| Outlet | This Week | Last Week | What They’re Saying |
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2 | 1 | Big picture
The Caps came out of the All-Star break and got smacked 5-2 by Florida but rebounded with three straight 3-2 wins over the Islanders, Devils and Flyers. Finding ways to win those 3-2 kinds of games figures to be important come playoff time, when scores typically decrease. The Eastern Conference crown seems like a formality at this point for the Caps. By the numbers The Caps power play is suffering through something of a dip, zero for its last 17 after Sunday’s game. With John Carlson at one of the points and Alex Ovechkin roving back and forth from high to low, that shouldn’t last too much longer. At 24.2 percent, the Caps remain the league leaders on the power play.(February 7) |
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1 | 1 | The Capitals are the first team since the 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers to win 38 of their first 51 games. They remain well ahead of the pack in just about every facet of the game. Alex Ovechkin has 30 goals for the 11th consecutive season. (February 9) |
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3 | 1 | The Caps are dealing with a few issues including slow starts and an 0-for-17 slump on the power play, but none of it seems to matter in the final score as the Caps just keep right on winning. (February 8) |
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2 | 2 | The Caps have won three straight but strangely haven’t scored a power-play goal since Jan. 19, going 0-for-17 over the past five games with the man advantage. (February 8) |
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1 | 1 | At this point, the Capitals’ lead is so gigantic, they’d have to lose like four or five games in a row before they budge out of the first slot. (February 8) |
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1 | 2 | No team in the NHL has a better winning percentage at home than the Washington Capitals. No team in the NHL has a better winning percentage on the road than the Washington Capitals. So basically, you name the place and the Capitals will be there to beat you.
With a differential of plus-56, the Capitals are 24 goals better in that department and stand first in the league in goals per game and second goals against per game. So basically, you name the style of play in the game and the Capitals will be there to beat you. And their power play is best in the NHL, so take liberties against them and they will be there to beat you. With so much beating going on, it’s no surprise that the Capitals are at the top of both the NHL standings and the THN.com Power Rankings for this week. (February 10) |
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1 | 1 | Just when the Blackhawks were closing the gap for the league’s best record, the Capitals went on a four-game win streak to increase their lead in the Presidents’ Trophy race. (February 10) |
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1 | 1 | Hit: Their depth is paying off. Ten players, including all three third-line forwards and two defensemen, have accounted for the 13 goals they’ve scored in their four-game winning streak.
Miss: Starts are concerning. They’ve committed five penalties in the first period in their past two games and have allowed the first goal in four of their past six. (February 11) |
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1 | 1 | With another four victories this week, Braden Holtby’s just 14 shy of Martin Brodeur’s single-season wins record with 30 games remaining. (February 3) |
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1 | 2 | Is this the best Caps team ever? With three wins last week, Washington was first to the 80-point milestone. At their current pace, the Caps will rack up 128 points for the season, seven better than the 121 they posted in 2009-10. Last week: 3-1-0 (February 9) |
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– | 3 | (Last updated January 26) |
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1 | 1 | [Sad Stories in 4 Words Edition] Holtby out till July. (February 10) |
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– | 1 | (Last updated January 25) |
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– | 1 | (Last updated January 18) |
Click on logos for links to full power rankings.