The western Canada trip is in the rear-view mirror of the Washington Capitals. It was a successful 2-1-0 trip for which their reward is long break before a light, two-game week ahead.
The Opponents
Week 5 will be the third week in five in which the Caps will play only two games. First up is a visit to Montreal to face the Canadiens. Montreal has to be considered among the league’s pleasant surprises to start the season with a 6-2-2 record through four weeks, good for third place in the tough Atlantic Division. They have done it primarily with a stingy defense and the usual fine goaltending of Carey Price.
Montreal heads into Week 5 tied for the fourth-best scoring defense in the league (2.50 goals allowed per game), while their shots allowed per game (29.0) is seventh-fewest in the league and shot attempts-against at 5-on-5 ranks as the ninth-fewest. This is a club that in one sense plays quite opposite to type. The Canadiens have dressed only three players this season heavier than 200 pounds, while eight skaters less than 185 pounds have dressed. Nevertheless, Montreal ranks third in the league in credited hits after four weeks and second in credited hits per game (26.9) to the Vegas Golden Knights (28.3). What the Caps might be able to exploit is a home penalty kill that has not been impressive (76.5 percent/tied for 19th through four weeks).
On Saturday the Caps return home for a date against the Dallas Stars. If Montreal is a pleasant surprise, the Stars have to qualify as something of a mediocrity to date. They do have a 5-4-0 record through four weeks, but that record is good for only sixth in the Central Division, four points behind the Chicago Blackhawks in fifth. They rank in the middle of the pack in scoring offense (3.11 goals per game/tied for 16th) and scoring defense (2.78/tied for 13th).
However, their special teams are quite good. The power play ranks fourth (29.6 percent), while the penalty kill ranks ninth (84.0). Dallas struggles a bit more with shot attempts. Their shot attempts-for percentage (49.09) ranks 19th, one spot lower than the Caps. The Stars are at the other end of the grittership numbers from Montreal, ranking only 26th in credited hits (173) and 23rd in blocked shots (134). Those rankings are a function of having played so few games, but their takeaway-to-giveaway ratio (0.54) leaves much to be desired as well. If that kind of sloppiness makes its presence felt against Washington, the Stars can be made to pay.
Hot Caps…
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Weird Facts…
Potential Milestones to Reach This Week…