Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 5 - Flyers 2

The Washington Capitals power play provided a much-needed jolt of offense, even if it came from an unexpected source, leading the Caps to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night in Philadelphia.

It was Jason Chimera putting the “power” in the Caps’ power play, scoring a pair of man-advantage goals in the second period. The first came with the Flyers holding a 2-1 lead mid-way through the period. It was the result of some deft hand-eye work by Chimera and Evgeny Kuznetsov. From just inside the Flyers’ blue line, Justin Williams threw the puck across the ice to Kuznetsov entering the offensive zone. Kuznetsov managed to get his stick on an uncooperative puck, one timing the feed into a bloop pass that floated over the sticks of a pair of Flyers defenders to Chimera heading to the net. Chimera whacked the puck as it was falling out of the air past goalie Steve Mason, and the game was tied.

Williams got a goal of his own less than two minutes later when he looped around a clot of players at the top of the Flyer crease and beast Nick Schultz to a loose puck, snapping it past Mason’s left pad to make it 3-2.

Then it was Chimera again on a power play. Late in the second period, Chimera took a drop pass from Tom Wilson in the right wing circle, sent the puck back to Matt Niskanen at the right point, then headed for the slot. Niskanen fired, and Chimera got enough of the puck sailing through to redirect it past Mason and make the score 4-2 heading into the second intermission.

Nicklas Backstrom ended the scoring in the third period, but it was hard work by Tom Wilson that started the scoring play. Chris VendeVelde played the puck behind his own net to his partner, Evgeny Medvedev. The puck got caught for a moment in Medvedev’s skates, and it was enough for Wilson to pounce. He checked Medvedev off the puck and fed it in front to Marcus Johansson skating down the middle. Johansson slid the puck over to Backstrom at the inside edge of the right wing circle, and Backstrom one-timed the puck past Mason for the final 5-2 margin.

Other stuff…

-- T.J. Oshie snapped a five-game streak without a goal when he scored in the first period. He was the beneficiary of another instance of Evgeny Kuznetsov circling around the opponent’s net and back passing to the trailing player. This time, Kuznetsov sent a pass from his forehand back through the legs of defenseman Michael Del Zotto to Oshie filling in the space Kuznetsov left.

-- Kuznetsov had a pair of assists, his first two assist game since recording a pair against Edmonton on October 23rd. He has four assists in his last four games.

-- The record will have to wait another game. In his pursuit of the record for most goals scored by a Russian-born player, Alex Ovechkin was held to a pair of shots on goal and just three shot attempts.

-- Every Capital but Oshie was credited with at least one hit. Jay Beagle was credited with six.

-- Beagle also won 12 of 16 faceoffs and had an assist. If there was still a hard hat award, he might have earned it. By the way, just what is that post-game award the Caps are using this season?

-- Tom Wilson recorded two assists, his first two-helper game since December 13, 2014 against Tampa Bay, and first career two-assist game on the road.

-- Jason Chimera added an assist to his two power play goals, making it his first three-point game since April 10, 2014, at Carolina.

-- The two power play goals for the Caps was the first time they scored more than one in a contest since their 7-4 win at Edmonton on October 23rd.

-- Braden Holtby improved to 4-0-0, 1.98, .923 in games following a loss.  In baseball parlance, that’s being a “stopper.”  In this case, he is his own stopper, avoiding personal losing streaks.

-- For the second time in three games, Alex Ovechkin appeared to have set the Russian-born goal scorer record.  For the second time in three games, the goal was challenged.  For the second time in three games, the challenge was based on something Justin Williams did (in last night’s case, an offside infraction).  For the second time in three games, the challenge was upheld.  Maybe the third time will be the charm.

In the end…

There are few more pleasurable outcomes in a Caps game than beating the Flyers in Philadelphia.  Not that this Flyers team is good; they’re not (now 1-6-2 in their last nine games).  And Caps fans might take a little extra pleasure in having the Caps kick a bitter rival when they are down, especially after the Flyers had their way with the Caps last season.  But this was just another instance of shrugging off a frustrating loss a couple of nights earlier and taking care of business.  Through 14 games, the Caps do not have the look of the Ferrari that they were in 2009-2010 when they lit up the scoreboard regularly.  This club is more of an earth-mover, grinding up and disposing of whatever is in their path, ruthlessly and relentlessly.  Frankly, when they play like this, it is a pleasure to watch.

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 15: Capitals at Flyers, November 12th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

After three contests against Atlantic Division clubs, the Washington Capitals return to intradivisional battle on Thursday night with a contest against a fellow Metropolitan Division foe.  The Caps are set to visit the Philadelphia Flyers at Core States First Union Wachovia Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Both teams are coming off shutouts in their last outings, and not the good kind.  Washington was shutout by the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, 1-0, the second time they have been blanked this season.  The first was back on October 13^th in Game 2 of the season, a 5-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks.  It might be worth noting that after that result, the Caps peeled off a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season to date.

Meanwhile, the Flyers are coming off consecutive decisions in which a shutout was recorded, a 3-0 win at Winnipeg against the Jets last Saturday and a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at home on Tuesday.  That win against the Jets is the lone win for the Flyers in their last eight contests (1-5-2).

The Flyers’ offense has been all but non-existent in their eight-game slide.  The have 12 goals in those eight contests, a drought that has dropped them to 29^th in scoring offense in the league (1.80 goals per game).  Of those 12 goals, Claude Giroux has a hand in five of them (1-4-5).  Giroux is the team leader in points so far this season with nine (4-5-9).  That makes the Flyers one of two teams in the league whose team leader in points has not yet cracked the double-digit level (Anaheim is the other).  Giroux has been one of the few consistent weapons in the Philadelphia arsenal this season.  Only once has he gone consecutive games without a point (October 29-30), and he has four points in his last five contests.  Giroux is 14-13-27, plus-2, in 25 career games against the Capitals.

Brayden Schenn is the club’s leading goal scorer (5) and the leading goal scorer over the Flyers’ recent eight-game downturn (3-1-4).  Perhaps no one on the club reflects the difficulties the club has had in recent games.  During a 2-1 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames a week ago, Schenn took one in the teeth – literally – for the team…

Schenn is 5-2-7, minus-4, in 14 career games against Washington.

One of the problems the Flyers have had scoring goals is getting little contribution from the defense.  The seven defensemen for the club to have dressed this season have a total of four goals, three of them by Mark Streit.  The ten-year veteran has built a reputation of being something of a special teams specialist.  More than half of his career goals (45 of 87) have been scored on the power play, and almost half of his career points have been recorded on the man advantage (189 of 392).  He has been a bit streaky, recording only one point in his first five games of the season and only one point in his last five games.  In between he was 2-4-6 in five games.  In 34 career games against Washington, Streit is 8-17-25, minus-1.

Here is how the teams compare overall:

1.  The Flyer defense might not score a lot, but they do pile up the penalty minutes.  Through 15 games, Flyer blueliners have a total of 57 minutes in penalties (compare that to 34 in 14 games for Capital defensemen).

2.  Michal Neuvirth has gotten the call in four straight games in goal, filling in for number one netminder Steve Mason, who has missed time with a family matter and illness.  Neuvirth has had an odd go of it this season.  He has three wins, all shutouts.  In six other appearances he is 0-3-1, 3.28, .910.  It has been quite an all-or-nothing proposition with Neuvirth so far this season.

3. As one might expect from a team with as weak an offense as the Flyers, their shooting effectiveness is anything but effective.  They rank 29^th in shooting percentage (5.9 percent).  Only Anaheim is worse (5.6 percent).

4.  The Flyers have the worst first period goal differential in the league (minus-9).  Only five teams have a worse third period goal differential than Philadelphia (minus-4).

5.  Not that they have been good in their possession numbers, but the Flyers have not been as awful as their offensive performance numbers would suggest.  They rank 20^th in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (48.6) and 21^st in close score situations (48.8; numbers from war-on-ice.com).

1.  Here is your odd Alex Ovechkin stat for the game.  He had 15 shots on goal in the 1-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.  It was the eighth time in 13 games this season he recorded five or more shots.  The Caps are 5-3-0 in those games.  In the five games in which he recorded fewer than five shots, the Caps are 5-0-0.

2.  Washington has the second best shot differential, for and against, in the league (plus-5.4 per game).  Only Carolina is better (plus-5.5).

3.  The Caps had a modest two-game power play goal streak stopped by the Red Wings on Tuesday.  Oddly enough for a power play as strong as the Caps, the two-game streak tied their longest streak of games with a power play goal this season (Games 3 and 4 against Chicago and Carolina).  Washington is just 2-for-16 on the power play in road games this season (12.5 percent).

4.  Only two teams have more wins by three or more goals than the Capitals (5).  The New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens each have seven such wins.

5.  Odd team possession stat.  The Caps have had offensive zone starts at 5-on-5 of 50 percent or better in 10 of their 14 games so far.  In the four in which they did not, they won three times (against Boston, Edmonton, and Chicago), their only loss being the 1-0 loss to Detroit on Tuesday (numbers from war-on-ice.com).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Philadelphia: Steve Mason

Steve Mason has not won a game in regulation time this season in goal for the Flyers.  In eight appearances so far he has two wins, one coming in overtime against Boston on October 21^st, the other coming in a Gimmick on October 24^th.  Of 45 goalies having appeared in five or more games through Tuesday’s games, Mason is 42^nd in goals against average (3.34) and 35^th in save percentage (.902).  He has not appeared in a game since dropping a 4-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on November 2^nd.  With Michal Neuvirth having sustained an injury in the third period of the Flyers’ 4-0 loss to Colorado on Tuesday, Mason is expected to get the start against the Caps.  In 13 career appearances against Washington, he is 7-3-2, 2.65, .910, with two shutouts.

Washington:  T.J. Oshie

Since recording the game-winning goal in the third period of a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 20^th, T.J. Oshie is without a point in his last five games.  It is his longest streak without a point since he opened the 2014-2015 season with a six-game streak.  His performance on the road could use some punching up.  He is 1-2-3 in six road contests, but he is without a point in his last three road games.  He does not have a point against the Flyers since recording a goal in a 4-2 St. Louis Blues win over Philadelphia on October 22, 2011 (four games).  Over his career against the Flyers, Oshie is 2-2-4, minus-1, in eight games.

In the end…

Philadelphia is a struggling team.  They are 1-5-2 in their last eight games, and they have not won a home game in regulation in almost a month (3-0 over Chicago on October 14^th).  They cannot score with any regularity, and unless their goalie pitches shutouts, their chances of winning drop precipitously (2-7-3 in games in which they allow a goal).  The trouble for the Caps is that they have lost four in a row in Philadelphia (0-3-1) since beating the Flyers, 7-0, back on November 1, 2013.  The thing to watch is the play of Braden Holtby.  He is 4-4-4, 2.95, .900, with two shutouts in 13 career appearances against the Flyers.  On the other hand, in three games following losses this season, Holtby is 3-0-0, 1.00, .965, allowing a single goal in each game.  Getting a split on a two-game road trip would not be the worst thing for the Caps.

