Following a dominating performance in their 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, let’s take a look at some numbers that show what the Caps did well–and some that show what they did not-so-well.
-11
First, the good: Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie was a -11 in shot attempt plus-minus at 5v5. The Caps absolutely demolished the young stud blueliner. All in all, he saw 20 shot attempts go in the wrong direction, courtesy of a multitude of Caps skaters. It was only a mix of blind luck and a .963 5v5 save percentage by our old pal Semyon Varlamov that kept Barrie from getting nicked for a goal or two against.
3
Let’s be honest, the Caps had a great night. We’re nitpicking, but Lars Eller won just 3 of the 14 faceoffs he lined up for–and only 1 of 10 at even strength. He also took a hooking penalty that luckily didn’t cost the Caps, who were in brick-wall mode. Overall, not a great night for a player who last year was above 50 percent on the faceoff dot and who drew 5 more penalties than he took.
Our honorable mention goes to Dmitry Orlov, who somehow was the only Cap below 50-percent possession at 5v5. We’ll give him a pass because of his epic hip check on Matt Duchene, who we hear has opened a salt factory.
