dozen games.  Then again, perhaps we are seeing a hint that “The Kid” is no longer the kid, a hint of what lies in store for Crosby as it does for every NHLer at some point.  If you think this is incredible, consider that the word “trade” has been attached to Crosby’s name, a matter unthinkable until now.   Crosby is 27-50-77, minus-3, in 54 career games against the Caps.

There are two things the Penguins have not had from their defense this season: scoring and continuity.  As to the latter, only one Penguin defenseman among the 11 to dress for the club has appeared in all 12 games.  As to the latter, only three Penguin defenseman have recorded a goal, each with one apiece, and only three have more than one point.  John Marino is the only defenseman to dress for all 12 games played by the Pens to date, but he is not one of the three players to have recorded more than one point.  His lone assist, not to mention his defenseman-worst minus-4 rating, is attention grabbing.

It is either an unexpected development for a promising youngster, or it is an example of the dreaded “sophomore slump.”  Last year, in his rookie season, Marino went 6-20-26, plus-17, in 56 games, a season good enough for him to finish eighth in Calder Trophy voting for top rookie.  This season, he is 0-1-1, minus-4, in 12 games and has yet to record a point on home ice.  In addition, it is difficult to score goals when pucks do not reach the net, so his having no goals on only one shot on goal in four home games is hardly a surprise.  Perhaps his goal scoring will come, though.  Overall, he had only four shots on goal in his first eight games (averaging 22:37 in ice time), but he has eight shots on goal in his last four games (averaging 25:10 in ice time).  Marino (who was listed as day-to-day with an injury) is 0-1-1, minus-2, in four career games against Washington.

It is difficult for rookies to break into a lineup as veteran-laden as the Penguins, but defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has made an impression in the early going.  His path to the Penguins was a bit roundabout.  Drafted 23^rd overall (eighth defenseman overall) in the 2017 Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes, he never played at any level in the Arizona organization, spending two years in the QMJHL in Canadian juniors before he was traded to Pittsburgh with Alex Galchenyuk for Phil Kessel, Dane Birks, and a fourth-round pick in the 2021 Entry Draft.  Galchenyuk lasted 45 games with the Pens before he was traded to Minnesota as part of a deal that brought Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh; he later signed as a free agent by Ottawa.  Joseph spent last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL and was designated for taxi-squad assignment to start this season.  Injuries pressed Joseph into action, and he responded with a goal and four assists, his five points tied for the team lead among defensemen (with Kris Letang), and his plus-5 rating is tied among all skaters for the Pens (with Kasperi Kapanen).  This will be his first appearance against the Caps, and he will try to avoid moments like this against Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders:

1.  The Penguins have done very well against the New York area teams so far this season. Of their six wins, three came against the Rangers (3-1-0, two of the wins in extra time) and one against the Islanders (1-1-0, the win in extra time).  They are 2-3-1 against the rest of the East Division, both wins coming against the Caps.

2.  Few, if any teams, have as much a home-road disparity on their power play as the Penguins.  Pittsburgh is a league-worst 7.1 percent on the road with a man advantage (2-for-28), but they rank tenth at home on the power play at 33.3 percent (3-for-9).  Two of those three goals came at the expense of the Caps, when they went 2-for-3 in a 5-4 overtime win over Washington on January 19^th in Pittsburgh.

3.  Only two teams in the league have allowed more first period goals than the Penguins (19): Los Angeles (20) and Ottawa (22).

4.  The Penguins are one of four teams still undefeated on home ice (4-0-0).  Carolina (3-0-0), Tampa Bay (6-0-0), and Boston (4-0-0) are the others.  The Penguins are the only team among them to secure two wins on home ice via the Gimmick.  In fact, they are the only team in the league with two wins in the freestyle competition.

5.  Sidney Crosby’s game-deciding freestyle goal on Thursday was the 99^th Gimmick goal of his career and 18^th game-deciding goal, putting him in a tie for fifth place all-time in the freestyle competition with Joe Pavelski and Mikko Koivu.