Capitals 4 – Flyers 1

Washington Capitals Recap: A NO-Point Night: Red Wings 1 - Capitals 0

Hockey is a team sport.  That point was driven home on Tuesday night as the Detroit Red Wings defeated Alex Ovechkin, 1-0, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.  As for the rest of the Washington Capitals, they were largely absent from the contest in which one harmless looking shot was the difference on the scoreboard.

That shot came from the stick of Andreas Athanasiou early in the third period, a shot taken off the rush from the goal line extended to goalie Braden Holtby’s right, a shot that somehow snuck between Holtby and the near post, a shot that might otherwise have been forgotten in the context of the game if the Caps had spent less time watching a teammate trying to set a record and more in tending to business.  It was enough for the Red Wings to post their first shutout since Opening Night and deny a Capital a record.

Other stuff…

-- Alex Ovechkin had 15 shots on goal, nine of them in the third period.  The shot total tied a career high, set on October 7, 2006, in a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.  He had a goal in that game.  No player since 1987-1988 has recorded as many shots in a game without scoring a goal.

-- Ovechkin had more power play shots on goal in the third period (5) than any Capital had of any kind for the entire game.  Matt Niskanen had four shots on goal for second highest on the club.

-- The loss was the first for the Caps in Detroit in regulation time since they dropped a 3-2 decision on March 16, 2011. 

-- This was the 41^st game in his career that Ovechkin recorded ten or more shots.  That is, by far, the most in the league since he arrived in 2005-2006.  Next highest is Eric Staal – nine occurrences.  In fact, Ovechkin has more ten-or-more shot games than the next seven players on the list.  They total 39 occurrences.  

-- Ovechkin skated 24:43 in ice time.  Over his career, in games in which he skated that amount of ice time or more, the Caps are 26-49-28.

-- The odd thing about Ovechkin’s 15 shots on goal?  None of them came in the second period.

-- That was the first time in the series between the clubs that the Red Wings defeated the Caps by a 1-0 score at home.  They beat Washington, 1-0, on November 17, 1987, in Landover, MD.  The author of that shutout for Detroit was former Caps coach Glen Hanlon.

-- The 1-0 loss was the first time Braden Holtby lost a 1-0 decision in regulation on the road.  His only other 1-0 loss on the road came in overtime on January 31, 2015, in Montreal.

-- Brooks Orpik skated one shift in the second period.  He went out with a lower body injury.  It is probably worth noting that over the last two periods, Nate Schmidt filled in to skate a total of 12:21 in ice time.

-- Changing of the guard in Detroit?  The shots on goal leaders with four apiece were Dylan Larkin and Tomas Tatar.  Yeah, combined they didn’t have as many shots on goal as Ovechkin had in the third period (9).

In the end…

Two words come to mind after watching this game… “move on.”  The Caps tried to get the record for most goals scored by a Russian-born player for Alex Ovechkin and didn’t.  Move on.  It was a severely lopsided attack for the Caps who didn’t bring the level of effort that Ovechkin did, and when they did, it seemed to be in trying to get Ovechkin that goal.  It made one mistake by Holtby look a whole lot bigger than it needed to be in an otherwise pretty good performance by the netminder.  Even the team defense looked pretty good, holding Detroit's leading goal scorer Gustav Nyquist without a shot on goal and doing the same to former teammate Mike Green.  It was one of those nights that could have been special, wasn’t, and now it’s time to set that aside and move on.

Induction of the NHL's Magnificent Seven

The last thing we saw before passing out in a food coma from our occasional indulgence of pepperoni, anchovy, and marshmallow fluff pizza last night was a picture on NHL.com of this year's Hockey Hall of Fame induction class.  And as so often happens when we indulge in a PA&MF pizza, we had a very active dream state.  We could not help but conjure images of which inductees would be which characters from the iconic film...

As for the characters...

“Chris,” the veteran gunslinger, fearless and a born leader.  Well, that has to be Chris Pronger.

There is the skilled, but inexperienced “Chico,” and while Phil Housley certainly did not lack for long experience in his NHL career, he spent a lot of it looking like a kid.

There is “Vin,” a well-traveled sort who cannot accept being mundane. Sergei Fedorov, one of the early entries from Russia in the NHL, had a style and skill level that was anything but mundane.

“Bernardo” worked in comparative obscurity before being recognized for his skill.  This might fit Angela Ruggiero, who excelled in the formative years of U.S. women’s hockey, medaling in four consecutive Winter Olympics and being a member of four world championship teams.

There is “Britt,” who does not shrink from a challenge and who has a variety of skills.  Not unlike Nicklas Lidstrom, arguably the most complete defenseman in the modern era of hockey.

“Lee” had to face down a crisis of confidence, not all that different from someone like Peter Karmanos confronting the challenge of growing a successful hockey franchise is a non-traditional part of the world known more for barbecue and auto racing.

And there is “Harry,” joining the adventure to seek treasure and fame, and well, Bill Hay spent 15 years as chairman and chief executive officer of the Hockey Hall of Fame, a jewel in the hockey firmament. 

And you know that Gary Bettman is "Calvera."

