Throughout the season, we’ll check in on the Washington Capitals to see which players, positions, and/or systems are hot and who is, well, not. Today we’re playing a little post-holiday catch-up and assessing the team based on their games between December 16 and January 5.
Opponents: Stars (L 3-1); Blackhawks (L 3-2); Hurricanes (W 3-1); Kings (W 3-1); Bruins (L 4-1); Maple Leafs (W 5-2); Red Wings (L 4-2); Bruins (W 3-1); Wild (SOL 4-3); Rangers (W 7-4)
Hot Front
The Big Boy Line. The trio of Aliaksei Protas, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson is 670 pounds of talented hockey player, and they have been far and away the best line for the Caps over this 10-game stretch. Dubois continues to be an absolute machine, leading the way with nine points; Protas has six goals and seven points; and Tom Wilson has regained his scoring touch, with three goals and six points. In the 64+ minutes they’ve played at five on five over this most recent stretch, they’ve dominated possession, with FF%, SF%, GF%, xGF%, SCF%, HDCF%, and HDGF% all over 60% – all while starting roughly 60% of their shifts in the defensive zone. They are a force.
Alex Ovechkin. In the five games he’s played since returning from his fractured fibula, he has four goals and five points. It took him a little time (and may take a little more yet) for him to get fully back to game speed – 16 games is a lot to miss – but his scoring touch sure hasn’t suffered. The Chase? It is most definitely on.
Andrew Mangiapane. The third line has been a frequent trouble spot for the Capitals all season long, but that’s not Mangiapane’s fault, as he’s been a great addition to the squad. He’s also gotten red-hot with the scoring, with three goals and six points in his last nine games. The one true bread man has really…risen to the occasion.
(Sorry.)
Penalty Kill. The Caps have not been as sharp overall lately, but the penalty kill has stepped up and at times been a huge component of their wins, killing off 23 of the 27 penalties they’ve taken in their last 10 games. In fact, only one of their five wins featured a power play goal against, the lone tally given up to the Kings in their 3-1 victory over LA.
Cold Snap
Charlie Lindgren. The Caps’ goalie tandem has done a nice job of giving the team a solid presence in net and matching each other win for win, for the most part. This most recent stretch, however, has not been great for Lindgren, who posted a 1-3-1 record (aka four of the team’s five losses overall) and a .892 save percentage. And, oh yeah, had his second soul-crushing puck-handling gaffe of the season, which brings us to…
Goalie puck-handling. Charlie. Logan. Just…please don’t try to play the puck anymore. Leave it for your teammates and stay in the net like good boys.
Ivan Miroshnichenko. He hasn’t looked bad, per se – and in fact has had a few pretty decent games when he’s played – but in the seven games he’s dressed for in the last ten, Miro has not registered a single point. The only other Cap held off the scoreboard during that span? Dylan McIlrath, who who played less than two minutes.
Power Play Defense. The power play itself has been clicking along (and even scored twice against the Rangers, a game in which the power play could not have looked worse). The issue recently has been giving up goals – something of an odd problem to have when you’re one of the few teams to use two defensemen in the five-man unit, and in fact, heading into this stretch the Caps had given up just a single shorthanded goal. They’ve added two more, one from Minnesota and one by Chicago – the Blackhawks’ first shortie of the season. Cool.