1.  The Caps stand in a unique space in the league at the moment.  Their overall scoring offense and scoring defense are equal (both at 3.58 goals per game), their home averages are the same (both at 3.71 goals per game), and their road averages are the same (both at 3.40 goals per game).

2.  Only four teams in the league have a worse net power play conversion (accounting for shorthanded goals scored against) rate on the road than the Caps (8.3 percent): Ottawa (6.3), Detroit (6.1), Calgary (3.9), and Pittsburgh (0.0).

3.  The Caps have trailed first only twice in five road games, but both ended in losses (0-1-1).

4.  Washington is finding itself too often penalized in road games.  Their net penalties taken per 60 minutes of minus-1.18 is fifth-worst in the league; only New Jersey is worse in the East Division (minus-1.71).

5.  Only two teams have spent less time on power plays on the road than the Caps (3:59): Columbus (3:29) and Anaheim (2:53)

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Pittsburgh: Tristan Jarry/Casey DeSmith

When these teams last met, in Games 3 and 4 of the season for the Caps back in January, goaltender Casey DeSmith took both games of the two-game set and allowed three goals in the first game and four in the second.  That was the low point of his season to date, but then again, his season as the nominal Penguin backup has consisted of six games.  He has not been impressive.  Among 46 goalies with at least 250 minutes played through Friday night’s games, DeSmith ranks 39^th in save percentage (.885).  And he’s the better of the two Pittsburgh netminders in that statistical category. 

Tristan Jarry has appeared in seven games, been pulled once after allowing three goals on six shots in 11:30 in an Opening Night 6-3 loss to Philadelphia, has allowed three of more goals in six of his seven appearances, and his save percentage of .857 ranks 45 in that group of 46 goalies with at least 250 minutes played.

Neither can claim the problem is due to a large shot volume burden.  DeSmith has yet to play a game in which he faced as many as 35 shots and has only had one game in which he faced more than 30.  Jarry has faced more than 35 shots once (36 in an overtime loss to Boston on January 26^th) and has faced more than 30 shots on one other occasion.  Strangely enough, those two games were among the three instances in which he stopped more than 90 percent of shots faced this season. 

Neither netminder comes into this series on a high note.  Jarry’s last outing was a 22-save effort (four goals allowed) in a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders on February 6^th.  DeSmith allowed three goals on 29 shots in his last outing, a 4-3 Gimmick win last Thursday.  Jarry has never faced the Caps, while DeSmith is 2-1-0, 2.92, .873 in three career games against Washington.

Washington: Tom Wilson

There are the intimidators, and there are the intimidated.  Tom Wilson does not display his intimidation skills outside the rules as often at this stage of his career as he did earlier in his tenure with the Caps, saving that sort of thing for being a fearsome hitter inside the rules.  As for “intimidated,” Wilson has hardly been such in road games this season.  Wilson leads the team in goals scored on the road (three in five games), is tied with Nicklas Backstrom in road points (five), leads the club in even strength points on the road (five), leads the team in shooting percentage (42.9), leads the team in hits (26), is second in hits per 60 minutes (16.56), leads all forwards playing more than one game in takeaways per 60 minutes (1.27), and he is the only forward to average at least 1:30 per game on both power plays and penalty kills (1:31 on power play, 2:15 on penalty kills).

Wilson had a six-game points streak interrupted by consecutive games without a point, but he broke out in a big way against the Flyers in his last contest, recording the second four-point game of his career (1-3-4) in the Caps’ 7-4 loss to Philadelphia last Sunday.  Wilson is 5-3-8, minus-6, in 27 career games against Pittsburgh.

In the end…

These two teams, arguably the class of the Eastern Conference over the last decade and contenders to add to their individual and team hardware collections this season, are two struggling teams.  Since the Pens’ only regulation win of the season last month, their 2-3-1 record is tied for 24^th in standings points (five).  The Caps are barely better over the same span, their 3-3-0 record ranking 23^rd (six points).

