Now that the Caps have returned to the "safety" of DC, let's look at what they accomplished:
- A potentially monstrous, heartbreaking end of the season road trip ends up going the Caps' way, with only one loss in six games away from Verizon Center. That's 10 - count 'em, 10 - points out of a possible 12.
- Last night's win gives the Caps 40 on the year. The last time that happened was the 2000-2001 season.
- The Caps finish with 20 road wins. The last time that happened was the 1992-93 season, when they had 21.
- Alex Ovechkin gets 60th goal of the season...and 61st...and 62nd. And oh yeah, with every goal and assist he scores from here on out he's setting new career and franchise records. Not bad for a 22 year old kid with a missing front tooth.
- Brooks Laich hits the 20-goal mark for the first time, up from a previous career high of 7.
- Nicklas Backstrom earns his first two-goal game of his career; his point total now stands at 66, first among all NHL rookies.
- Huet runs his winning streak to six games and now has two shutouts since coming to the Caps - half of his total for the season.
- All five wins resulted in the opposition scoring three or fewer goals, including one shutout.
- 7 different players had at least one multi-point game; Backstrom and Ovechkin each had more than one.
- The Caps outshot their opponents 179-135 in their five wins and twice cracked the 40-shot mark.
Other meaningless stats:
Ovechkin - 5G, 5A, +9, 33 SOG
Backstrom - 3G, 3A, +6, 53% FO
Kozlov - 1G, 4A, +8, shootout winner
Semin - 3G
Fedorov - 3A, 41% FO
Poti - 4A, +6, 5 hits, 7 blocked shots
Green - 1G, 4A, +5, 5 hits, 8 blocked shots
Laich - 1G, 4A, 8 hits, 46% FO
Bradley - 2G, +2, 10 hits
Gordon - 1G, +3, 6 blocked shots, 62% FO
Morrisonn - +5, 7 hits
Jurcina - 12 hits, even +/-
Plus there's this little nugget of trivia - in the last ten games only one team has been hotter than the Caps, who are 8-2-0 in that stretch. That team? The San Jose Sharks, who are 8-0-2. That's right, folks, the Caps are officially THE hottest team in the Eastern Conference.
But more important than bragging rights is the fact that the Caps are still sitting just two points out of eighth, three points out of seventh, and two points out of the Southeast division lead heading into their final three games - with only Boston holding a game in hand.
Welcome home, boys!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
No Road Weariness Here
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Shooting Gallery
Courtesy of ESPN, check out the shot breakdown from last night...those are some beautiful little x's to the left, aren't they?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Food for Thought
With Saturday night's victory over Tampa the Caps earned their 28th win of the season, the same number of wins they had all last season. With one more win they tie their single season high over the last three years. The last time this team had a 30+ win season? 2002-03, when the Caps finished their 92-point season with a record of 39-29-14.
Whatever happens from here, it's important to take away the fact that the Caps are on the right track.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Soaring Into the Break
It's been awhile since the Caps have had to play a real grind-it-out type of game - in recent weeks it's been more like the last person to touch the puck wins, with several high-scoring affairs under their belts.
The Leafs inspired a different type of game, though, the type of game the Caps used to play in a pre-Boudreau era of trapping and defense-first mentality. It wasn't always pretty and it certainly wasn't always successful. The difference? Now you get the feeling that this team can snatch two points out of any situation, including but not limited to these types of games - when it used to feel like the opposite.
If Wednesday's game was a chess match between the coaches, last night's was a good old-fashioned goaltender's duel. The winner of this round was Brent Johnson, who came up huge for the Caps and gave them every opportunity to steal a game against a team that played much better in Verizon than back at home. Stopping thirty of thirty-one shots, Johnson was the deciding factor and the hero for the Caps, making sure that mistakes were nipped in the bud and frustrating the Leafs' attackers at every turn.
It was certainly Johnson's night, but don't underestimate the role of the other nineteen guys on the ice. There was some sloppy play and some defensive miscues to be sure, and we'll address that in a minute. But they also backed each other up remarkably well and came through with a gritty, hard-hitting win for their efforts.
The shot-blocking efforts of Quintin Laing continued to impress. Erskine kept up his run of solid defensive (and very physical) play. Kozlov's perfectly timed goal quashed any momentum the Leafs might have had after tying up the game and continued his recent hot streak. Ovechkin was everywhere as always, picking up two assists. And a tip-in goal by Brooks Laich not only broke the stalemate but matched his career high for goals with 30+ games remaining.
