77.66 – The Caps’ penalty-kill percentage since flipping the calendar to 2014, the worst percentage in the East and second-worst mark in the League (ahead of only Vancouver, Friday’s opponent).
The 94 penalties they’ve taken since January 1 is the third-most in the League, with only the Canucks (97) and Blues (99) shorthanded more often over that span. And they’re not just taking a lot of penalties – they’re also subjecting their goalies to a shooting gallery while shorthanded, giving up the highest rate of shots/60 (which isn’t that surprising considering they give up the fourth-highest shots/60 overall).
So oddly enough, taking a lot of penalties and giving up a lot of shots is actually not a recipe for success… who knew?
(Big h/t to Jen LC – @bhawksfanjen – for the idea, and for compiling the data through 3/10)