The Washington Capitals aren’t just slumping; they’re officially struggling. The team is having a really tough time generating shots on goal, and they’re starting to resemble last year’s Capitals more than the Capitals of this past October and December.
The 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens isn’t a disastrous result by any means, but it’s not a good one either.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for Washington Capitals on 2025-01-10: pic.twitter.com/rj4oYjot6h
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) January 11, 2025
- I can’t honestly remember the last time the Capitals put together two good periods in a row. The second on Friday night was bad, as they got out-attempted 18-7 and topped in expected goals 0.96-0.56 at five-on-five. Perhaps more concerning, this was another game where they just did not generate enough toward the opposition net, recording just 17 shots on goal.
- Ethen Frank made his NHL debut and was pretty great. He tallied his first NHL point on Lars Eller’s goal and the Capitals were great with him on the ice. During his five-on-five minutes, they held positive differentials in shot attempts (+7), scoring chances (+1), and high-danger chances (+4).
- No goals for Alex Ovechkin in his last three games, which this season feels like an eternity. His shot rate has dropped, averaging just three shots a game over those three games.
Taylor Raddysh tallied his 14th assist of the season on Eller's goal. Raddysh (14a in 42 GP) is three assists shy of tying his single-season career high in assists (2022-23: 17a in 78 GP).
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) January 11, 2025
- Per the Capitals, Jakob Chychrun scored his 12th goal of the season, which marked the 21st goal by a Capitals defenseman this season, surpassing the team’s total from all of last season (20). Chychrun blocked a slap shot early in the game and looked really hobbled to me for the rest of regulation. Something to keep an eye on.
- John Carlson played 24:34 of ice time in the loss. The Capitals play the back half of their back-to-back with travel against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night. Another thing I’m assigning everyone to keep an eye on tonight.
- I want to use my last bullet to send encouragement and well wishes to Craig Laughlin. That man is a pure legend and was such a gigantic part of my childhood. I don’t know Capitals hockey without him and Joe B. You got this, Locker.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-Reference, NaturalStatTrick, and HockeyStatCards.
