Image Courtesy of ESPN.com

5

4

I'm getting a little tired of writing "the sky is falling" type posts about the currently underachieving Caps. They aren't playing well right now. They're starting out slow and have been showing a lot of weaknesses in the defensive zone over the past week or so, but that doesn't mean the season is over and they'll be eliminated in the first round. Let's just take a look at some facts and you all can draw your own conclusions after the jump.

• Since the Olympic Break, the Caps have played fourteen games. Half of those have gone beyond regulation and the Caps have only won three of those.
• In his twelve games since the break, Alex Ovechkin has twelve points (four goals, eight assists) for a point per game. This is well off his season pace of 1.53 points per game.
• The Caps have given up at least three goals in eleven of their fourteen games since the break.
• In 49 penalty killing opportunities in that span, the Caps have only killed 36, for a 73.5% rate. If that was spread over an entire season, Washington would have the worst PK unit in the entire NHL.
• Out of the current playoff teams, only Ottawa has given up more goals than the Caps on the season.

If that's enough to send you to the bridge, then go ahead and jump. Be my guest.

If you're a realist and not ready to give up the ship, take a look at these facts. Then realize just how good the Caps have been this season.

• Washington has only lost ten games at Verizon Center this season. Only five of them have been in regulation. Both of those numbers are the best in the league. The Caps have also clinched home-ice through the Eastern Conference Finals.
• In 50 power play opportunities since the break, the Caps have scored thirteen goals, or a 26% rate. They're scoring at a higher rate than their season average, which currently leads the NHL (25.7%).
• They've missed regular contributors Brooks Laich, Shaone Morrisonn, Boyd Gordon, and Brendan Morrison for extended periods throughout this set of games.
• Jose Theodore, despite not getting much help from his defense has not lost in regulation in almost three months (1/12 against Tampa).
• Mike Green has steadily improved his defense in recent weeks and the Caps have shown that they are one of the strongest teams at even strength in the league.
• The Caps currently have nine out of the top twenty-five plus-minus players in the league. They also have four players averaging at least a point-per-game.
• They still lead the President's Trophy race by six points over the San Jose Sharks with six games remaining.
• They play their two most likely first round opponents twice in the final two weeks of the season, so they basically control their own first round destiny. They'll also be very familiar with whoever they play.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (1)

tdbowles said:

... i agree with much of what you wrote. and as we speak today, if the Caps pick up 5 points in the six games left, we win the President's trophy. i am concerned about how many goals they are giving up, but i also know that this team is capable of playing excellent defense. i think the biggest cause for the inconsistent play has been the line shuffling which happened after the trade deadline before all the injuries hit. i think Theo would have lost the game on sunday against Calgary if he stayed in the game, but that's just statistics, so i'm not too worried about it. Theo does look a little shaky. when he's on, nothing seeps through him. when he's off, goals trickle by him as they have the last two. the fact of the matter that the only teams among the top 4 in each conference who are playing well are Buffalo in the east and Phoenix in the west. a couple of good wins and we'll all be feeling good again. let's get one tonight against Atlanta.

report abuse vote down vote up

April 01, 2010 | url
Votes: +0

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment