Week 12 will be a four-game work week for the Washington Capitals, who take to the road for a schedule made up entirely of metro teams. Not “Metro,” as in the old Metropolitan Division, but “metro” teams as in those from the New York metropolitan area. It is a chance to stick a dagger in the postseason hopes of the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, and to put some distance between themselves and the New York Islanders at the top of the East Division.
The Opponents
New York Rangers (Tuesday/7:00 pm at Madison Square Garden)
Washington wraps up its home-and-home two-game set with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, where they dropped a 4-2 decision to the New Yorkers on February 4th in the Caps only visit to Manhattan to date.
The Rangers have become difficult to beat on home ice of late. They are 4-1-1 in their last six home games after a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) in mid-February. The question going forward is whether this recent version of the Rangers on home ice is the one they will ice down the stretch or if they will revert to their mediocre ways overall this season on home ice. They rank 21st in points percentage on home ice with a 7-6-3 record, a record that is a bit misleading given that they have a 0.50 goal differential per game (3.19 goals scored, 2.69 goals allowed).
Where the Rangers have been weak at home is a more general problem – their power play. Despite having 59 man advantage chances in 16 home games (eighth-most in the league), they are converting at just a 15.3 percent rate, 26th in the league.
One other thing to watch for is that the Rangers have struggled in one-goal games on home ice. They are 1-2-3 in six one-goal games at MSG, that lone win coming against the Buffalo Sabres in a 3-2 decision on March 2nd.
New York Islanders (Thursday/7:00 pm at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum)
There is some slippage in the performance of the New York Islanders of late. Perhaps it was inevitable rebalancing after a nine-game winning streak, but it is there nonetheless. Since that nine-game winning streak, the Islanders are 3-3-0, only one of those wins coming in regulation time.
There is little secret to the Islanders’ success overall this season – stinginess to the point of being a cure for insomnia. The Isles have held opponents to two or fewer goals in 20 of 35 games this season and have a record of 19-1-0 in those games, their lone defeat coming on January 24th in a 2-0 decision against the New Jersey Devils. In fact, two goals is a convenient demarcation point separating success and failure for the Islanders this season. They are 3-8-4 in the 15 games in which they allowed three or more goals.
On home ice, the Islanders have been almost unbeatable. In 16 home games to date, they are 13-1-2, the best home ice points percentage in the league (.875), and each of their losses was by one goal. There were, of course, the extra time losses (both in shootouts), and they had a 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 18th that broke their home points string at 14 games to open the season.
New York also has the second best goal differential per game at home (plus-1.81), trailing only the Tampa Bay Lightning (plus-2.13), and they are a top-five team in net power play (29.7 percent/5th) and net penalty kill (96.7 percent/1st), accounting for shorthanded goals scored for and against.
If you are looking for a weird fact about the Islanders, try this on. Their .875 points percentage at home ties their all-time best, achieved in 1981-1982. In that year, they won the third of four straight Stanley Cups. This will be the Caps’ first visit to Long Island this season after beating the Islanders three times in three games in Washington.
New Jersey Devils (Friday/7:00pm and Sunday/3:00pm at Prudential Center)
When the Devils take the ice against the Caps on Friday night, it will be their first home game after a six-game road trip. Not that the Prudential Center has been a warm or cozy comfort to the Devils this season. Their 4-11-2 record at home is the second worst in the league by points percentage (.294). Only the woeful Buffalo Sabres are worse (2-11-2/.200).
Why are the Devils so bad at home? First, they can’t score. Their 1.94 goals per game at home rank 30th in the league. Second, their special teams are awful. Their power play (12.2 percent) ranks 28th, while their 78.3 percent penalty kill on home ice ranks 18th. The result is that the Devils’ special team index (power play plus penalty kill) of 90.5 ranks 28th in the league home ice.
Unsurprisingly, the Devils are a team that can be dominated on home ice, but they do not dominate. Four times in 17 home games New Jersey lost by three or more goals, one of them a 5-2 loss to the Caps on February 27th. On the other hand, they are one of four teams in the league without a win of three or more goals on home ice (Anaheim, St. Louis, and Buffalo are the others.
An odd part about the Devils’ lack of success on home ice is that they manage shots attempts for and against fairly well. Their 53.6 percent shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 overall ranks seventh in the league. The Caps enter this series having won all six games against the Devils to date, outscoring them, 25-14. This two-game set on Friday and Sunday will end the regular season series between the teams.
Hot Caps:
Cold Caps:
Weird Facts:
Potential Milestones to Reach This Week:
Nicklas Backstrom:
Alex Ovechkin:
Evgeny Kuznetsov:
John Carlson:
Brenden Dillon:
Zdeno Chara:
Carl Hagelin:
T.J. Oshie