Photo credit: Rob Carr

Friday’s 6-0 drubbing by the Rangers was the ninth time the Capitals have been shutout this season. Washington is now well on their way to being shut out in double digit games for the first time since 1999. As you might expect, getting shutout is not a recipe for playoff success — if you’re fortunate enough to even make the playoffs.

We shouldn’t be surprised. After shutout number eight I began to reach for the panic button:

What is worrisome is the offense has, at best, a 7 percent chance on any given night to be shut out and its recent performance suggests it could be as high as 10-15 percent — which means another two or four shutouts on the horizon.

Want more gloomy news? Since the lockout, teams that have qualified after being shutout 10 or more times have not made it past the first round.

x-axis is regular season shutouts, y-axis is playoff wins

Small sample size aside, the outlook is bleak. With just 48 hours remaining until the trade deadline can this be fixed in time?