It’s that familiar time of year. That time of year when the Washington Capitals exit in the second round and we can all start rooting for the Giant Meteor or begin pretending that we’ve never heard of the sport of hockey. Wednesday night, after so much buildup, the Caps were shutout 2-0 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, thus bowing out of the playoffs. There are no highlights to give.
At times during this series, the Caps did some good things. At other times, they did not. As you well know by now, they outshot the Pens by a wide margin throughout all seven games, but “almost” was still a thing, as the Caps failed to bury their chances and struggled to make a dent on the scoreboard.
Key Stats
- The high danger shot attempts were close. It is doubtful that being minus-142 in shot attempts at five-on-five during this series was specifically what Pens coach Mike Sullivan drew up. That is never ideal. But scoring chances and high danger shot attempts were much closer, and at the core that’s a large part of where this series was lost. Last night, high danger shot attempts were 10 to nine, and over the entire series, the Caps were only plus-11 in scoring chances. The Caps finished the seven games with both a lower shooting and lower save percentage. The Pens finished their chances, the Caps did not.
- Marc-Andre Fleury was solid, Braden Holtby was human. Fleury posted a .926 save percentage at five-on-five over the course of the series while Holtby posted a .909. Neither was elite, neither was atrocious. Taken as a raw number, Holtby was below average. He also let in a few clunkers. On the other hand, Fleury was good but by no means did he steal this series.
- Alex Ovechkin was seventh in even strength ice-time last night. It is unclear whether Barry Trotz was disappointed in his game and whether the “demotion” to the third line really was a demotion. It seems like it was. Trotz mentioned double shifting as a rationale for bumping Ovechkin down, but that double shifting never really happened. With so much of the depth not scoring (again), it is highly irrational to keep your best goal-scoring weapon (yes, he still is) on the bench for large portions of three consecutive elimination games. If there is a hatchet to bury, do it later.
Unsung Hero of the Game
There can be none.
Trend to Watch
Was this the end of a window? Did it just slam shut on the Capitals? There is no doubt that this will be an emotional summer. The team will be different next year, as dictated by the salary cap. The heartbreak and frustration might make it easier to part with some familiar names, or it might muddy the waters over who should stay and who should go. The Caps likely won’t be “bad,” and the prospect cupboard isn’t totally barren (but isn’t fully stocked, either). And who knows, maybe having the pressure of being a juggernaut lifted from their shoulders could be a good thing — maybe they’ll surprise come playoffs.
Stats courtesy of Corisca.Hockey and NaturalStatTrick.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
