Your weekly look at individual Washington Capitals‘ ups and downs:
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Braden Holtby |  |
After a nice long layoff and a trip to the All-Star Game, Holtby returned to action on Thursday and picked up right where he left off. He shut the door after two goals in each of his three games, turning aside 79 of the 85 shots he faced and playing a big part in some wins the team otherwise likely wouldn’t have gotten. Same old, same old. |
| Philipp Grubauer | /cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/217737/down.png?w=640&ssl=1) |
He’s been really good in relief of Holtby so far this season, but Grubauer’s one game this week was a rough outing for him. He gave up four goals – including at least a couple he should have had – on just 18 shots to the Panthers (with the fifth goal of the night going into the empty net). Chalk it up to rust? |
| Defensemen | ||
| Karl Alzner |  |
Picked up an assist on the game winning goal in Nashville, |
| John Carlson | |
His return to active duty hasn’t been exactly smooth (which is probably to be expected), as he was on for five of the ten goals given up by the Caps this week. He’s also mired in a five-game pointless streak – albeit a streak that started before his injury – which is the second streak of at least five games without a point this season. |
| Taylor Chorney | |
Posted a team-low CF% of 46.3 at even strength, and the fact that he was on for just two goals against is probably more a product of good goaltending, and minimal ice time, than anything he was necessarily doing. Chorney’s been consistently steady overall, but this wasn’t a great week for him. |
| Matt Niskanen | |
On for six more high-danger scoring chances by the Caps than against at even strength, and only Alex Ovechkin had more shot attempts at even strength this week than Niskanen. That paid off in the form of an assist against the Devils, and then against the Flyers, he… well, just watch for yourselves. Did you know he could do that? We didn’t know he could do that. |
| Dmitry Orlov | |
Niskanen wasn’t the only one to score a pretty goal against the Flyers, as Orlov showed off those hands and that shot with a snipe over Steve Mason’s shoulder Sunday afternoon. He also added an assist against the Islanders, and has six points in his last 13 games. |
| Brooks Orpik |  |
Might Orpik be inching ever closer to a return? |
| Nate Schmidt | |
No defenseman had a better CF% (57.4) or was on for more high-danger scoring chances for the Caps at even strength than Schmidt… and yet no points on the week, and he was on for four goals-against. |
| Forwards | ||
| Nicklas Backstrom | |
His goal against the Panthers proved to be just a sidenote in an ultimately futile comeback attempt, but he added a couple of sweet assists against the Islanders (his 106th career multi-assist game, no big deal) before being held off the scoresheet the next two games. |
| Jay Beagle | |
Might Beagle be inching ever closer to a return?? |
| Paul Carey | |
His first tour of duty with the Caps wasn’t all that memorable (at least not for good reasons); his second one was much better, as he helped the fourth line put together some very good shifts. The best shift? The one where he deflected a shot from the point to pick up his first NHL goal – not bad for the 27-year-old “rookie”. |
| Andre Burakovsky | |
No one is hotter right now than Burakovsky, who has found his confidence, and with it his scoring ability. He saw his five-game goal-scoring streak snapped against the Flyers, but picked up an assist to keep the point streak alive at a career-high seven games. He also tied Kuznetsov with the team-lead in points this week, and now has 13 points in his last 10 games. |
| Jason Chimera | |
Relatively quiet week for Chimera, as he assisted on a goal against the Islanders Thursday night but didn’t do much else on the scoresheet. Nothing to worry about, though, as he’s done fine in the possession department (with the exception of that Islanders game, when he got creamed at even strength). |
| Stanislav Galiev | |
His one game this week was one in which he had the unenviable task of trying to fill Ovechkin’s shoes against the Panthers. While he didn’t come close to doing so (because really, who could?), he made the most of his brief time on the top line with a couple of scoring chances, saw more shots go towards Florida’s net than his own, and wasn’t on for any goals. |
| Marcus Johansson | |
Might Johansson be inching ev-… okay, you get the point. Sounds like at least a few of the team’s walking wounded are slowly returning to health. The team (and the power play in particular) miss you, Marcus. |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov | |
His only goal in the past two weeks was scored in the All-Star Game, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped producing altogether. Kuznetsov picked up four assists this week, tying linemate Burakovsky for the team lead, and continues to put up points at an insane pace. |
| Brooks Laich | |
After scoring his first point of 2016 last week, Brooks’ boxcars looked more familiar this week: goose eggs across the board. He also took a dumb penalty in Dallas, and by and large failed to do much of note at even strength,. |
| Michael Latta | |
Watched the Dallas game from the press-box, so hey, Latta at least went 2-0 on the week. |
| T.J. Oshie | |
His assist in Minnesota was his first point since the February 4th tilt against the Islanders, as Oshie struggles to find the rhythm that his linemates have. Oshie does tons of small things well, and his consistency on the top line is valuable in and of itself. The points should come for Oshie. |
| Alex Ovechkin | |
Goals in all three games this week, including his 14th career hat trick, helped Ovechkin take over the NHL goal-scoring lead. That’s not a bad tour through the middle of the country for El Capitan. |
| Mike Richards | |
It’s easy-as-she-goes for Richards, who seems to be fitting well on the fourth line, but has yet to earn his first point in a Capitals uniform. |
| Zach Sill | /cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/569564/hershey-kiss.png?w=640&ssl=1) |
Playing the big boys in DC is probably fun, but watching Jakub Vrana come into form in Hershey doesn’t sound like a bad primary assignment either. |
| Justin Williams | |
It was his point shot that deflected in off of Burakovsky to open the scoring against the Devils, but that assist just about wrapped it up for the offensive side of Williams’ game this week. Still strong on the possession side of things (unsurprisingly, and in spite of one rough run against the Islanders on Thursday). |
| Tom Wilson | |
For only the second time this season, Tom Wilson notched three points in a two-game stretch. His ringing of the post in Dallas was the sound of a failed comeback, but there’s no denying Willy’s offensive game, since skating alongside Marcus Johansson, has become a bit more potent. Just ask Jason Chimera, there recipient of Wilson’s beautiful cross-ice pass to open the scoring in Nashville. |
Stats via war-on-ice.com and Hockey Analysis.