A TWO Point Night: Washington Capitals -- Game 13: Capitals 2 - Red Wings 0

The Washington Capitals opened their first back-to-back set of games of the season with a visit to Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit to face the Red Wings.  It was a largely quiet game except for a ten second burst by the Caps mid-way through the first period when they scored both of their goals, and Zach Fucale recorded a 21-save shutout in his NHL debut in the Caps’ 2-0 win.

First Period

Detroit dominated possession early, outshooting the Caps, 7-3, and out-attempting them, 15-7, in the first ten minutes.  But it would be the Caps to open the scoring. Evgeny Kuznetsov collected a loose puck behind the Detroit net, circle out, and fed Dmitry Orlov for a one-timer that beat goalie Thomas Greiss on the blocker side to make it 1-0, 12:43 into the period.

The Caps scored again ten seconds after the Orlov goal. Lars Eller potted his first of the season, taking control of a loose puck just inside the offensive blue line, cutting through a pair of defenders, and beating Greiss with a forehand shot from the top of the crease at the 12:53 mark.

Detroit was awarded the game’s first power play in the last minute of the period when Tom Wilson was sent off for holding.  Detroit did not convert with only 13.6 seconds to work, but the remainder of the time would carry over into the second period.  The Caps went to the locker room up, 2-0.

-- Detroit outshot the Caps, 11-10, and out-attempted them, 24-16.

-- Connor McMichael led the Caps with three shots on goal

-- Washington was smoked in the faceoff circle in the period, winning only six of 20 draws (30.0 percent).

Second Period

Detroit went a man up for a second time when Evgency Kuznetsov tripped Lucas Raymond at the 5:56 mark.  Washington mauled the Red Wings on the penalty kill and skated it off successfully.

Washington was given their first power play of the evening when Moritz Seider was called for interference at the 8:46 mark.  The Caps went up two men when Filip Hronek was sent off for delay of game/puck over the glass at 8:57 of the period.  The Caps had a few good looks, but they failed to make good on either the 5-on-3 or ensuing 5-on-4 advantage.

Washington got its third power play when Michael Rasmussen high-sticked Tom Wilson at the 13:29 mark.  That penalty was killed off, and then Connor McMichael was ticketed for interference at 15:42 of the period for the Caps.  The Caps had a shorthanded chance early in the penalty, but Carl Hagelin’s shot from a sever angle was foiled by Greiss.  Hagelin then went to the box for tripping at 16:19, putting the Red Wings two men to the good.

The Caps killed off the 5-on-3 portion of the penalty, and Connor McMichael, exiting the box, had a breakaway chance.  He tried to backhand the puck past Greiss’ left pad, but the puck skittered along the goal line and settled under Greiss’ right pad.  Washington killed off the 5-on-4 portion of the penalty to preserve their two-goal lead, which is the way the period ended.

-- Washington outshot the Red Wings, 12-4, and out-attempted them, 17-14.

-- The Caps finished the period with 11 blocked shots, all by defensemen (Schultz: 2; Jensen: 3; Orlov: 3; Fehervary: 1; Carlson: 2).

-- Schultz was the only Capital without a shot attempt through 40 minutes.

Third Period

Washington went to their fourth power play 1:25 into the period when Gustav Lindstrom was sent off for cross-checking.  The Caps came up empty with the man advantage, though, and it remained a 2-0 game.

The Caps seemed to have the better of the chances after that but could not find that third goal.  Detroit went to an empty net with more than two minutes remaining looking for some life.  It was to no avail as the Caps closed out the contest, giving Zach Fucale the shutout in the 2-0 win.

Other stuff…

-- From NHL Public Relations: “The Capitals have scored two goals in a span of 10 seconds or less for the 11th time in franchise history. It was the fastest since Alexander Semin and Sergei Fedorov scored nine seconds apart on April 3, 2009.”

-- The Caps were absolutely suffocating on defense in the last 40 minutes, allowing the Red Wings only ten shots on goal.

-- The Caps outshot the Red Wings, 29-21, and out-attempted them, 51-49.

-- Alex Ovechkin finished with no shots on goal, the first time this season he was blanked on the shot meter.  The last time he was blanked was last May 3^rd, when he was held without a shot on goal by the New York Rangers.  The Caps won, nevertheless, 6-3. It was the only instance last season when he was held without a shot on goal.  It was the 17^th time in 1,210 games in his career that he was held without a shot on goal.

-- Daniel Sprong, Connor McMichael, and Evgeny Kuznetsov led the team with four shots apiece; each of them also had five shot attempts to lead the team.

-- Martin Fehervary led the team with four credited hits.

-- Washington was charged with only five giveaways, Ovechkin had three of them.

-- Dmitry had five of the Caps’ 15 blocked shots for the evening.

