9 – Number of consecutive games in which the Capitals had given up the first goal, a streak which was snapped yesterday in their eventual loss to the Golden Knights. Prior to that, the last game the Caps opened the scoring in was their overtime win over St. Louis back on January 7; for the last time they scored first and lost before yesterday, you have to go back to December 22 when they fell in OT to Arizona.
The Caps currently have the League’s fourth-best win percentage (.433) and fifth-best points percentage (.483) when their opponent scores first… however it’s something they’ve done far too often this year, trailing first in 30 of their 52 games overall. Only eight teams have done so as many as 30 times this season, and among those eight, only the Caps, Kings and Flyers are currently in a playoff position.
The recent nine-game stretch in which they ceded the game’s first goal was the longest of the season for the Caps, toppling the seven-game run they went through back in October.