So bad stuff - well, discipline was a bit of an issue in this one and the power play, despite the last second marker by Laich, looked mostly unimpressive. They looked tired. Turnovers were rampant. Oh, and they might have broken a few of the Leafs.
They get two points, though, and now they get a serendipitous four day break to rest the weary bones and come back blazing in their last Canadian home and home against the ever feisty Habs.
As we bid Ovechkin and Backstrom good luck in Atlanta and wave goodbye to the rest of the team for a well-deserved break, it's as good a time as any to look at where we stand right now:
- With Atlanta, Florida and Tampa all dropping their games last night, the Caps slide into sole ownership of second place in the division. To put that into perspective, the gap between the Caps and first-place Carolina was fourteen points before Thanksgiving; it's now one.
(Yeah, no one else can believe it either...)
- By picking up the second half of the home and home after dropping round one in Toronto, the Caps extend their streak of not losing back to back games in regulation to an astounding 29 games. We're talking almost a decade since that happened the last time, folks.
- Last night's win also gave the Caps their fifth win in six games, their eighth in the last eleven, and a record of 15-6-3 since December 1. That's 33 of a possible 45 points during that span, a remarkable pace for a team that everyone was counting out not too long ago.
- After scoring just three goals in his first 40 games and only one since November 8, Viktor Kozlov suddenly has five goals in his last four games and has eight points in the last seven games.
- Brent Johnson has won three straight games and five of his last six, with the one loss coming in relief of Kolzig in the 6-4 loss to the Flyers. His six wins already match his total for all of last season and he's looking poised to surpass his previous high as a Capital of nine wins.
- We got Kris Beech back. Again. Yay.
- Both Backstrom and Ovechkin have been plus or even in every game since December 20th - a span of fifteen games.
- Quintin Laing has been a minus player only twice in the 23 games he's played since being called up (and also has 31 blocked shots...only two fewer than the number of shots he's taken). What a guy - he's got my vote, too...
- Backstrom has two goals and fifteen assists in his last fifteen games and has moved into second place in rookie scoring. His 32 assists are 18th in the league and he is in the top 60 scorers overall.
- After missing a good chunk of the season, Alexander Semin has suddenly found his groove again and has ten goals in his last fourteen games. He's also been a plus or even player in each of his last six games.
- Alex Ovechkin has a seven game point scoring streak going, which ties the longest streak of his career. During that stretch he's amassed thirteen points (7 G, 6 A), has vaulted into the league lead in goals with 39 and is tied for third in the league in points. He's also a team-leading +11.
Some small, tiny, miniscule areas of concern:
- Olie Kolzig. Period. There's no way around this one, he's been inconsistent from game to game and even within games, and he needs to find another level to his play - and fast.
- Matt Pettinger has struggled all year long and has just one point, an assist, since December 15th. He's also a -12 on the year - second highest on the team behind only Michael Nylander. While it's not for lack of trying, the frustration is starting to show in his game and when Clark comes back Pettinger may find himself on the outside looking in.
- The injuries to Chris Clark and Brian Pothier continue to test the depth of this Caps team. The club has soldiered on and continued to pick up points, but down the stretch their absence is going to be felt. They need to get healthy ASAP.
- It's just a little dip, but Mike Green is pointless in his last three games and recently he's had some bad turnovers that have led to goals or scoring chances for the other team. It could just be fatigue; his ice time has been up around the 26-27 minute mark over the last fourteen games and the team just completed a pretty rugged stretch. Hopefully after a nice long weekend Greenie will be back to his old self.
Overall? Things look good in CapsLand. Bring on the All-Star festivities!
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Magic Number Is...
25.
That's how many turnovers the Caps had tonight. That makes 50 in the last two games...and that's too many.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Where We've Been, Where We're Going
- First and most importantly, the Caps are 6-3-1 since Gabby took over - that's 13 out of a possible 20 points, a .650 percentage. If the Caps continue at their current pace over the remaining games they'll have about 92 points...which if you recall was the exact number the Islanders had when they squeaked into the playoffs last year. (By the way, if you stretch that out over a whole 82 game season it would give the Caps 106.6 points.) Thanks to Biff for doing the legwork, aka the math, and for the heads up.