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 14: Capitals at Red Wings, November 10th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals embark on what amounts to “Reunion Week,” kicking off a two game road trip that will take them to Detroit to face the Red Wings and former Caps defenseman Mike Green on Tuesday and then to Philadelphia on Thursday where they could face former Caps netminder Michal Neuvirth.

First up is Washington’s first visit to Motown of the season.  It will be the 108^th meeting of the clubs, all-time, and the Caps are 44-44-16-3 against the Red Wings in their first 107 meetings.  Washington is 17-22-11-3 when visiting Detroit, but they have had recent success at Joe Louis Arena.  In their last four visits to The Joe, Washington is 3-0-1.  The Caps have been successful on the road so far this season overall as well, going to Detroit with a 4-1-0 record away from Verizon Center.

The Caps started their road season in dominating fashion, winning their first three games and outscoring their opponents – Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver – by a 16-8 margin in the process.  Their last two road contests have not featured much in the way of fireworks, the Caps scoring two goals in each game and splitting the decisions, a 2-1 overtime win over the Florida Panthers and a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers.

The 20 goals scored on the road by the Caps are shared by nine players.  Evgeny Kuznetsov leads the club with four scores, three of them coming on a hat trick in a 7-4 win over Edmonton on October 23^rd.  Kuznetsov also leads the club in points on the road with ten.

On the other side, the Red Wings are having their struggles at home.  Their 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday dropped their home record to 3-4-0 this season.  They have been outscored on home ice by a 17-15 margin, but this is a bit misleading.  Detroit won their first two home contests by a combined 7-1 margin.  They are 1-4-0 since and have been outscored, 16-8.

Overall, Henrik Zetterberg has had a hand in almost half of the goals scored by the Red Wings at home.  He is 2-5-7 for the Wings on home ice.  He is 4-11-15 overall, and he has not been held without a point in consecutive games so far this season.  Given that he was held without a point in the Red Wings’ loss to Dallas on Sunday, the Caps will have an opportunity to end that streak for Zetterberg.  In 14 career games against the Caps, he is 5-6-11, minus-1.

Justin Abdelkader and Gustav Nyquist are the goal scoring leaders for the Wings on home ice with three apiece.  Unfortunately for Detroit fans, that production came early in the Wings’ home season.  Abdelkader recorded all three of his goals in authoring a hat trick on Opening Night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, going 3-for-3 shooting that night.  In six home games since he is 0-for-12 shooting and did not record a shot on goal against Dallas on Sunday.  Abdelkader is 3-2-5, minus-3, in 11 career games against Washington.

Nyquist leads the team in goals overall (6), but his production at home has fallen off.  He had goals in two of his first three home games, but he has just one in his last one in his last four.  That one was the only goal in the Wings’ 4-1 loss to Dallas on Sunday.  Unfortunately, that goal was accompanied by a minus-3 (his goal was on a power play).  It was only the second time in 193 NHL games that he was a minus-3 in a game and the first time at home.  In six career games against Washington, Nyquist is 5-3-8, plus-2.

Goaltending has not been the problem for Detroit, either at home or in general.  Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek have split the minutes rather evenly so far, 432 for Mrazek and 405 for Howard.  Combined, they are tending goal to a 2.22 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.  It is even better at home where the goals against average is 1.89 for the two combined while sustaining a .930 save percentage.  If past is prolougue, Jimmy Howard could get the nod in this game.  Six of his seven appearances have come at home, where he is 3-3-0, 1.93, .922, with one shutout.  He did leave Sunday’s game in the third period with a head injury, but he was reported to have not been subjected to concussion protocol.

Here is how the teams compare overall:

1.  Clearly, the Red Wings miss Pavel Datsyuk.  The 13-year veteran has yet to dress this season after undergoing off-season ankle surgery.  He is said to be “close” to areturn, but it will not likely be for this game.  Datsyuk is the leader among active Red Wings in career games played with the club (887), assists (571), points (869), plus-minus (plus-242), shooting percentage (14.4 percent, minimum: 200 games).  He is second only to Henrik Zetterberg in goals (298 to 300).

2.  Detroit does not get eye-popping offense out of their blue line, but it certainly is balanced.  Five defensemen have goals this season (led by Jakub Kindl with two), and seven have points (led by Niklas Kronwall with 5).  What they do not get is power play goal scoring from the blue line.  Brendan Smith is the only defenseman with a power play goal for the Wings this season.

3.  One thing to watch in this games is shots on goal.  Caps fans probably realize that the Caps lead the league in fewest shots on goal allowed (25.2 per game).  On the other side of the ledger, the Red Wings are last in the league in shots on goal per game (25.1).  Only once in seven home games have they recorded as many as 30 shots in a game, and four times they finished with fewer than 25 shots on goal.

4.  Scoring in the first period has been a challenge overall for Detroit.  Only four teams have fewer first period goals than the Red Wings (7).   The silver lining there is that they have only allowed seven first period goals; only three teams have allowed fewer.

5.  Once upon a time, the Red Wings were possession monsters. From the 2005-2006 season through last season the Red Wings finished over 50 percent every year in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5.  Four times in those ten seasons they finished above 55 percent.  This year, they are struggling.  Detroit ranks 29^th of 30 teams in Corsi-for at fives (46.1).  Their score adjusted (46.8/29^th) and close score (45.3/26^th) are similarly disappointing.  They are better at home (50.5 overall/18^th), but they do not remind fans of the editions of Red Wings teams past in this regard (all numbers from war-on-ice.com).

