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RMNB on ESPN 980: Nathan Sick talks about playoff disappointment and Ovechkin

After this week’s exceptionally depressing Game Seven, I was interviewed for the second time on ESPN 980’s The Morning Blitz with Al Galdi to talk all things Washington Capitals. Al and I chatted about possession statistics, Alexander Ovechkin (and the possibility of trading him), free agents, and more.

If you are in the mood to think about what happened and what comes nex then click below and give it a listen.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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The Caps’ window closes with a whimper: numbers for the morning after

It’s that familiar time of year. That time of year when the Washington Capitals exit in the second round and we can all start rooting for the Giant Meteor or begin pretending that we’ve never heard of the sport of hockey. Wednesday night, after so much buildup, the Caps were shutout 2-0 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, thus bowing out of the playoffs. There are no highlights to give.

At times during this series, the Caps did some good things. At other times, they did not. As you well know by now, they outshot the Pens by a wide margin throughout all seven games, but “almost” was still a thing, as the Caps failed to bury their chances and struggled to make a dent on the scoreboard.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Caps decisively even the series: numbers for the morning after

Monday night, the Caps came back to tie their second round series by beating the Pens 5-2, forcing a Game Seven. Let me emphasize that: the series is tied. For once this postseason, the game was chock full of scoring highlights for the Caps. The scoring was taken care of mostly by the big guns again, with Andre Burakovsky exploding for a two-goal night (just after scoring his first of the playoffs last game), Nicklas Backstrom scoring a crucial insurance goal, TJ Oshie nabbing his first of the series, and Braden Holtby turning in a strong performance. Despite a couple of late (and meaningless) tallies against, this team is ready for Wednesday night.

The Caps outscored and out-possessed the Pens by a good margin, but more than that they played the brand of positional shutdown defense that harkens back to their regular season dominance. The Pens were limited to only 31 shot attempts at five-on-five (the Caps had 40) and 13 scoring chances. That’s tied for the fewest scoring chances allowed this postseason and the second fewest shot attempts allowed.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Caps season not over: numbers for the morning after

Last night, the Caps gave themselves a chance at forcing a game seven by beating the Pens 4-2. In a lot of ways, Saturday’s game was the performance we’ve all been waiting for. All four Caps goals were scored at even-strength, and the names beside those tallies were Andre Burakovsky (finally), Nicklas Backstrom, and Evgeny Kuznetsov followed immediately by Alex Ovechkin. We aren’t sure if Ovi’s goal from the “third line” counts as a getting depth scoring, but regardless, if those four guys continue to be dangerous then the Caps still have a shot in this series.

Overall, the possession dominance continued, although not quite to the degree as in Game One through Game Four. The Caps bested the Pens 51 to 42 and finally, that translated to the scoresheet. As has been the story so far in this series, high-danger shot attempts were much closer (eight to seven in favor of the Pens), although the Caps still held a healthy plus-nine margin in scoring chances.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Caps drop the biggest game of the year: numbers for the morning after

Wednesday night, the Caps lost Game Four of the second round to the depleted Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 3-2. While this was an intense game overall, there aren’t many highlights from the Caps side of things, with both goals coming in a span of fewer than two minutes in the second period, by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nate Schmidt.

In general, the playoffs have been a tale of the impotence of the Caps offense. Once again, they dominated possession, besting the Pens in five-on-five shot attempts by a mark of 56 to 28. But for what feels like the umpteenth time, they couldn’t find the back of the net other than for a short span in the second period. Braden Holtby, while not by any means “to blame,” also continues to not be his elite self (he did have his moments though). While it’s tempting based on the stats to suggest that the Caps have been unlucky, it’s hard to really believe that, knowing the recent history of this team and watching that history repeat itself.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Caps’ bad beat by the Pens: numbers for the morning after

On Thursday night the Caps dropped Game One to the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 3-2. Another one-goal game, this time with the Caps on the wrong side. It featured a spirited two-goal comeback by the Caps and some general domination, including goals by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

In the Corsi Hockey League, the Caps would’ve taken the W in a landslide. This was their most dominant possession game all season, with shot attempts at plus-40 (!!!) and scoring chances at plus-26 (!!!!!!!). There are complaints, but overall the Caps just need to keep doing everything they did last night, and then the edge in scoring will tilt in their favor. Probably.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Sizing up the Penguins: 5-on-5

In advance of the series opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins, we are taking a look at the various components of a familiar foe.

For this piece, we look at how the Pens do at 5-on-5, which is arguably the most important game-state as it should comprise the majority of the series. Special teams may or may not cancel each other out and be a factor, but 5-on-5 play is where the two juggernauts will truly go head-to-head. Below we have the breakdown of how these two teams stack up.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Sizing up the Penguins: goaltending

In advance of Thursday night’s second round opener, we are taking a deeper dive into the Caps’ familiar foe, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For this piece, we will look at goaltending. Soon we will check out special teams and five-on-five play. Below we’ve got the full breakdown of how these two teams stack up in this crucial area.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Caps prevail and advance to the second round: numbers for the morning after

Sunday night the Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs for the last time this season, winning 2-1 in the fifth overtime of the series. All six games were won by one goal. Even though it would’ve been arrogant to completely dismiss the Leafs prior to this series, almost nobody thought it would be quite this tough (Peter and Ian excepted). Props to the Leafs, who showed that they can be a deep, tough, and structured opponent.

The heroics last night came mainly from Marcus Johansson, who got the OT winner and the late third period game-tying goal. Nate Schmidt was nearly injured by Leo Komarov (who we won’t miss), but hopefully he’ll be okay for the Caps’ upcoming matchup with the flightless birds.

Once again, shot attempts were nearly even at 63 to 62 in favor of the Caps at five-on-five, and scoring chances were 31-27. The Caps seized the “big moment” of OT and managed to put five shots on net to just one by the Leafs.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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Caps win the coin flip: numbers for the morning after

Friday night, the Caps beat the Leafs 2-1 in overtime, taking a 3-2 lead in the series. It was yet another stressful night, with both teams trading chances and with the momentum seeming to swing almost shift to shift. The Leafs can hang.

Highlights included the game winner by Justin Williams on a defensive breakdown and another goal by TJ Oshie to kick off the scoring (he now has seven points in five games). The lowlight was an existentially terrifying hit on Alex Ovechkin by Nazem Kadri, with the big Russian somehow returning mostly unscathed for the second period. Also, Tom Wilson took four penalties (that can’t happen) which the Caps deftly killed, and Auston Matthews potted his third goal of the series.

The final shot attempt tally was 50 to 48 in favor of the Caps (at five-on-five), and scoring chances were 22-23 with the edge to the Leafs. The series could hardly be any closer.

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By Nathan Sick 6 years ago

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