-- John Carlson led the team with 24:13 in ice time.  Kuznetsov and Ovechkin each logged more than 22 minutes.

-- Zach Fucale played 201 games in minor league hockey with nine different teams (85 in the AHL, 116 in the ECHL) before getting his NHL debut.  What a long road it was.  The shutout in his NHL debut was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

 

In the end…

 

The Caps defense played their best game of the year and one of the best games they played in quite some time.  But the night belongs to Zach Fucale, who is probably the happiest player in the NHL this evening.  Shutouts are always to be cherished, but to get one in one’s NHL debut?  Simply amazing.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 14: Capitals at Blue Jackets: November 12

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals complete their back-to-back set of games for this week when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets and their infernal goal cannon at Nationwide Arena on Friday night.  Columbus goes into the game on a three-game winning streak, their longest of the season to date.  Two of the three games took extra time, and the third featured a late empty net goal for the Jackets in what would be a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Columbus has never been what one would call an “elite” scoring team, but this year’s squad is averaging 3.10 goals per game, second-best in franchise history (3.12 goals per game in 2018-2019).  No Blue Jacket has ever topped 300 goals with the franchise, and only two players have ever topped 200 goals (Rick Nash: 289; Cam Atkinson: 213).  The active leader among Columbus players in career goals with the franchise is Boone Jenner (127).  Jenner has been earnestly adding to his career total, leading the team in goals this season (six).  Jenner made a statement in 2015-2016 when he recorded 30 goals in 82 games, becoming at the time just the sixth player in Blue Jackets history to have at least one 30-goal season.  Since then, however, he has become a somewhat reliable secondary scorer, but he has not recorded as many as 20 goals in any of the five seasons since that 30-goal season.  Last season he finished with a career low eight goals in 41 games, but he missed 15 games at the end of the regular season to a broken finger.  Jenner has six goals in ten games so far this season.  No player in the league so far this season has more goals with only one assist.  He and Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman are 6-1-7.  Jenner is 1-6-7, minus-7, in 26 career games against Washington.

Seth Jones is gone, manning the blue line for the Chicago Blackhawks.  And that means Zack Werenski is the player who will bear the broadest responsibility for the Blue Jackets’ defense.  Now in his sixth season in Columbus, Werenski is already seventh all-time in games played in team history (345) and culd pass Jones (381) for fifth place on that list this season.  He is the all-time leader in goals scored by a Columbus defenseman, and by a wide margin (67, to 50 for Jones).  He is third in assists (128) and second in points (195).  Only Jones has more game-winning goals (12) and overtime goals (eight) than Werenski (ten and five).  And this season he is getting ample opportunity to climb those lists.  He lead the team’s defensemen in points (six), power play points (two, the only two power play points for Columbus defensemen), shots (35, almost three times as many as Jake Bean (13)), total ice time per game (26:11, fifth in the league), power play ice time per game (3:27), and he is third in shorthanded ice time per game (2:34).  On the other hand, he has a minus-2 goal differential at even strength (seventh of nine defensemen to dress for Columbus this season), and he has been on ice for ten goals against at evens, most on the team, which might not be that surprising given the ice time he consumes.  Werenski is 2-3-5, minus-1, in 14 career games against the Capitals.

As far as goaltending goes for the Blue Jackets, it is a matter night and day.  On the dark side of night there is Joonas Korpisalo, who is 2-2-0, 343, .905, in four appearances. On the bright side of day there is Elvis Merzlikins, who is 5-1-0, 1.98 (sixth in the league; minimum: 250 minutes), .940 (fourth in the league).  Only once in six appearances to date has he had a save percentage under .940.  That, unsurprisingly, came in his only loss, a 4-0 decision at the hands of the New York Rangers in which he stopped only 33 of 37 shots (.892).  It is the only instance so far this season that he allowed more than two goals.  Now in his third season after having been the seventh goaltender taken in the 2014 Entry Draft, he is having a career year.  But he is distinctly a “home” goalie.  In his three years to date he is 18-6-5, 1.97, .938, with six shutouts at home, but only 8-16-8, 2.96, .907, with one shutout on the road.  Merzlikins has never faced the Capitals.

1.  Columbus has allowed only 17 goals at 5-on-5, tied with Vancouver and the New York Islanders for  fourth-fewest in the league.

2.  Only Vancouver has scored fewer first period goals (five) than the Blue Jackets (six, tied with Tampa Bay and Arizona).

3.  Columbus is 31^st among 32 teams in credited hits per 60 minutes (15.14); only Buffalo has fewer (14.53).

4. Only the new York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins have fewer penalty minutes (73 and 72, respectively) than the Blue Jackets (86, tied with Buffalo).