1.  Let’s go with a Russian theme for the first random fact in hopes of a record-setting night.  So far this season, 30 Russian born players have dressed for NHL games.  No team has had more goals scored from Russian born players so far than the Caps.  Alex Ovechkin (8) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (5) have combined for 13 goals.  The Chicago Blackhawks have ten goals from Russian born players – Artem Anisimov (6) and Artemi Pararin (4).  If Ovechkin makes it nine goals, he will stand alone among Russian born players in career NHL goals scored (he and Sergei Fedorov, who will be in the arena for this game, share the top spot with 483 goals).

2.  Alex Ovechkin has seven assist through his first 12 games of the season.  On the one hand, that is a pace for 47 assists for the season.  He has not had more than that many since the 2010-2011 season (53).  On the other hand, he had seven assists after 12 games last year, too, then finished the year with just 21 assists in his last 69 games (a 25-assist pace over 82 games). 

3.  The Caps have a three-man rotation on faceoffs – Nicklas Backstrom, Jay Beagle, and Evgeny Kuznetsov.  How many of you had Chandler Stephenson with the fourth-highest number of draws taken (without looking)?  Stephenson has taken 49 draws, winning 27 for a 55.1 percent winning percentage.

4.  John Carlson is one of 13 defensemen averaging at least 3:30 of ice time per game on the power play.  He and Kris Letang are the only ones in that group also averaging at least 2:30 of ice time per game killing penalties.

5.  The Caps are currently plus-6 in goal differential at 5-on-5 through 13 games.  That might not sound like a lot, but it is a plus-38 pace per 82 games.  If the Caps finish the season at plus-15 or better it would be their second best goal differential at 5-on-5 since the 2004-2005 lockout.  Only in their knockout offensive season of 2009-2010 were they better (plus-72; numbers from war-on-ice.com).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Detroit: Mike Green

Mike Green’s first season with the Detroit Red Wings has started the way too many of his seasons with the Washington Capitals ended – nursing an injury.  Green started the season appearing in the Wings’ first seven games, recording a pair of assists.  However, after recording the second of his assists for the season in the first period of a game in his home town of Calgary against the Flames, he sustained an upper body injury when he was hit by the Flames’ Josh Jooris.  Green missed the next six games, returning to the lineup in Detroit’s 4-1 loss to Dallas on Sunday.  He recorded an assist, but was a minus-2.  In his eight games he has been on ice for five of the 11 goals scored against Detroit at 5-on-5.  He is still a minutes eater, though.  In each of his last four full games, Green has logged at least 22:47 in ice time, and he leads the team in average ice time at even strength (17:19 per game).  This is, of course, his first game against his old team.

Washington: Dmitry Orlov

Since Dmitry Orlov recorded a pair of goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 2, 2014, it will be 618 days, and counting, without a goal in the NHL when he takes the ice against the Red Wings on Tuesday.  That represents just 31 games of actual NHL activity in all that time, and Orlov does have four assists in the 13 games he has played to date.  Still, on a team where defensive defensemen Karl Alzner and Brooks Orpik already have goals, it would be good to get Orlov into crooked numbers.  Getting there will require some more aggressiveness in the offensive end.  In five road games he has only three shots on goal.  He has two career appearances against the Red Wings without a point.

In the end…

The Caps are playing the Detroit Red Wings, but they are not exactly the “Detroit Red Wings.”  This is not the possession dominating, deeply skilled, supremely confident squad that over a 22-year period through last season played at a 48-23-6-6 pace per 82 games (108 points), won 13 division titles, went to six Stanley Cup finals and won four Cups.  It is a team in transition, having parted ways with recently minted hall of fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom via retirement after the 2011-2012 season, and with the last sturdy links to their Stanley Cup champions – Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, and Niklas Kronwall – all north of 34 years of age.  This is a team working youth into the lineup.  For example, there is 19-year old Dylan Larkin – a 15^th overall pick in the 2014 entry draft – with 10 points in 14 games, tied for second on the team.  There is less heralded Teemu Pulkkinen (4^th rounder in 2010) with seven points in 14 games. 

Then there is the new head coach, Jeff Blashill, taking over for Mike Babcock.  Think about that for a moment.  In the 21 seasons preceding this one, 19 of them were coached, in whole or in part, by Babcock and hall of famer Scotty Bowman.  There is a lot of history weighing on this transition period for the Wings.  Add to that the fact that the Red Wings are somewhat beat up (Pavel Datsyuk Johan Franzen, Brad Richards, and Kyle Quincey on injured reserve), the Caps having had had some recent success in this building, and that they are playing solid hockey so far, the road trip should get off to a good start for the Caps.

Capitals 3 – Red Wings 2

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

Another winning week goes into the books for the Washington Capitals.  With four winning weeks in a row to start the season, the Caps have six winning weeks in the regular season in a row going back to last season.  That six-week streak matches their longest string of winning weeks from last season as well (Weeks 9-14 with a 12-2-4 record).  It is what is becoming a slow and sure path for the Caps to the upper reaches of the league standings.

Record: 2-1-0

It was the second consecutive 2-1-0 week for the Caps and the second consecutive week that they finished the week with two wins after dropping the first game of the week.  This week it was a sub-par effort against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, where the Caps came up short, 5-2.  They rebounded with a solid win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday, 4-1, then escaped what might have been an embarrassing loss by scoring with less than a second left in regulation, then winning in the Gimmick over a game Toronto Maple Leaf squad, 3-2.  At week’s end, the Caps were fourth in the league in standings points earned per game (1.54), behind only the Rangers (1.57), the Dallas Stars (1.57) and the Montreal Canadiens (1.69).