- Before Boudreau the Caps had only managed 3 or more goals seven times; only three of those times did the Caps score at least 4. Since then the Caps have scored 3 or more goals in six of their ten games; four of those games have seen the Caps score at least 4.- Two key guys over the last ten games have been Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green. Ovechkin
has contributed 25% of the team's offense since Boudreau came on - that's actually down from the close to 30% he has over the entire season...and it's down further in the last five games, to about 10%. Meanwhile Mike Green has gone on a tear, scoring 3 goals including the game-winner in overtime last night, and now leads the league in goals by a defenseman. He's also even in +/-...
Gabby says no.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Green the Scoring Machine
Jaromir Jagr scored this afternoon in the Rangers' 3-2 loss to Dallas, giving him a grand total of five goals this year.
That's right - for about eighteen hours, our very own Mike Green had more goals than the mighty JJ.
...I don't think Jags misses Nylander at all, do you?
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Where's the Sacrifice?
After watching the Caps play two straight games where every shot they took seemed to be blocked, I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I saw our guys do that consistently. Playing a hunch I went back and did a little research, and sure enough this is another area where the Caps may need some work. Sure, defense is better overall and the shots against have been reduced, but I uncovered some interesting numbers that reveal it may not be as pretty as we thought...
- In the last two games alone opponents have turned aside 55 shots...which further explains why the Caps have only 2 goals in the last two games.
- The Caps have never blocked more than 16 shots in a single game this season, and they hit that mark only once - in the home opener against Carolina, which I think we can safely say was one of their best if not the best game of the season.
- Through 13 games the Caps' opponents have "outblocked" them to the tune of 218 blocked shots for the other guys versus 142 Caps bruises.
- The Caps have more blocked shots than their opponent in only three games, but they were heavily outshot in two of those three. Versus the Rangers last month the Caps blocked 12 to New York's 11, but the Rags got 41 shots through compared to the Caps. Then there was the Sabres game, where the Caps turned away 12 shots but let 53 more get by them...and seven of those went in. Oops.
This is a team that seems to have lost that hard-working mentality that so defined them in the first two years after the lockout. Holding onto a lead is part of that. Coming from behind to win is another. And shot-blocking is yet another part.
I'm not sure what it is. Maybe they just think they're too talented now to do the little things that count through all 60 minutes (wrong, boys...sorry). Or maybe the consistent benching of guys like Bradley and Sutherby and the demotion of Clymer to the AHL has removed the guys from the lineup who, while maybe not offensively talented would give 110% every night in past years.
Maybe we should try and steal Brendan Witt back from the Islanders.
Whatever it is, you have to think that this is just one more area that speaks to the heart of a team...or lack thereof. Guys who are sacrificing their bodies are, to use a cliche from Miracle, worrying more about the logo on the front of the jersey than the name on the back. And maybe that's what's missing most of all.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Nothing But a Number
Looking at the stats to this point there are a few things that catch your attention immediately, even with the admittedly small sample size of five games:
- Chris Clark has already racked up 8 penalty minutes, tied for the team lead with big-time scorer John Erskine. A few of those were cheesy calls, but it's not good when your captain is spending more time in the box than anyone else.
- Five of the top ten scorers on the team to this point are defensemen - Green (1-3-4), Poti (0-2-2), Erskine (1-1-2), Pothier (0-1-1) and Jurcina (1-0-1).
- Think Ovechkin is doing okay so far? Yeah, me too. He's got three goals and two assists, 22 shots on goal (which by the way is more than the Caps got in either of their last two games), and only one penalty...although admittedly a badly-timed one. Even better is the fact that he's +1 to this point.
- Nylander is a team-leading -3...and that's with two goals and two assists. Yikes.
- Through five games, Fleischmann has no goals, no assists, five shots and two minors. I'm not one to call for roster changes this early in the season but since I've been saying this since training camp I'll continue - send him back to Hershey. Now. If we wanted someone in the lineup who didn't produce offensively we'd dress Sutherby...and at least he doesn't get pushed off of the puck as much. (No disrespect to Brian - you know I love him.)
- Even after giving up 7 goals, Brent Johnson's save percentage is still above 90%, although his GAA of 4.00 is a little cringe-inducing. But come on...7 goals, whether your fault or not, will still hurt the stats. He's been very solid in net.
- Sidney Crosby has four points in four games and is a -3. Mike Green has four points in five games and is even. Just sayin'...
- After seeing pieces of Maple Leafs games over the past week and seeing all of their scores, you have to ask yourself an important question: how are three of the Leafs (including Hal Gill) in the top 15 in +/-? Just another reminder that numbers don't always tell the tale...thus rendering this entire post pointless.
