Caps lose to the Sharks in the middle of the night: numbers for the morning after

Last night the Caps lost to the Sharks by a score of 4-2 in a game that may have ended at 4am. Where’s my coffee? The best Caps-related highlights might be Barry Trotz narrowly avoiding a puck to the head, and Kevin Shattenkirk potting another point on a nice game-tying assist to Brett Connolly.

Five-on-five shot attempts were very even during this game, coming out 35 to 33 in favor of the Sharks, and 53 to 52 in favor of the Caps in all situations. The Caps allowed two powerplay goals against for the sixth time this season.

Key Stats

• The first two periods of the game were polar opposites. After a few sluggish starts since the bye-week, it was nice to see the Caps jump out of the gate. They applied pressure early and Daniel Winnik scored a goal at 5:26 of the first on a nice feed from Jay Beagle. They ended the period with 25 shot attempts in all situations to just 13 by the Sharks (two PPs certainly helped). But in the second frame the Sharks looked sharp and returned the favor, sending 24 pucks at Braden Holtby to just 14 the other way.
• The Caps will never win in San Jose again. There is no rational or statistics-based way to explain why some teams just have another team’s number in certain situations, transcending decades of a franchise and entire roster turnovers. We recently talked about how Holtby has never beaten the Stars, and how the Stars have beaten the Caps in DC every game since 2006. Well, it’s even worse for the Caps in San Jose when it comes to regulation wins. Exhibit A:

Caps’ all-time record in San Jose (via @hockey_ref). Last regulation win? Five months before Tom Wilson was born. pic.twitter.com/7k5jUsahmP

— Japers’ Rink (@JapersRink) March 9, 2017

• It’s hard to deny that Alex Ovechkin is struggling. Personally, my concern-o-meter on this topic is still low. But while the Caps’ captain has generally been decent in terms of on-ice results of late (i.e. possession), last night was rough for him. His line with TJ Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom came out exactly even on five-on-five shot attempts, but Ovechkin personally was minus-five. Even more concerning is that in the eight (!) games since Ovechkin last scored he has now racked up 54 shot attempts with only 20 of those on net. For many players, this would hardly be worth worrying about, but it’s definitely not what we’ve become accustomed to seeing from the Great Eight.

Unsung Hero of the Game

Every time Jakub Vrana has a quiet and effective game, we could easily give this award to him (he had such a game again last night, which bodes well for playoff depth). Kevin Shattenkirk could also easily get it, but his assist and many standout plays mean it wouldn’t be very “unsung.” Shattenkirk continues to look like a brilliant acquisition. Marcus Johansson will get the unsung hero award for this game. He looked steady all night and was on the ice for nine Caps shots at five-on-five to just two against, and he wasn’t on for any of the goals-against.

Trend to Watch

Earlier this season, the Caps’ third line of Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, and Brett Connolly was one of the most dominant possession lines in the league. They also backed up the process with monstrously good results, sporting an 88 percent goals-for percent at five-on-five (score adjusted). Well, that trio hasn’t played together since Burakovsky broke his hand blocking a shot, and the Caps no longer have any top-tier weapon. That isn’t to say they don’t have several very good weapons, just that they’ve lost their claim of “best third line in hockey” (or rather “best line in hockey”). Here are the Caps’ top four lines in terms of ice time and where each ranks in the league in possession (at five-on-five and score adjusted, out of 87 lines with at least 160 minutes). Also noteworthy is how evenly distributed the ice time is among lines. The Boston Bruins, for example, have a 300-minute gap between their most played line and their second most played line. For the Caps that gap is 21 minutes.

Full Coverage of Caps at Sharks

Stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and NaturalStatTrick.

Headline photo by Don Smith/NHLI.