Offense:  2.67/game (season: 3.23 /game; rank: 4th)

Week 4 was one on which the Caps struggled a bit on offense.  They managed only seven goals against goaltenders (one empty netter), three against a team – Boston – with a struggling goaltender in Tuukka Rask.  They were 5-for-79 shooting at even strength against goalies at even strength for the week (6.3 percent).  Take away Alex Ovechkin’s 2-for-16 shooting, and that goes to 3-for-63 for the rest of the team (4.8 percent). 

Ovechkin and Justin Williams led the Caps in points for the week, all of Ovechkin’s points coming on goals, all of Williams’ on assists.  The last of Ovechkin’s goals for the week tied him with Sergei Fedorov for the most goals scored by a Russian in NHL history (483).  Williams’ three assists extended his points streak to five games overall.

Speaking of Williams, he is one of a pack of Capitals at the top of the Corsi-for rankings at even strength for the season (numbers from war-on-ice.com; minimum 100 minutes at 5-on-5):

Defense: 2.67/game (season: 2.38 /game; rank: T-9th)

It might have been a very good week at the other end of the ice but for that loss against the Rangers.  New York scored four goals in their 5-2 win before the game was 27 minutes old, ending the competitive portion of that contest fairly early.  It was one of those speed bumps that one must negotiate over the course of a season.  The Caps permitted only four more goals over the rest of the week.  More to the point of defense, the Caps continued to limit opportunities for opponents.  They allowed only 76 shots on goal for the week.  They have not permitted a team to record more than 30 shots in a game since San Jose finished with 32 in the Sharks’ 5-0 win over the Caps in Game 2 of the season.  They finished the week having allowed the fewest shots on goal in the league per game (25.2).

The possession numbers were a bit of a mixed bag..  Overall, the Caps were well to the good in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (56.3).  The score-adjusted value was not much different (54.9).  However, the close-score value (49.6) did not keep pace, and that was a product of a poor result against, of all teams, the Boston Bruins, who the Caps defeated, 4-1.  The Caps also lagged in close score Corsi against the Rangers, just getting to 50.0 percent although, given the nature of the scoring in that game, there were far fewer close score events (28) than there were against either Boston (51) or Toronto (58; all numbers from war-on-ice.com).

Goaltending: 2.61 / .895 (season: 2.10 / .915)

Braden Holtby got all the minutes in Week 4, and it looked a lot like Week 3.  He started with a loss to the Rangers, as he did in starting Week 3 with a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, then followed it up allowing a single goal against Boston, as he did against Columbus in Week 3.  Against the Rangers, Holtby allowed four goals on the first 11 shots he faced, then he finished the week allowing only four goals on 65 shots (a .938 save percentage). 

First periods were a bit of a problem for Holtby in Week 4.  He was 24-for-28 (.857 save percentage) for the week.  He was better as games went on.  Even with the two goals on the first two shots he faced against the Rangers in the second period of the opening game of the week, he was 22-for-24 in the second periods of games (.917).  He was also 22-for 24 in the third period and overtime of games.  It certainly was not among his better weeks this season, but he made it respectable after a poor start.

Power Play: 2-for-12 / 16.7 percent (season: 21.9 percent; rank: 6th)

Well, they scored.  After going four straight games without a power play goal, including the first game of Week 4, the Caps scored a power play goal in each of the last two games of the week.  The goal that broke the drought was one of the prettier power play goals the Caps have had recently – courtesy of John Carlson.  It was a play that showed some imagination in addressing the lack of punch and in how to use a weapon as a decoy of sorts. 

The other power play goal for the week was the product of a skill one does not normally speak of often with respect to Alex Ovechkin, and that is touch.  It was a case of being the target of a set play, but having the plan altered a bit when a pass through the crease was interrupted just enough to alter the path of the puck.  Instead of taking the pass on his forehand for a one-timer, Ovechkin had to switch to taking it on his backhand and having the touch to flip it from a bad angle past Toronto goalie James Reimer for what would be his record-tying goal for the week.

Still, there are things to work out on the power play.  The 2-for-12 overall effort same from scoring two goals on 16 shots in 20:00 of power play time (0.80 shots per minute).  The frustrating part of the week on the man advantage was the Caps failing to score on a 61-second 5-on-3 power play in the third period of their game against Toronto, getting only one shot in the process.

Penalty Killing: 4-for-6 / 66.7 percent (season: 84.6 percent; rank: 8th)

The Caps came into Week 4 as one of the better penalty killing teams in the league, and they ended the week in the same position, just a little less better.  The best part of the week was having to kill off only six shorthanded situations. This continued a pleasant trend for the Caps, facing fewer and fewer shorthanded situations on a week-to-week basis (see the table below).

The good was balanced from the bad, though, and a 66.7 percent kill rate on penalties cannot be considered good.  Part of it might be considered a bit of bad luck.  The second of the two power play goals of the week the Caps allowed came from one of those bounces that seem to define the sport.  Toronto’s Morgan Rielly feathered a pass into the middle for a redirection try by Joffrey Lupul.  He got his stick on the puck but redirected the puck into the far post instead of into the net.  The puck rebounded off the post right onto the stick of James van Riemsdyk, who had more or less an open net into which he could flip the puck.  As it was, the Caps did a good job of denying shots.  They allowed the two goals on only six shots in 11:07 of penalty killing time (0.54 shots per minute).

