And so it’s set.
Caps vs. Islanders. Red, white and blue vs. blue, orange and white. Six prior playoff meetings – including the first ever for Washington – with the Caps winning just one (a best three-of-five in 1986), but no playoff meetings since 1993. Dale Hunter‘s playoff hat trick in 1993. Al Iafrate’s in 1993, with Ray Ferraro netting four for the Isles in the same game (you didn’t think Ovi and Sid were the first dueling hatties in Caps’ playoff history, did you?). The Easter Epic. Potvin-on-Gustafsson. Hunter-on-Turgeon. Alex Ovechkin’s overtime dominance. A couple last games in an old barn. There’s history and there’s present-day animosity… and now they’ve got former Cap and franchise playoff demon Jaroslav Halak in net.
There’ll be plenty of time to dive into those storylines and others in the days ahead, but first things first – the numbers. Below are the Caps team and individual stats for the four games this season against the Isles.
Head-to-Head:
| Game 1 @ NYI | L, 3-2 (OT) |
| Game 2 vs. NYI | W, 5-2 |
| Game 3 @ NYI | L, 4-3 (OT) |
| Game 4 vs. NYI | W, 3-2 (SO) |
| Record | 2-0-2 |
| GF/Game | 3.00 |
| GA/Game | 2.75 |
| Goal Diff/Game | 0.25 |
| Powerplay Success | 33.3% |
| Powerplay Opportunities | 9 |
| Powerplays Per Game |
2.25 |
| Penalty Kill Success |
69.2% |
| Times Shorthanded | 13 |
| Times Shorthanded Per Game | 3.25 |
| Shooting Percentage | 11.2% |
| Save Percentage | .918 |
| 5v5 Save Percentage | .949 |
| 5v5 Corsi-For Percentage | 47.5% |
| Score-Adjusted 5v5 Corsi-For Percentage | 46.8% |
| Within-1 5v5 Corsi-For Percentage | 48.6% |
Individual Head-to-Head Five-on-Five Ice Time and Shot Attempts:
Capitals Skaters vs. New York
Capitals Goalies vs. New York
| GP | GS | MIN | W | L | O | GA | GAA | SA | SV | SV% | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braden Holtby | 4 | 4 | 252 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 2.62 | 134 | 123 | .918 | 0 |
Capitals Centers’ Face Offs vs. New York (minimum ten draws)
| GP | FOW | FOL | TOT | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Burakovsky | 3 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 70.0% |
| Jay Beagle | 4 | 24 | 14 | 38 | 63.2% |
| Eric Fehr | 4 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 56.1% |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 4 | 48 | 41 | 89 | 53.9% |
| Troy Brouwer | 4 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 45.8% |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov | 4 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 38.9% |
| Team Total* | 4 | 133 | 118 | 251 | 53.0% |
| Team Total (PP) | 4 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 37.5% |
| Team Total (PK) | 4 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 43.5% |
| Team Total (Offensive Zone) | 4 | 36 | 41 | 77 | 46.8% |
| Team Total (Defensive Zone) | 4 | 46 | 38 | 84 | 54.8% |
| Team Total (Neutral Zone) | 4 | 51 | 39 | 90 | 56.7% |
*Includes players who did not meet the minimum for inclusion in the table
And now, for getting through all those stats, your moment of zen: