Photo: Bruce Bennett
This team, y’all.
Whether it be through elite goaltending, top-notch special teams, strong 5v5 play, luck, some sort of Calvinistic predestination, or a of combination of all of the above, the Caps just keep winning. They’ve lost just seven times in regulation through the first 41 games entering Sunday’s tilt against the Ottawa Senators.
The good news is that the 5v5 play continues to come back to life after a prolonged stretch in which the Caps were relying heavily upon MVP-caliber play of Braden Holtby and elite special teams. The bounce back comes at a time when perhaps it’d be understandable if the process and results dipped, as injuries and suspensions have forced the team to call upon their depth recently, particularly on the blue line.
Hockey is fun and this team should be cherished. This group of players won’t be together forever.
Here’s a look at the numbers as of noon on Sunday.
Player | GP | TOI | SA% | rel SA% | GF% | PDO |
Backstrom | 38 | 559.83 | 54.91 | 4.38 | 70.59 | 103.99 |
Ovechkin | 40 | 622.21 | 54.3 | 3.77 | 64.71 | 103.37 |
Williams | 41 | 527.08 | 53.99 | 3.18 | 57.78 | 100.89 |
Laich | 41 | 353.58 | 53.52 | 2.21 | 33.33 | 95.01 |
Oshie | 41 | 579.03 | 52.35 | 0.97 | 65.79 | 103.17 |
Burakovsky | 38 | 425.51 | 51.54 | -0.55 | 53.57 | 101.11 |
Johansson | 39 | 540.17 | 51.31 | -0.25 | 66.67 | 103.99 |
Kuznetsov | 41 | 582.92 | 51.24 | -0.61 | 63.04 | 103.17 |
Latta | 28 | 238.96 | 50.7 | 0.51 | 47.06 | 99.4 |
Chimera | 41 | 452.43 | 49.24 | -3.16 | 52.94 | 100.74 |
Beagle | 36 | 425.47 | 47.45 | -5.43 | 57.69 | 102.56 |
Wilson | 41 | 458.63 | 47.06 | -5.93 | 57.14 | 102.86 |
Player | GP | TOI | SA% | rel SA% | GF% | PDO |
Orlov | 41 | 580.32 | 55.17 | 4.81 | 60.47 | 102.52 |
Chorney | 32 | 389.52 | 53.14 | 2.14 | 64.86 | 106.29 |
Schmidt | 36 | 607.94 | 52.12 | 2.02 | 61.54 | 102.32 |
Niskanen | 41 | 763.42 | 50.61 | -1.72 | 61.7 | 102.92 |
Orpik | 14 | 231.89 | 50.18 | -6.65 | 43.48 | 95.85 |
Alzner | 41 | 717.9 | 49.72 | -3.06 | 59.09 | 102.36 |
Carlson | 34 | 610 | 49.42 | -2.58 | 53.66 | 100.21 |
Situation | SA% | Rank |
Tied | 49.6 | 18th |
Leading | 45.4 | 13th |
Trailing | 61.0 | 3rd |
All numbers, unless otherwise cited or linked to, are from War on Ice.
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