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Snapshots of the Week Ahead: Week 8

The Washington Capitals enter Week 8 at the top of the East Division. However, it is an uneasy perch. Only five points separate the top five teams in a division in which only four teams get a postseason berth. Week 8 is a critical juncture in the schedule for the Caps, who will play their closest pursuers, the Boston Bruins, twice and the fourth-place Philadelphia Flyers to close the week.

The Opponents

Boston Bruins (Wednesday and Friday/7:00pm)

Boston is one of those teams for which it is hard to find a true fault. In the East Division they rank third of eight teams in scoring offense (3.00 goals per game), second in scoring defense (2.63 goals allowed per game), third in goal differential per game (0.37), third in power play efficiency (26.8 percent), first in penalty killing (87.9 percent), first in shots on goal per game (32.1), first in shots allowed on goal per game (25.9), first in shot differential per game (plus-5.2), first in shot attempts-for percentage at 5-on-5 (54.1 percent), first in faceoff winning percentage (56.8 percent), and second in winning percentage in one-goal games (.636).

However, they have been in a rut lately. They have lost four of their last six games (2-4-0), scoring two goals in each of the losses. Eleven of their 19 goals scored over those six games came in their wins, a 7-3 win over Philadelphia on February 21st and a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday. 

Only two teams have fewer standings points since Boston went into this skid (Dallas: three and Anaheim: two).  Scoring overall has not been a problem for the B’s over those six games, but defense has. Only San Jose allowed more goals per game over the same stretch (4.17) than Boston (4.00). They allowed three or more goals in five straight games before their win over the Rangers on Sunday. Allowing 16 5-on-5 goals over those six games has gone a long way to putting the Bruins in that rut, even as they posted a 51.0 percent shot attempts-for percentage at 5-on-5 (12th in the league).

The Caps are 1-1-0 in their two games so far this season, both in Washington, outscored by the Bruins, 8-7.

Philadelphia Flyers (Sunday/7:00pm)

Over the years, Philadelphia has been anything but the City of Brotherly Love for the Caps. In the all-time season series, the Flyers have twice as many wins on home ice (70) as they do losses in regulation (35). The Caps have been less hospitable guests of late, winning five times (once in a shootout, in December 2016) and losing five times, twice in extra time, an overtime loss in March 2016 and a shootout loss in March 2016. This will be the Caps’ first visit to Philadelphia this season.

Since putting together a four-game winning streak to close the month of January, the Flyers have been inching along, posting a 4-2-2 record, the 11th-best record in the league over that span, measured in standings points percentage (.625). It has been one-goal games that have frustrated the Flyers over those eight games, posting a 1-1-2 record in such games.

Despite the inconsistency over those five games, the Flyers have dominated scoring with a 0.50 positive goal differential per game (3.25 for, 2.75 against). They might have had a better record over that span with a better power play, which was just 4-for-32 over those eight games (12.5 percent), tied for 27th in the league. The penalty kill, if anything, has been worse, going 18-for-26 over those eight games, their 69.2 percent penalty kill ranking tied for 28th in the league over that span. What mitigates the poor penalty kill has been the Flyers’ ability to avoid penalties. In posting that 4-2-2 record over their last eight games, their net penalties per 60 minutes (penalties drawn versus penalties taken) of 0.74 ranks second in the league over that span (Toronto: 0.83).

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