Thank you and good night!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Winds of Change
One of the keys to becoming a good team, a playoff-worthy team, is finding balanced scoring throughout your lineup. You can't win on the shoulders of one or two people, no matter how talented or prolific they may be.
Last year the Caps opened the season with a loss to the Rangers and a win at home against the Canes. Through those two games the Caps had 7 goals and the scoring broke down as follows:
Ovechkin - 2 goals
Semin - 4 goals
Clark - 4 assists
Pothier - 4 assists
Beech - 2 assists
Fata - 1 goal, 1 assist
...and that was it.
Look at the difference this year through two games, with only 5 goals scored:
Ovechkin - 1 goal, 1 assist
Erskine - 1 goal, 1 assist
Kozlov - 1 goal, 1 assist
Backstrom - 2 assists
Jurcina - 1 goal
Nylander - 1 goal
Green - 1 assist
Semin - 1 assist
So the Caps have scored fewer goals and yet more people are getting involved, including a significantly improved rate of production from the blue line.
And what about shots on goal? The Caps have peppered opposing goaltenders with 73 shots through two games, and look at the breakdown:
Ovechkin - 12
Kozlov - 9
Pettinger - 8
Nylander - 8
Poti - 6
Semin - 4
Laich - 4
Morrisonn - 3
Jurcina - 3
Pothier - 3
Erskine - 3
Green - 2
Fleischmann - 2
Clark - 2
Gordon - 2
Steckel - 1
Backstrom - 1
Last year five players had no shots through two games, not including the goaltenders. This year only four players have yet to register a shot - Brashear, who has played sparingly in the first two games, Bradley, who has only played one game with limited ice time...and the goalies.
And I'm okay with Johnny and Olie not getting shots on goal.
More good things:
- Only three Caps are a minus through two games. Everyone else is even or a plus player, with the team +/- at 10.
- The Caps have only taken 9 penalties and have killed off all of them.
- 63 shots against at this point last season; 52 against this year. Even better? One goal allowed, for a combined save percentage of .981 for our goaltending tandem.
- Not to take away from the performances put in by both Olie and Johnny, either, but those numbers have more to do with the whole team playing defense and less to do with goaltending.
These are little changes and we should as always heed the caveat that it is early - too early to get overly confident about things like this. There's still work to be done before this team is ready and we've got 80 games to go. But these little changes could give way to bigger change down the line, and at this point that's really all we could ask for.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
The Thrilling Conclusion
Coach Hanlon has discussed taking the season in 5-game increments, with a goal of 5 points per set. Monday’s game kicked off set #3 and they're off to a good start with a win over Calgary. Wit that in mind, here’s a look at what’s ahead for our Caps in the next four games:
Game #2 – vs. Atlanta:
- Atlanta’s record so far has been an astonishing 8-3-3, logging 19 points to lead the Southeast Division. The Caps and the Thrashers have met twice already and each game was won by Atlanta by a score of 4-3 – once in shootout and once in overtime.
- After winning four straight, the Thrashers have dropped four of their last five, including their 8th straight loss to Toronto Monday night and a 5-2 loss to Carolina tonight.
- 7 of the Thrashers 13 games have been 1-goal contests, 6 of which have been decided in overtime or a shootout.
- The Thrashers acquired Jon Sim from the Florida Panthers in the offseason, or as I like to call him, the Cap-Killer...the guy just loves to score on us.
Game #3 - @ Philadelphia:
- Philly has gotten off to a rocky start to put it lightly, winning only 3 of their first 11 games and tying Boston for last place with 7 points. The dismal start to the season prompted GM Bobby Clarke to resign and coach Ken Hitchcock to be fired.
- Part of the reason for their slide is a lack of offense – the leading scorer on the team is Peter Forsberg with 9 points, and 11 players have yet to register a point. The Flyers have been outscored 42-22 in their first 11 games, twice allowing 8+ goals in one game.
- 2 of the Flyers’ 3 wins have come on home ice, beating the streaking Atlanta in a shootout and shutting out Chicago on Monday.
Game #4 – vs. Ottawa:
- Ottawa’s start has been marked by streakiness and inconsistency; they dropped 3 straight after beating the Maple Leafs in Toronto to start the season. After a win and a loss, they then kicked off a 3-game winning streak during which they outscored their opponents 21-5. They have lost their last two to division rivals Boston and Montreal, both on the road.