5.  Columbus has scored first only three times in ten games, winning each of them.

1.  The Caps are consistent in goal differential by period – plus-5 in the first period (12-7), plus-5 in the second period (17-12), and plus-4 in the third period (13-9).  There remains that pesky minus-4 in overtime.

2.  Washington is second in the league in goals scored at 5-on-5 (30), trailing only Florida (30).

3.  The Caps have not won a game when trailing after a period this season, 0-0-2 when trailing after one period, 0-2-1 when trailing after two periods.

4.  The Capitals have been outshot in games only twice in 12 games and have a 1-0-1 record in those games.

5.  The Caps are still the only team in the league that has not taken a major penalty this season.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Columbus: Cole Sillinger

November has been kind to Cole Sillinger. Yes, the Blue Jackets have played only twice so far this month, but Sillinger is 3-1-4, his three goals and four points, leading the team in both categories, and one of the goals a game-winner, that coming in s 4-2 win over Colorado last Saturday.  Sillinger was taken 12^th overall in last July’s entry draft, and he is one of only three skaters of this draft class to have dressed for an NHL game this season, leading the trio with ten games played.  He might be the goal scorer the Blue Jackets have lacked, based on his amateur hockey numbers.  In 52 games with Medicine Hat in the WHL, he was 22-33-55, and last season with Sioux Falls in the USHL he was 24-22-46 in 31 games.  His four goals to date ranks fourth in this year’s rookie class, and his six points are tied for seventh.  Sillinger has not faced the Caps yet in his career.

Washington: Martin Fehervary

There is no major award for top rookie defenseman, but if there was, Martin Fehervary might be a finalist, based on his early numbers.  He is tied for sixth in points by a rookie defenseman (two), tied for 12^th in plus-minus rating (even), tied for fifth in shots on goal (12), first in credited hits (33), tied for second in blocked shots (22), tied for eighth in takeaways (two), third in on-ice even strength goals for (nine), seventh in overall ice time per game (18:34), and third in shorthanded ice time per game (1:49).  He has shown no butterflies skating with John Carlson on the top defensive pairing, although of some concern is his 0-0-0, minus-5 rating in his last six games while averaging 18:05 in ice time per game after going 1-1-2, plus-5, averaging 19:02 in ice time over his first six games this season.  Of note, the Caps are 4-0-1 when he skated at least 19:11 in ice time, 2-2-3 when he skated less time.  Fehervary has never face Columbus.

In the end… 

This is the first test of the season for the Caps skating the second game of a back-to-back.  It will be a test of focus and endurance after facing a speedy Detroit team on Thursday night.  Simplifying the game – the usual strategy for teams on the road – could be especially important.  Columbus is not the kind of team that gets into many high scoring, end-to-end matchups, so this opponent might make the Caps’ job of keeping things simple just a bit easier. 

Capitals 3 – Blue Jackets 2

 

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 13: Capitals at Red Wings: November 11

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals hit the road for the first back-to-back set of games of the season, opening their road trip with a visit to Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit to face the Red Wings.  This will be the first of two visits the Caps will make to the Motor City in the regular season and their first since beating the Red Wings, 5-2, back in November 2019.

Detroit won the first meeting of the teams this season, a 3-2 overtime decision on October 27^th.  Dylan Larkin scored the game-winner in the extra session, which was the last goal he scored until he potted the game-winner in a 4-2 win over Edmonton on Tuesday night.  Larkin has missed time this season, absent for a week to a family emergency.  But despite the interruption in his participation, Larkin is having a good start to the season, going 4-5-9, plus-3, in his first ten games.  Larkin would appear to be at a critical juncture of his career.  Over his first four seasons, he was 88-125-213 in 318 games, a 23-33-56 scoring line per 82 games, with 32 goals and 73 points in 2018-2019, the last of those four seasons.  In 2019-2020, Larkin slipped a bit in goal scoring (19 goals in 71 games), but he kept his point total robust with 34 assists to finish with 53 points.  Last year, though, he finished 9-14-23 in 44 games.  His productive start this season hints at his becoming a core element in the Red Wings’ efforts to return to competitiveness.  He is averaging 0.90 points per game, third on the team behind Tyler Bertuzzi (1.36) and Lucas Raymond (1.00).  Larkin is 3-6-9, plus-2, in 14 career games against Washington.

All eight defensemen to dress for the Red Wings so far have recorded at least one point.  That group is led in scoring by Moritz Seider (2-9-11), one of only two Detroit blueliners to record a goal (Filip Hronek is the other).  Seider was the sixth-overall pick and second defenseman taken in the 2019 Entry Draft.  He did not dress for a game in North America until he took the ice in the Red Wings’ season opener against Tampa Bay, posting a pair of assists in his NHL debut.  He has been a critical element for the Detroit defense, logging 22:25 in ice time per game (second among defensemen), first in shots on goal among defensemen (25), first in assists among all Detroit skaters (nine), and first in power play points among all Red Wing skaters (five).  He has been a consistent contributor as well with points in ten of the 14 games in which he played.  Seider is 0-1-1, plus-1, in his only appearance against the Caps. 

Goaltender Thomas Greiss has been, as they say, around.  In his 13^th NHL season, he is with his fifth NHL team in the Red Wings, for whom he has skated since signing a two-year/$7.2 million contract with Detroit in October 2020.  The Red Wings are the only one of the five teams for which he has played that Greiss has a sub-.500 win-loss record (12-18-8).  His goals against average with the Wings (2.80) is the worst among the five teams for which he has played, and his save percentage (.911) is second worst (.908 in 20 games with Pittsburgh).  He has been up and down this season, posting save percentages of .950 or better in three of seven appearances and a save percentage under .900 three times.  After winning his first two decisions of the season, Greiss is 2-3-0, 4.23, .881 in his last five appearances.

1.  Only Columbus has allowed more shots on goal per game (34.8) than Detroit (34.4).

2. Only Florida has scored more third period goals this season (19) than the Red Wings (18, tied with Edmonton).

3.  The Red Wings are tied for third in the league in 5-on-5 goals scored (26).

4.  Detroit ranks 30^th of 32 teams in credited his per 60 minutes (17.63).  Only Columbus (15.14) and Buffalo (14.53) have fewer.

5.  The Red Wings are tied for second in the league in empty net goals scored (five, with Carolina).  Only Florida has more (six).

1.  The last time the Capitals visited the Red Wings, Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick plus an assist for a four-point game, his last four-point game on the road.

2.  Washington ranks 29^th of 32 teams in penalty killing on the road (63.6 percent).

3.  The Caps play heavy, you say?  Of 22 skaters to dress for the team so far, 21 have been credited with at least one hit.  Only Aliaksei Protas, who has but one game played, is without one.

4.  Alex Ovechkin has been sneaky with the takeaways.  With Hendrix Lapierre having been reassigned to juniors, Ovechkin is now the team leader with 2.29 takeaways per 60 minutes.

5.  The Caps are averaging 3.58 power play opportunities per game.  Among Eastern Conference teams, only Carolina averages more (4.00, first in the league).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Detroit: Lucas Raymond

It did not take Lucas Raymond long to reach the NHL and to make an impression.  Taken as the fourth overall pick by Detroit in the 2020 Entry Draft, he played a season for Frolunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League, going 6-12—18, plus-1, in 34 games, participated in the World Juniors championship, going 2-3-5, plus 2, in five games, and his apprenticeship was over.  The 19-year old made the Red Wings roster out of training camp, and he stormed out of the gate.  He recorded an assist in his first NHL game, went 1-2-3, plus-1, in his first five games, and then he recorded his first hat trick, with an assist tacked on for good measure, in a 6-3 win over Chicago on October 24^th.  He has hardly slowed down since that four-point performance, going 2-5-7, minus-2, including a three-assist effort in a 4-3 overtime win over Buffalo, in his last eight games.  And, he is producing at this level while averaging just 16:17 in ice time per game.  In his lone appearance against the Caps earlier this season, he has an assist and a plus-1 rating.

Washington: Connor McMichael

It is hard at times to realize that Connor McMichael is: a) a rookie, and b) just 20 years old.  He had one game to put on his resume last season, no points and a pair of penalty minutes, but in ten games so far this season he is 2-3-5, even.  He is tied for tenth among rookies in points, tied for 13^th in goals, and tied for fifth among rookie forwards in even strength points (five, minimum: five games).  But scoring is not all of his game.  His 2.08 takeaways per 60 minutes ranks tenth among 43 rookies appearing in at least five games, and his 59.2 shot attempts-for percentage on ice leads all Capitals who have played in more than one game.  He has work to do, as is to be expected for a rookie – his 36.1 percent faceoff winning percentage on 86 draws is an example.  In his lone appearance against the Red Wings, he is without a point and has a minus-2 rating.

In the end…

These are not, at least for now, the Detroit Red Wings that have not had a points percentage over .500 since 2015-2016, the last season in which they reached the playoffs.  They are in second place in the Atlantic Division through Tuesday’s games and have a 4-1-2 record on home ice, all four of their wins by multi-goal margins.  This will be no walk-over game for the Caps, who appeared to take the Red Wings a bit lightly in their first encounter at Capital One Arena a couple weeks ago.  The Caps need to take this team seriously for 60 minutes. If they do not, the back-to-back games (they face Columbus on Friday) will get off to a bad start.

Capitals 4 – Red Wings 2