Even Strength 5-on-5 Goals for/Goals Against: 6-6 / even (season, 5-on-5 goals for/goals against ratio: 1.29; rank: 4th)

It looks worse than it was.  The Caps were outscored, 5-1, at evens against the New York Rangers to start the week.  That’s getting all the “bad” out of the way early.  But it was not all unicorns and accordions, either.  It would not have been an “even” week but for some equal parts persistence and luck in the dying moments of the Caps’ third game of the week when Nicklas Backstrom scored in the last second to tie their contest with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The goal was scored with the goalie pulled and the Caps with six attackers, but it is scored as an “even strength” goal.

A thing to note about the goal by Backstrom.  It was credited as being scored with 0.8 seconds left in regulation.  It was not the latest game-tying/game-winning goal in team history.  Calle Johansson scored with 0.2 seconds left in overtime against the Phoenix Coyotes at Verizon Center on January 28, 2000 in a 3-2 win.

Faceoffs: 94-for-176 / 53.4 percent (season: 50.3% / rank: 13th)

The Caps has a good week in the circle, if not a great one.  They sandwiched two fine efforts – 59.6 percent wins against the Rangers and 60.7 percent wins against Toronto – around a 42.6 percent win effort against the Boston Bruins.  Against Boston, the Caps had a hard time in the offensive zone, winning just six of 21 draws (28.6 percent). 

Four Caps took more than ten draws for the week, and they did well generally.  Nicklas Backstrom (52.0 percent) and Jay Beagle (59.6 percent) had typically fine weeks.  T.J. Oshie took 15 draws and won eight (53.3 percent).  On the other hand, Evgeny Kuznetsov was just 19 for 43 (44.2 percent), and he was below 50 percent in all three zones.

Goals by Period:

There was nothing especially extraordinary overall about the timing of goal scoring, for or against, in Week 4.  One would like to see better starts – the Caps allowed first period goals in all four games, two against the Rangers.  The good part was not allowing an even strength goal in either of the last two third periods of games of the week.

The Caps still have a knack for goals late, evidenced by the dramatic last second Backstrom goal against Toronto.  Keeping even for the week, with two goals for and two against, the Caps finished the week with 18 third period goals scored, tied for second most in the league with the Dallas Stars.  Their plus-6 in the third period is fourth-best in the league.

In the end…

Slow and sure wins the race.  The Caps do have a five-game winning streak on their record this season, but the first four weeks of the season look more like a portrait of consistency.  The odd stinker of a game sneaks in, such as that against the Rangers to open the week, but the Caps have been able to limit the damage.  They have done that largely by being stingy with respect to allowing teams to generate shots.

At the other end, the Caps were not touching off fireworks, but they did have balance.  Six players share the eight goals for the week, 12 players recorded points.  Five players have surpassed the double-digit threshold in points, and every skater that has appeared in more than five games has recorded at least one point (19 in all).  The Caps are doing enough things consistently well to build their total of standings points at a regular pace as a result.

It is something to hold on to as the Caps embark on Week 5.  They will head to the road to face Detroit, a team that has just a 3-3-0 record at home so far.  Then it will be on to Philadelphia and very possibly meeting an old friend.  Michal Neuvirth has three wins for the Flyers in goal this season, all of them shutouts.  He leads the league in shutouts at the moment.  The Caps will return home to finish Week 5 against the Calgary Flames, the first time the Caps will face a club for the second time this season.  They won their first meeting, 6-2, in Calgary back on October 20^th.  The Flames are playing a bit better than they were back then, heading into the new week with a two straight wins.  It makes for an interesting week after a successful one.

Three Stars:

• First Star: Alex Ovechkin (3-0-3, plus-2, game-winning SO goal, 21 SOG; tied record for career NHL goals scored by a Russian)
• Second Star: Nicklas Backstrom (1-2-3, GTG vs. Toronto; 52.0 percent on faceoffs)
• Third Star: Justin Williams (0-3-3, even, 9 shots on goal, 67.1 percent Corsi-for at 5-on-5)

Washington Capitals Recap: A TWO-Point Night: Capitals 3 - Maple Leafs 2 OT/Gimmick

The Washington Capitals fashioned quite the elaborate prison break from a surprisingly stifling Toronto Maple Leaf defense and another unfortunate coach’s challenge result in escaping with a 3-2 Gimmick win over the Leafs at Verizon Center on Saturday night.

Toronto opened the scoring early in the first period when Daniel Winnik seemed to catch goalie Braden Holtby looking for anything other than a shot off Winnik’s stick.  As Winnik entered the Caps’ zone down the right side, it looked as if Holtby was leaning a bit in expectation of Winnik making a pass. Instead, Winnik ripped a wrist shot over Holtby’s left shoulder on the near side, and it was 1-0, Leafs.

That goal held up into the second period, but not long after the middle frame started, Alex Ovechkin tied it on a power play.  The Caps tried to run a set play with Nicklas Backstrom moving the puck down to Evgeny Kuznetsov to the left of goalie James Reimer.  From there, the idea was for Kuznetsov to make a quick pass through the crease to Ovechkin pinching down the left side.  Kuznetsov’s passed was muffled in front, and instead of the puck ending up on Ovechkin’s forehand, it deflected off to his backhand.  He has the presence and skill to shift that way and flip a backhand behind Reimer at the 4:51 mark of the period.