- The Sens have only needed the extra frame once, a 3-2 shootout victory against the Habs.
- After finishing last season with 20.8% effectiveness on the power play, 4th overall, the Senators currently are connecting for only 9.4% and are ranked 29th in the league. They also lead the league in short-handed goals allowed with 4.
Game #5 - @ Carolina:
- Carolina has also been experiencing some inconsistency as they recover from Stanley Cup hangover. A win over the Thrashers tonight put them one game over .500, less than stellar considering they kept many of their core players from their championship run a season ago.
- While the 'Canes are only slightly better than the Caps on both the power play and the penalty kill, they are very stingy when down a man at home. So far this season they have only allowed 2 power play goals for an efficiency rate of 95.6%.
- Rod Brind'Amour once again leads the team in the faceoff circle, winning 60.1%.
- 5 of the 6 wins this season by the 'Canes have come against the Southeast Division - they've beaten Tampa Bay twice and Atlanta three times, scoring 4+ goals in each game.
Strike Up the Band, Send in the Clowns, Because...
...it’s time for the spectacular 1/8 of a season recap/preview/analysis smorgasbord extravaganza!!! With 11 games down, 71 to go, and two days until they take the ice again, it seems like an appropriate time to take a look at where the Caps have been and where they’re going...
Preseason/Training Camp – with the loss of veterans Brian Willsie and Jeff Halpern over the offseason, there were many questions surrounding the team that now had an average age of just under 27 years old and 11 players under the age of 25. Key pickups in the offseason included enforcer Donald Brashear, defenseman Brian Pothier, and former Cap Richard Zednik. The rest of the roster would be filled out by players coming off of career years and young players coming off a Calder Cup championship.
The Caps finished the preseason with a record of 3-2-1, which means going into the season they had exactly...0 points. That’s right, all that work and little reward. But it was nice to see the guys start off strong. While it may not mean anything on the big board, a good preseason start can help build confidence for a young team trying to rise above expectations.
Season Opener – Despite a good preseason run, the Caps wandered into Madison Square Garden on October 5 and proceeded to stumble through 3 weak periods, eventually falling to the Evil one and his Empire (aka Jagr and the Rangers...but what’s in a name?) by a score of 5-2.
Home Opener (aka the real season opener) – Their second attempt at a win was much more successful as the Caps hosted the defending Stanley Cup Champ Hurricanes 2 days later. Armed with "Let’s Go Caps" scrolls, the hometown crowd cheered on the team to a 5-2 victory, a strong showing with few mishaps that (almost) erased the memory of that first horrible loss. Semin would net his first career hat trick and Ovechkin would add 2 more of his own in a Russian superstar explosion.
As It Stands:
- The Caps are 4-3-4 in their first 11 games, picking up 12 points and barely squeaking into that coveted #8 spot in the conference.
- They currently rank 12th in average goals per game with 3.18, and have allowed 3.18 goals per game for a league ranking of 21st. The power play is clicking at an effectiveness rate of 17% for 13th overall – to put that into perspective, San Jose leads the league with 27.5% effectiveness with the extra man, while Philly brings up the rear connecting only 8% of the time...
- Penalty killing is ranked 19th with an 81.8% effectiveness.
- The Caps are currently 30th overall in shots allowed, averaging a horrific 36.8 per game. Olie and Johnny will be sharing a nice padded cell soon if this keeps up.
- The Caps recently completed the longest road swing of the season and the last time they will leave the Eastern Time zone for the rest of the season. They earned 5 out of the 8 possible points, finishing the 4-game trip with a record of 2-1-1.
Individual Performances:
- Alexander Semin is ranked 31st in the league with 8 goals and 4 assists for 12 points; Alex Ovechkin is not far behind, sitting at 33rd with 6 goals and 6 assists. Among left wings, Semin and Ovie are ranked 9th and 11th respectively.
- Brian Pothier has 9 assists, 3rd best among all defenseman. He is ranked 15th in points among blueliners and is tied with 11 others, including fellow Cap Shaone Morrisonn, with a +/- of 4.
- Olie Kolzig has faced 295 shots, 8th most overall. He is ranked 14th with a save percentage of .915, besting Vezina winner Miikka Kiprusoff and Stanley Cup MVP Cam Ward.
- Kris Beech is ranked 9th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 55.5% of the time.
Up Next: Part 2 of 2 – a look at what’s ahead for the Caps in their next 4 games...
