The NHL playoffs are less than three weeks away, and for a Capitals team that is seeming to have difficulty getting up for games, and the fan base tried of watching them lose to the Atlantas, Torontos, and Los Angeleses of the world, the postseason can’t come soon enough. Now that a Capitals playoff berth is officially secured and a division lead seems ready to follow, and in an effort to fight increasing apathy about the season’s last couple of weeks, we figured now might be a good time to consider who the Caps might face in the first round, a topic that has been looked at before here at Japers’ Rink, though not for a couple weeks. Since then some teams have gotten hot (Pittsburgh) and others have faltered (Montreal; Florida) and there has been some pretty significant standings shuffling.
As we see it, there are five teams the Caps could conceivably face in the first round:
Carolina | Florida | Montreal | New York | Pittsburgh | |
Record | 41-28-7 | 36-28-11 | 38-27-9 | 39-27-9 | 40-27-8 |
Points Per Game | 1.17 | 1.12 | 1.15 | 1.16 | 1.17 |
Last 10 | 7-1-2 | 3-4-3 | 4-4-2 | 6-3-1 | 7-1-2 |
GF/Game | 2.87 | 2.67 | 3.01 | 2.57 | 3.13 |
GA/Game | 2.80 | 2.69 | 3.04 | 2.72 | 2.96 |
Goal Diff/Game | 0.07 | -0.02 | -0.03 | -0.15 | 0.17 |
Powerplay Success | 17.7% | 15.7% | 17.8% | 14.4% | 17.1% |
PP Per Game |
4.53 | 3.75 | 4.55 | 4.23 | 4.37 |
Penalty Kill | 79.3% | 82.4% | 81.9% | 87.7% | 81.8% |
Times SH Per Game |
3.68 | 3.85 | 4.55 | 4.00 | 4.24 |
Save Percentage | .907 | .921 | .906 | .912 | .905 |
Here’s how the Capitals performed against each of their potential opponents this season:
Carolina | Florida | Montreal | New York | Pittsburgh | |
Record* | 2-3-1 | 3-2-0 | 2-1-1 | 3-0-1 | 3-0-1 |
GF/Game | 1.83 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.50 | 4.50 |
GA/Game | 3.17 | 2.80 | 2.25 | 2.50 | 2.75 |
Goal Diff/Game | -1.34 | 0.20 | 0.75 | 1.00 | 1.75 |
Powerplay Success | 24.0% | 25.0% | 21.4% | 20.0% | 29.4% |
Powerplays | 25 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 |
PP Per Game |
4.17 | 2.40 | 3.5 | 3.75 | 4.25 |
Penalty Kill | 92.0% | 78.6% | 75.0% | 92.9% | 73.9% |
Times Shorthanded | 25 | 28 | 20 | 14 | 23 |
Times SH/ Game | 4.17 | 5.6 | 5.00 | 3.50 | 5.75 |
Save Percentage | .893 | .868 | .931 | .910 | .908 |
Save Pct. Against |
.949 | .906 | .903 | .888 | .870 |
Last Game |
L, 4-1 | W, 3-0 | SOW, 4-3 | SOL, 5-4 | SOL, 4-3 |
*For the purposes of the head-to-head records, all games that went to the shootout are considered ties.