Good Starts, Slow Seconds And Lost Ears
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It was an up and down week for the Washington Capitals. If that doesn't sum the week up for this team I'm not sure what does. You can look at the record for the week 2-1-0 and think that it's okay. If you average three games a week and go 2-1 all year that is okay, better than okay that's good.
But just about two weeks into the season there is still stuff to talk about and worry about for the Caps. It's time to reCap the last week.
Good Starts
This was an issue all year long last season. The Capitals consistently started slow and were forced to play catch up. Despite giving up the first goal 44 times last season the Caps were able to get at least a point 28 times and winning 22. It's good to know you can come back when you're down but you don't want to risk that all season.
Coming into the season coach Barry Trotz said he wanted the team to fix this issue. They have so far. In the first five games this season the Capitals have scored first all five games. Even better for Washington in the last three games they have scored the second goal to put teams down 2-0 and in those games they put those two goals on their opponents early.
It was really frustrating to watch the Capitals all season last year play catch up. It's nice to see the coaching staff put an emphasis on good starts this season and it's even better that they actually are starting games good.
Bad Second Periods
It's great to get off to a good start, but when you fall asleep the very next period you're starting a brand new game in the final frame. This was really evident this past week. In the games vs Florida and New York Rangers the Capitals were up 2-0 in the first period. For a good all around team you'd like them to nail down that 2-0 lead while adding more goals.
Take the Colorado game as an example. The Capitals got out of the first period with a 1-0 lead and added a goal in each of the two following periods. That was a great game, specifically defensively where the Caps gave up very, very little. On top of that, that game possibly gave the NHL its highlight of the week with the Dmitri Orlov hit that sent Matt Duchene flipping like an Olympic gymnast.
After the Colorado game the Capitals struggled to hold onto leads and you can blame the second period for the majority of that. Against the Panthers the Caps had a 2-1 lead going into the second and got outshot 14-4 surrendering a goal and leading to a 2-2 game going into the third. No big deal in hindsight, Washington scored twice in the third and walked away with a win on the road.
The fact that is happened again just two days later is why you should worry about this a little bit. It was worse against divisional rival New York Rangers. Having a 2-0 lead going into the second on home ice against a rival you need to put that game away. The Rangers scored 3 times in the second and really controlled play. That was all the blueshirts needed as they went on to win the game 4-2.
That game was decided on one thing in my opinion. A blown 4 minute power play where the Capitals could only muster ONE shot. For a power play that usually deadly that is pathetic. The Rangers scored a couple of minutes before that PP chance meaning it was a 2-1 game. All the Capitals needed was one to get control back and if the power play is clicking maybe get two and you put the game away for good. The Struggling power play failed to do anything and it gave the Rangers momentum. Rangers Rookie Jimmy Vesey scored about three minutes after the failed PP and added a second that ended up being the game winner just a couple of minutes later.
It's still too early to get too worried about anything a team is doing. Having a +5 goal differential in the first period is great but then turning around and having a -4 differential in the next period tells you they aren't holding onto leads and need to keep their foot on the gas.
Struggling Special Teams
Power play is something you usually don't have to complain about when talking the Washington Capitals. They haven't been outside the top five in power play percentage since 2011-12 and they have led the league three of the last four seasons. They haven't gotten off to a great start so far this season. As of right now the Capitals are towards the bottom of the league in power play percentage at 12.5 going just 2-16. Both of those PPG's came in the same game vs Colorado. Take that game out of the equation and the Caps are 0-11 on the man advantage.
Penalty killing isn't much better as of right now. Currently sitting at 71.4, that also sits in the bottom third in the NHL going 10-14.
The Capitals can score 5 on 5, so power play is something I'll never be concerned with. In my opinion you don't need a power play at all to win a Stanley Cup. You need a strong PK and right now they need to get better when they are down a man.
Losing An Ear
Ok so no one actually "lost" their ear, but that was the word flying around after 4th liner Daniel Winnik blocked a shot with his head against the Florida Panthers last Thursday.
“He got chewed up a little bit,” Trotz said “Yeah, it’s just a small piece [that’s missing].”
Winnik went down early to block a shot and was completely down when the shot was taken hitting him in the side of the head and ear. After a team practice Winnik said his ear was split and had to be glued back together. Fortunately that was it and the puck did not hit Daniel in the face or result in a concussion. Still you don't see ears getting split very often.
There isn't to much to complain about in the big picture for the Capitals. They sit near the top in their division just one point behind the Rangers. They are one of the best defensive teams in the league allowing just 10 goals behind only New Jersey and Montreal (who have allowed 9). And overall for the majority of their games they have looked pretty good.
The only cons this season, actually come out to play in the second period and improve their special teams and who knows, maybe we could see a run out of this team like we did last year when they ran away with the Presidents' Trophy.
