On Friday, the Caps beat their nemesis Pittsburgh Penguins in relatively convincing fashion. This victory led fans, myself included, to believe that things could be back on the right track for DC’s hockey team. We who believed such a thing were wrong. Instead of another satisfactory effort against the Edmonton Oilers, we got one of the worst efforts in the entire Alex Ovechkin era. And yet, the Caps still somehow escaped with a 2-1 victory.
The Capitals were out-attempted by the Oilers five-on-five 62 to 28. They were also out shot 30 to 19.
- This first one comes from Peter. This was the Caps worst shot-attempt performance since getting outshot 53-20 by the Blues in a blowout win on April 8, 2014. That was a game under often criticized, horrible head coach, Adam Oates (adios) in which Alex Ovechkin played ten total minutes. This Capitals team is playing worse hockey, when we look at score and venue adjusted shot attempt percentage (47 percent), than that horrid Oates team (47.5 percent).
- The narrative might spring to what it has in the past when the Caps have games like this, which is, “Oh, but those shot attempts all came from really low-percentage areas.” Don’t let it:
- That current 47 percent score- and venue-adjusted shot attempt percentage is good for the third worst mark in the entire league. This team is steps away from the Colorado Avalanche. The 2-14-3 Arizona Coyotes are in front of them. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights, made up of a majority of third liners, is in front of them. Rebuilding teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings are in front of them.
- Probably the most baffling decision of the night was made by Caps head coach Barry Trotz when it came to line match ups. Trotz inexplicably iced Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Devante Smith Pelly, Brooks Orpik, and John Carlson against superstar Connor McDavid‘s line. The quintet has been positively horrendous together this season, posting a score- and venue-adjusted shot attempt percentage of 33 percent over 18 games. That didn’t change on Sunday night. They got lit up like a dang Christmas tree on top of 500 more Christmas trees all placed in the center of Times Square. For example, Orpik was on the ice for 11 Capitals shot attempts and 40 Oilers shot attempts. Forty.
- This was so bad it’s getting another bullet. The match-up went so poorly for so long, Trotz didn’t attempt a single change, and I was refreshing myself on the definition of insanity mid hockey game. Normally we’d turn to Nicklas Backstrom‘s line in a case like this. They had to have been the better option. Oh wait. Oh no…
- Praise be unto Braden Holtby. Without a goalie of his caliber, I fear what we may have watched occur Sunday night. Holtby stopped 29 of 30 shots on the way to his 201st career victory. Braden either got a great night of sleep after carrying the team on his back all night or he had nightmares of Patrick Maroon, who alone flung 11 shot attempts Holtby’s way.
- Somehow, among all of this utter defensive chaos, one light was still able to shine down on the Capital One Area ice. That light fell upon the shoulders of a Danish prince. Lars Eller was able to come out of this game relatively unscathed, with a positive shot-attempt differential. Explain that one.
- Tom Wilson got his 50th career assist on Dmitry Orlov‘s first marker of the season. That would be cooler if Wilson had reached that “milestone” like an entire season worth of games ago. Wilson also now has 5 fights in 14 games. That’s on pace for close to 30 fights if Wilson plays the full 78 games that he can this season. Make of that what you want.
- In the midst of the doom and gloom that I have smeared all about this web page, we still must remember an important detail: this game only made up 65 minutes of what is a very long season. The Capitals actually won this game. Things aren’t looking good right now, but that does not by any means indicate that the team cant and won’t change for the better. Of course that means they could also still just change for the worse… Okay, I’ll do it for you. “Shut up, Chris.”
- Last but not least, I want your thoughts. I very obviously do not have all the answers. I want your thoughts on how Trotz has handled this season so far and more specifically your opinion on this game. Was the two points enough? Do these trending underlying numbers not scare you? Do you think this team is different or better than the one led by Oates from 2012 to 2014?
Numbers thanks to Hockeystats.ca, NaturalStatTrick.com, and Corsica.hockey.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Oilers
Headline photo: Patrick McDermott