The teams were locked up well into the third period when Nazem Kadri goaded Tom Wilson into taking an extra minor penalty on top of coincidental minor penalties for roughing.  Toronto scored on the ensuing power play, Jame van Riemsdyk tucking in a rebound off the post past Holtby at the 9:27 mark.

The Caps appeared to have tied the game with less than three minutes left in regulation when Alex Ovechkin flipped a no-look backhand from the top of the crease past Reimer.  However, Toronto head coach Mike Babcock exercised his unalienable right to challenge the score, based on his opinion that Justin Williams denied Reimer the opportunity to stop the puck when he brushed past (then was pushed into Reimer by Byron Froese).  After much tablet-gazing, the challenge was upheld, the goal was disallowed, and Caps fans went through the Webster’s Dictionary of Vulgar Phrases and Toasts for Any Occasion.

All of that set up a wild finish to regulation.  It was a play on which every bounce went right for the home team.  With Holtby pulled for an extra attacker, the play started with a centering pass that deflected off of Alex Ovechkin’s stick as he was tied up in front of the Leafs’ net.  John Carlson chased down the loose puck at the Toronto blue line.  He moved it down the wall to T.J. Oshie, who forwarded it down to Justin Williams low in the corner to Reimer’s right.  Williams, a right-handed shot had a passing lane to the front of the net, and he fired as the clocked ticked toward 0:00.  The puck clicked off Ovechkin’s stick once more, but floated up and through the paint to the far side of the net, when Nicklas Backstrom was waiting all alone.  The puck hit Backstrom in the chest, fell to his feet, and he managed to just get the blade on the bottom half of the puck, turned sideways in the air, before it bounced a second time.  The puck seemed to float in slow motion toward the Toronto net, slowly enough that Reimer managed to get his upper arm on the puck.  It was enough to slow further, but not to stop its forward momentum, and the puck settled onto the ice over the Toronto goal line with 0.8 seconds left in regulation.

The overtime had its moments, both goalies turning aside decent chances, but no further scoring ensued.  In the Gimmick, the teams went through their first three shooters without a goal being scored.  That brought it down to Ovechkin in round four, and he converted by deking Reimer to the ice, patiently pulling the puck back and roofing it over the sprawled goalie.  At the other end, Braden Holtby got enough of his right pad on a Nazem Kadri attempt to clinch what ended up being a surprisingly competitive game that ended with the Caps’ tenth win of the season, 3-2.

Other stuff…

-- This version of the coach’s challenge has to go.  The process is utterly lacking in consistency, and it uses inferior technology.  Every referee brings a different set of eyes and a different reading of the rule in evaluating a coach’s challenge.  And really, looking at the replay on a tablet?  These make for decisions that are inconsistent and challenge credibility on a case-by-case basis.  The scorecard after this call was 26 challenges league-wide, 18 upheld, now eight overturned.

-- What do you call it, the Alex Ovechkin Hat Trick?  Goal, disallowed goal, game winning trick shot goal.

-- When the Leafs scored first, it was just the third time in 13 games they did so.  When they took their 1-0 lead to the first intermission, it was just the second time they led after one period this season.

-- It didn’t count, but it sure was a spiffy goal, wasn’t it?

-- Correct me if I’m wrong, readers, but that was the third time this season a goal was subjected to challenge in a Caps game.  They had a goal of their own disallowed against San Jose, and they had a Columbus goal upheld earlier this season (edit: The Caps have been involved in four goaltender challenges to date -- the three described above, all ruled against the Caps, and one against Florida in which a Caps goal was upheld.  The Caps are 1-3 in favorable results so far).

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov had no shots on goal in this contest.  Since his seven-shot, three-goal game against Edmonton on October 23^rd, he has eight shots on goal over his last six games (two goals).   One of those things players work through.

-- Justin Williams was the only Capital to finish below 50 percent on draws in this game.  He was 0-for-1.  The team overall was 34-for-56 (60.7 percent).

-- Tom Wilson...seven hits, six penalty minutes, no shots on goal.  Still waiting on a spark out of his offensive game.   And that last extra minor penalty was one he really didn’t need to take (Barry Trotz seemed to think that way…Wilson didn’t see the ice again).  One had the feeling that he’s looking to get a fight out of his system just to have it and move on.

-- We understand Michael Latta not having a shot attempt; it’s what he does (he has no shots on goal in three of the five games in which he played this season).  But Andre Burakovsky?  He was getting a fair amount of second line minutes in this game.  He is now six straight games without a point after starting the season 2-3-5 in his first seven games.

-- Braden Holtby finished the game having allowed two or fewer goals in six straight home games after allowing three goals in each of his first two games on Verizon Center ice.  In his last six home games he is 5-1-0, 1.33, .948.

In the end…

The Caps looked as if this was a game they were destined to lose.  To their credit, the Maple Leafs played a very good road game given that they played the previous night (losing in overtime to Detroit) and with a talent deficit relative to the Caps.  They were particularly effective stifling the Caps’ ability to set anything up on their power play, despite allowing the Ovechkin goal on a man advantage for the Caps.  Washington managed only five shots in more than nine minutes of power play time, including 61 seconds of 5-on-3 power play time.

Now it’s off on a two-game road trip with the Red Wings and the Flyers on the schedule.  Neither is having a swell time of it lately, but both pose challenges for the Caps, who certainly did not bring their “A” game to the rink against the Maple Leafs.  But this isn’t a beauty contest, and two points is two points.