The Caps’ shake up of their hockey operations personnel after last season was, for the most part, restricted to the area behind the bench, with the additions of Peter Laviolette as head coach and Kevin McCarthy as assistant coach.  Michael Peca was added just this past week as a player development coach with the club. 

In Pittsburgh, the shake-up came in the front office in-season and in unexpected fashion when Jim Rutherford, who had been the Penguins’ general manager since June 2014, leading them to two Stanley Cups, resigned abruptly on January 27^th.  The Pens moved swiftly to fill the vacancy, and then some.  After Patrik Allvin served briefly in an interim GM capacity, the Pens hired Ron Hextall as Rutherford’s permanent replacement, and then for good measure brought on long-time NHL executive Brian Burke as President of Hockey Operations. 

The jury will not render a verdict for either of these teams on any of these moves until the spring, when we find out if one or both – or neither – of these teams reach the postseason.  For now, even for a pair of struggling teams, it is the next chapter in a long-running rivalry that has had more than its share of excitement and, at times, disappointment.  But if the Caps can take advantage of a weak (and nicked up) Penguin squad on both sides of special teams, not to mention iffy goaltending, these games could end in the win column for the good guys.  Enjoy it, if the game is played, for one does not know when COVID will come knocking again to play havoc with the schedule.

Capitals 4 – Penguins 3

Capitals 3 – Penguins 2

 

 

 

A NO-Point Night: Washington Capitals -- Game 12: Flyers 7 - Capitals 4

The Washington Capitals played their traditional Super Bowl Sunday matinee hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena.  What started in promising fashion dissolved into an affair as messy as the snowy streets from a morning storm that passed through the Washington area.  When it was done, the Flyers had a 7-4 win that exposed the Caps as a thinned out and vulnerable team, despite the goal scoring exploits of their captain.

 First Period

Philadelphia had the better of the chances early, but the Caps got the first power play of the day when the Flyers were whistled for too many men on the ice, and they made it count.  The Caps entered the offensive zone with speed, Nicklas Backstrom feeding Lars Eller, who dished the puck to Tom Wilson on the right side entering the zone.  Wilson spied Alex Ovechkin jumping in from the left side and threaded the puck across.  Ovechkin stepped up to the top of the left wing circle and ripped a shot high over the left shoulder of goalie Carter Hart to make it 1-0, 11:11 into the period.

Tom Wilson doubled the lead a little over five minutes later.  Ovechkin tried to curl and drag the puck around Phillippe Myers and did so smartly.  From the side of the net, he backhanded a pass to Wilson crashing the net, and Wilson had only to deposit the puck into the space vacated by Hart, who was busy defending the shot from Ovechkin that never came.  2-0 Caps, 16:36 into the period.

Scott Laughton got the Flyers on the board late in the period. The Flyers were able to work the puck down low, and Joel Farabee centered the puck.  It pinballed among a number of players and ended up on the stick of Laughton at the top of the crease with at which to shoot.  He couldn’t – and didn’t – miss, the Flyers cutting the lead in half at 18:33 of the period.  That was how the teams ended the period.

-- The Caps out-shot the Flyers, 15-8, but the Flyers had the shot attempts edge, 22-20.

-- Lars Eller and Tom Wilson led the team with three shots apiece.

-- The Caps had only one shot attempt blocked, that from Carl Hagelin, who was one of four Caps with three shot attempts.

-- Nic Dowd was three-for-three on faceoffs.

Second Period

The Flyers tied the game early in the second period.  Dmitry Orlov was stripped of eh puck just inside the offensive blue line, and the Flyers were off.  They worked the puck deep and with the Caps unable to secure loose pucks as they became available, Laughton scored his second of the game when he pinched in from the corner and flipped a loose puck over Vanecek’s shoulder at 2:229 to make it 2-2.

Ovechkin put the Caps back in front less than two minutes later when Nicklas Backstrom skated the puck up the right wing wall to the blue line and fed it to Ovechkin for a one-timer from the middle, the puck eluding players in front and Hart, clicking off the post to Hart’s left and in at the 4:08 mark to make it 3-2, Caps.

