Better, but still not close to good enough: numbers for the morning after

The Washington Capitals stayed in Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche for almost the balance of the contest but faded late. After their 5-2 defeat to the league’s top team, the Caps have now lost three games in a row.

They battled better in this game, but it’s still clear they just don’t have enough right now. And, that “right now” might actually be “this season.”

• The Capitals actually fared far better, going chance-for-chance in this game than I thought they would. While the overall five-on-five scoring chance battle was lopsided in favor of Colorado, 36-23, the Caps battled hard to stay even with high-danger chances, only losing that battle 14-12. However, a lot of that faded in the third period, which was just entirely disappointing to watch. They managed just three shots on goal in the final frame and couldn’t capitalize on the break they received by winning a coach’s challenge. My feelings about the game mirror a lot of what I said in the morning numbers post before this one. The Avalanche, who were also missing some key players, are the cream of the crop in the NHL, and this year’s Capitals just aren’t close at all to matching them.
• Ethen Frank continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise dim winter. He was the only Capitals player to have a multi-point game (1g, 1a) and has six points (5g, 1a) in his last six games. Frank would be on pace for 23 goals and 42 points over a full 82-game schedule. He has probably earned himself a pretty nice next contract.
• Jakob Chychrun also scored again, his 18th of the season, which ties him with Zach Werenski for most among NHL defensemen. His five power-play goals rank second on the team, behind only Tom Wilson (7).

• I thought Charlie Lindgren was superb, which is really tough to do in a game where you give up five goals. He made 39 stops in the loss and, per MoneyPuck, allowed just 0.62 more goals than expected. The only goal against that I didn’t love was Nathan MacKinnon’s, but that guy also just has a special shot and is a different kind of beast when he’s flying into the offensive zone with a full head of steam.
• That Connor McMichael, Justin Sourdif, and Ryan Leonard line REALLY did not work in their reunion game with Sourdif back from injury. With McMichael on the ice five-on-five, the Capitals posted heavily negative differentials in shot attempts (-28), shots on goal (-15), goals (-3), scoring chances (-15), and high-danger chances (-7).
• Well, the Capitals play the Vancouver Canucks next on Wednesday night. The Canucks are the only team in the league with a longer active losing streak than the Caps, falling for an eighth straight game on Monday night. Safe to say, the Capitals need to win that one.