Our weekly temperature-taking of the mainstream media’s opinions on the Washington Capitals continues, with the undefeated Caps really impressing. Two Western Conference away games this week will be the only factor for next week’s rankings, so play hard, boys!
| Outlet | This Week | Last Week | What They’re Saying |
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1 | 3 | They’re off to their best start in franchise history. After struggling in his Caps’ debut, Tomas Vokoun has turned up the dial. He’s 6-0-0 with a 1.80 GAA and .944 save percentage. Meanwhile, Nicklas Backstrom (10 points) and Alex Ovechkin (seven points) are having very strong starts. Caps have a Western Canadian trip on tap. |
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1 | 2 | How about that performance Saturday night vs. Detroit? When the Capitals won their first four games it didn’t seem as if they were playing their best hockey even though the wins kept coming. Well, over their past three games they’ve outscored opponents, including Philadelphia and Detroit, by a 15-3 margin. |
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– | – | Pending |
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1 | 1 | Tops in the NHL in goals per game (4.14) and tied for fifth in goals against (2.00). Now that’s a recipe that explains the Caps’ perfect record. And it’s tough to top wins over Philadelphia and Detroit in the same week. |
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1 | 1 | The Caps have a +16 goal differential, and by drubbing Detroit 7-1, they’ve added some capital atop the rankings. They’ll travel to Edmonton and Vancouver later this week. |
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1 | 2 | It’s Week 3 of THN.com’s NHL Power Rankings – and for the third straight week, there’s a new team atop the mountain. To that end, congratulations are in order for the Washington Capitals, who dispatched last week’s No. 1 team (Detroit) with a 7-1 demolishing over the weekend and have also beaten powerhouses Philadelphia and Pittsburgh thus far. The star-studded Caps are being led in many statistical areas by non-stars – Marcus Johansson and Jason Chimera are tops on the team with four goals apiece, while Mathieu Perreault is a team-best plus-six – and have yet to lose. Washington is enjoying a four-day break, which will be followed by a mini-Western road swing through Edmonton and Vancouver Thursday and Saturday before it starts a November schedule that includes 14 games in 30 days. |
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1 | 1 | The 82-game exhibition season before the playoffs is going well. |
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– | – | Pending |
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1 | 6 | It’s all about balance in D.C., as the supporting cast is rising up to provide offensive help — note that LW Jason Chimera and C Marcus Johansson are tied for the team goal-scoring lead — and new G Tomas Vokoun has been even better than advertised. Key Injuries: None. |
Click on logos for links to full power rankings; Additional outlets to be added as they trickle in.