The Caps went short a man 30 seconds later when Nic Dowd was sent off for interference.  The Flyers did not convert the man advantage, but they did tie the game when Nicolas Aube-Kubel fed Farabee for a one-timer that beat Vanecek cleanly at 7:50 of the period.

The visitors got another power play when Richard Panik went to the box for tripping at 13:17.  The Flyers did not convert that power play either, but James van Riemsdyk put the Flyers ahead at the 16:36 mark when he fired a puck from the left wing circle that beat Vanecek on the long side into the top corner.  That ended Vanecek’s afternoon, Craig Anderson taking over.

Nicklas Backstrom got the Caps even once more in the last minute of the period.  From the right point, Tom Wilson sent the puck across the ice to Alex Ovechkin at the top of the left wing circle.  Instead of taking a one-timer, Ovechkin fed Backstrom cutting across the low slot.  Backstrom pulled the puck to his back hand and flipped it over Hart to make it a 4-4- game with 56.1 seconds left in the period.  The teams went to their respective locker rooms tied.

-- The Caps held a 30-14 edge in shots after two periods and a 45-40 advantage in shot attempts.

-- Alex Ovechiin and Tom Wilson had four shouts through 40 minutes to lead the club.  Ovechkin was tops with seven shot attempts.

-- Garnet Hathaway was credited with six hits, almost as many as the Flyers’ total through two periods (seven).

Third Period

It did not take long for the Flyers to regain the lead.  Sean Couturier scored 31 seconds into the period on the first shot faced by Craig Anderson as a Capital goalie.  The Caps were unable to clear the puck out of their zone, and the Flyers eventually worked it between the circles where Couturier spun and snapped a shot past Anderson to make it 5-2.

Then, to make matters worse, Zdeno Chara took a double minor penalty for high-sticking Couturier at 3:14 of the period.  The Caps skated off the four-minute power play with only one shot allowed.

The Flyers iced the game late when Laughton completed the hat trick, the first of his car, at the 2:09 mark, and Couturier added an empty net goal with 1:22 left for a 7-4 final in favor of the Flyers.

Other stuff…

-- Alex Ovechkin had a pair of goals and a pair of assists.  His four-point game was the 29^th of his career, tops in franchise history and one short of Dino Ciccarelli for 25^th place since 1979-1980.

-- Tom Wilson had a goal and three assists for four points, the second four-point game of his career.

-- The three-assist was the first of Wilson’s career.

-- Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists, his three-point game being the 82^nd of his career, second to Ovechkin (113).

-- The penalty killers allowed the Flyers only one shot on goal in 8:00 of power play ice time.

-- The Caps had a whopping 37-23 edge in shots on goal, and they recorded 63 shot attempts to the Flyers’ 56.

-- Craig Anderson came into the game in relief of Vitek Vanecek and allowed a goal on the first shot he faced as a Capital.

-- The Caps had one power play chance.  They lead the league in games with one or no power play chances (four).

-- This was the first time in ten games that Vitek Vanecek was relieved of his duties in a contest without finishing.

-- The fourth line of Conor Sheary, Daniel Sprong, and Phillippe Maillet (playing his first game for the Caps) logged a combined 28:26 in ice time and recorded one shot on goal (Maillet).

In the end…

Thinking dispassionately, what did one expect?  The Caps iced a top line, a third line, and what amounted to two fourth lines.  The top line was wonderful (4-7-11), the other three lines were pitiful.  The third line of Lars Eller, Richard Panik, and Daniel Carr were minus-4, minus-4, and minus-3, respectively.  And the Caps could not get a save when they needed one.  The Caps blew two leads in this game and allowed five of the game’s last six goals.  It just is not a team that can compete for 60 minutes consistently against the cream of the division, as the last two games against Boston and Philadelphia have demonstrated.

