-3.6 – The drop-off in five-on-five shooting percentage from the first two and a half months of the season to January, the most in the league. From the start of the season through the end of December, the Caps were finding the back of the net on 10.1% of their shots, which was second only to Colorado. Since January 1, however, that’s dipped down to 6.5%, tied for third-lowest in the NHL.
The Caps have never finished a season with a five-on-five shooting percentage lower than 7.5% in the Alex Ovechkin era, and their lowest mark over the last five seasons was 9.2% back in 2017-18.
So as we’ve previously noted, while there are certainly issues for the team to address, one seems to be out of their hands… and that’s luck.