The Washington Capitals got blown out of Mullett Arena on Monday night. By the end of the first period the game was already over and they might as well have gotten on a flight home instead of come out for the second and third.
That’s a burn the tape game but also a big, red, flashing warning sign.
- The Capitals were never in this game. Despite the stats showing that they were the better team at five-on-five for decent stretches of the game, I don’t buy much into those sort of numbers in blowouts. The Coyotes simply did not even need to get out of second gear after they were up 5-0 in what felt like a blink of an eye. I’ve been ready for this sort of game to come as the Capitals’ goaltending has been bailing them out time and time again this season. It sure didn’t on Monday night.
- Darcy Kuemper managed just two saves before he was removed from the game with the Capitals down 3-0. MoneyPuck had Kuemper saving 2.67 goals less than expected and Charlie Lindgren saving 0.91 less goals than expected. That’s almost a four-goal swing. See what I mean?
- Thanks to some stat-digging from Ian and Peter, we learned that the Capitals’ 5-0 first period hole was the 26th time the Caps have given up five-or-more goals and not scored any themselves. It’s only the fourth time Washington has been torched that badly since the 2004-05 lockout.
In their last five games, they've beaten:
-Vegas (2-0)
-Tampa (3-1)
-Colorado (4-3 OT)
-St. Louis (4-1)
-Washington (6-0)The @ArizonaCoyotes are on an absolute heater right now. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qsTfijQjvK
— NHL (@NHL) December 5, 2023
- Alex Ovechkin now does not have a goal in seven-straight games. The power play still being utterly ineffective is not helping. The Capitals went 0-for-4 up a man and gave up a 2-on-0 shorthanded rush goal. Honestly, has to be the lowest point of the season so far. We’ve talked enough about the power play. It’s beyond time that something actually different is tried set up wise.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov was healthy scratched for what would have been his 700th career NHL game. Kuzy got to watch his teammates get smoked from up above in whatever press box arrangement the Coyotes’ college rink offers. Not sure he learned much from his experience.
- I liked what I saw from Hendrix Lapierre in spurts. He was one of the Capitals that still looked like they were trying probably because he is one of the lone players on the roster actually fighting for a lineup spot on a nightly basis. I think that should change soon and affect more than just Kuznetsov. Lapierre ended up skating 14:53 of ice time which is his career, single-game high.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