 

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

It happens.  Even over a 56-game season, there will be highs and lows, hills and valleys, ups and downs…oh hell, this week sucked.  The Washington Capitals, who were one of two teams without a loss in regulation time when the week began (the Florida Panthers were the other), ended the week having lost both games on the schedule in regulation and are now looking up at a pair of teams in the standings.

Record: 0-2-0

The Capitals were off to one of their best, if not their best start to a new season in franchise history with points in nine straight games (6-0-3) going into Week 4.  The challenge was that they were facing a strong team to open the week in the Boston Bruins, still stinging from a 4-3 overtime loss to the Caps in the first game of their two-game set.  And then, after losing to the Bruins, 5-3, the Caps faced an upstart New York Rangers team in Madison Square Garden, a difficult venue for visitors.  When the Caps dropped a 4-2 decision to the Rangers, it marked the first time since Week 16 of the 2018-2019 season that the Caps played two or more games in a week without earning a point.  And, the dropped from first to third in the East Division, behind the Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Offense: 2.50/game (season: 3.55 / T-5th)

It was a weak week for the offense, especially for the scoring forward lines.  Five different players had one goal, and Alex Ovechkin was the only one of the five scoring from among the top-six forwards.  Nicklas Backstrom was blanked on four shots on goal, as were Tom Wilson and Jakub Vrana.  T.J. Oshie, moved to center with the absences of Evgeny Kuznetsov (COVID protocol) and Lars Eller (upper-body injury), had an especially difficult week, registering a single shot on goal in the two games.  Carl Hagelin got one of the other goals, his first of the season, and Daniel Sprong, pressed into scoring line duty with the injuries and absences, scored the third goal among the forwards.  John Carlson and Zdeno Chara recorded goals for the defense. 

Eleven Caps shared in the points, Vrana (two assists) and Garnet Hathaway (two assists) the only ones with multi-point weeks.  At the other end, eight Caps did not record a point in either of the week’s games, the noteworthy absences on the score sheet being T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson, and Dmitry Orlov.  Ovechkin led the club in shots on goal (12), with Carlson next in line (seven).

Defense: 4.50/game (season: 3.27 / T-23rd)

The how many was bad enough (nine goals allowed), but the how was worse.  The defense could not keep the Bruins from wiping out a three-goal deficit and win, going away, 5-3.  Against the Rangers, it might be forgivable to give up a goal to Ryan Strome, a decent enough player, but two is pushing things.  And they allowed Anthony Bitetto, a player who had two career goals in 184 games over six-plus seasons, to score with an assist from Kevin Rooney, his first helper of the season and only his tenth assist in 103 career games.

The further one drilled down, the worse it looked.  The Caps allowed Boston 63 shot attempts in total in their 5-3 loss to the Bruins, which was actually a considerable improvement over the 88 shot attempts the Caps allowed the Bruins in the first game of their two-game set.  Of those 63 shot attempts Boston recorded against the Caps, 50 of them came at 5-on-5, the fourth highest total of the season against Washington.  The Caps had mixed results in their game against the Rangers. They allowed 31 shots on goal, below the Rangers’ 32.4 shots per game average.  And, they did permit only 39 shot attempts at 5-on-5, fourth fewest allowed by the Caps this season.  However, they did it against a team that ranks in the lower third of shot attempts at 5-on-5 (386/22^nd).

Goaltending: 3.58 / .887 (season: 3.03 / .905)

When we did our prognostications for the season, we didn’t even include Vitek Vanecek among them.  We just did not think he would get many, if any chances with the parent club this season.  But here we are, and by week’s end he started eight consecutive games.  With Henrik Lundqvist having a heart condition treated and Ilya Samsonov on the shelf under COVID protocol, the Caps are Vanecek’s team for the moment.  For the most part, he has taken advantage of his opportunity, but he had a difficult Week 4.

It was not that he was terrible.  In fact, but for a 12-for-15 third period against Boston, he would have had a decent week.  And he did have that third period (the defense in front of him left much to be desired).  On the other hand, he allowed goals in five of the six periods in which he played.  Only in his first period of the week, the opening frame against Boston, was he perfect, stopping all eight shots he faced.  He ended the week having allowed three or more goals in each of his last four games.

Power Play: 1-for-8 / 12.5 percent (season: 34.6 percent / 5th)

It was not a good week for the power play.  Eight opportunities – four against each opponent – represents something of an improvement, but one goal in those opportunities was a factor in the Caps leaving points on the table for the week.  They managed only 12 shots on goal in 15:16 of power play ice time. It was not as if the Caps suffered from having the wrong players getting shots.  Alex Ovechkin had six of the 12 shots, and John Carlson had four.  But when you add it Nicklas Backstrom’s one shot, a player who generally sets up and quarterbacks the power play from the right wing wall, and Jakub Vrana’s one shot, what is missing is a contribution from the middle and an inability to follow up on missed chances by pouncing on rebounds or loose pucks in close.

Penalty Killing: 7-for-7 / 100.0 percent (season: 79.5 percent / 19th)

Results matter, and it was a good week for the penalty killers.  They held opponents to fewer power play chances than the Caps had (narrowly), they killed off all of the shorthanded situations, and they held opponents in check in terms of shooting, allowing only seven shots on goal in 15:02 of shorthanded ice time.  It was the Caps’ first perfect week of the season after three weeks of progressively worse penalty killing.  In a difficult week, this was the bright spot.

Faceoffs: 58-for-111 / 52.3 percent (season: 46.7 percent / 28th)

The top line number was, by Caps’ standards, quite good.  But it had an odd quality to it.  Washington was very good in the offensive end of the ice, winning 22 of 37 draws (59.5 percent).  Only two of eight Caps taking draws in the offensive end finished under 50 percent for the week, but one of them – Richard Panik – only took one offensive zone faceoff.

It was a different matter in the defensive zone, where the Caps won only 11 of 33 faceoffs (33.3 percent). T.J. Oshie was the only one of four Caps taking defensive zone draws to reach 50 percent, and that just barely (3-for-6).  What was odd about both ends was how one player dominated the draws taken. Oshie took 19 of the 37 draws in the offensive end, Nic Dowd taking 19 of 33 defensive zone faceoffs.

Goals by Period:

The Caps played close to the vest for the first and second periods of games, but the third period was ghastly.  Three goals allowed in the final frame to each opponent, an empty net goal for each among that total to account for the two two-goal losses in Week 4.  On the other side, the Caps had only one third period goal for the week.  As a result, the Caps finished the week with seven third period goals scored for the season, tied for 24^th in the league.  The six third period goals allowed doubled their season total to 12, good for a tie for 19th fewest in the league.

Year-over-Year:

The Caps have now slipped below last year’s pace in almost every category in the chart below.  Among the more disturbing numbers are the 65 shots on goal differential (34 fewer shots, 31 more shots allowed), 14 fewer power play chances, and 47 fewer shot attempts at 5-on-5.  These are indicative of a certain lethargy in the Caps’ play – not forcing play and pressuring defenses to make mistakes or take penalties to prevent scoring chances. 

In the end…

The Caps are playing at the moment as if they were in the mid-winter doldrums after 50 games of a normal regular season schedule, not 11 games into a new season.  In a strange way, they look like that club from last year that, from February 1^st to the end of the abbreviated season, logged a record of 6-8-3.  If this team is headed in the same direction as that team, it is going to be a long cold winter in a short, disappointing season.  The NHL is a league where there is not a lot of difference between wins and losses, and the Caps need to get on the other side of that divide quickly.

Three Stars:

• First Star: Alex Ovechkin (1-0-1, minus-2, 12 shots on goal, two credited hits, passed Mike Gartner for seventh place on the NHL all-time goal scoring list)
• Second Star: Daniel Sprong (1-0-1, plus-1, two shots on goal)
• Third Star: Michael Sgarbossa (0-1-1, plus-2 (led team))