Blaine Forsythe has a new gig.
The former longtime Capitals assistant has landed in Tempe after being tabbed by the Arizona Coyotes to work on André Tourigny’s coaching staff, presumably to work on the power play.
The news was first reported by PHNX’s Craig Morgan and announced by Tourigny himself as he spoke about Forsythe’s hiring during a one-on-one interview.
The Washington Capitals announced that Blaine Forsythe and Kevin McCarthy will not return to the team next season after the team and the assistant coaches agreed to part ways.
Forsythe and McCarthy follow Peter Laviolette out the door after the Capitals posted their worst full season in 16 years.
By Ian Oland 5 months ago
After Tuesday’s nigh-unwatchable loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the Washington Capitals now sport a 3-7-0 record in their last ten games. This is the worst record in the National Hockey League, tied with the St Louis Blues. Two of Washington’s three wins came after regulation – one from the shootout. Their only win was – improbably – against the Boston Bruins.
The Capitals are very bad right now, and it’s important we understand how.
By Peter Hassett 7 months ago
The Washington Capitals have scored 41 goals in 2023 so far. That ranks them 29th in the league by goal total and 28th by goal rate. In nine of the team’s sixteen games since the new year, they’ve scored two or fewer goals. Of those nine games, they won two.
In short, offense is killing the Washington Capitals. Dudes need goals.
By Peter Hassett 7 months ago
It’s February, and the Washington Capitals sit fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. (That’s if you go by points percentage, like an adult would, instead of by raw points, like children do.) The Caps have a good penalty kill, a bad power play, and middle-of-the-pack possession during even strength. They were really good in December but were pretty miserable heading into the All-Star Break.
In short, there’s a lot going on with this team, and while it might feel like a tumultuous mess, I think there’s a handful of clear lessons to be gained from the season so far.
By Peter Hassett 8 months ago
The Washington Capitals will open the 2022-23 season on Wednesday, October 12. Before then, it’s critical that you prepare yourself for all the incoming narratives. The only way to be safe is to read my season preview series.
Today’s episode of Uncle Good Tweet Pete’s Preseason Season Preview is about Washington’s continually degrading power play.
By Peter Hassett 12 months ago
The Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights four games to one to win the Stanley Cup four years ago this week.
Since then, the Capitals have not won a playoff series since, getting first-rounded four consecutive times. While the Caps’ core and identity have largely stayed the same, the 2018 team’s supporting cast has moved on. Only nine of those 27 players are still on the team while two others, Shane Gersich and Pheonix Copley, remain in the organization.
Some key members of the 2018 championship team have flourished elsewhere. Others have wound down their careers or retired in different organizations or leagues.
By Ian Oland 1 year ago
The Washington Capitals have gone 8-12-2 since the new year, earning just 41 percent of the standings points available to them. That places the team 26th out of the league’s 32 teams in the calendar year of 2022. That’s a dramatic drop from the first three months of the season, when the Caps were third best at collecting standings points (71 percent, behind only Carolina and Tampa). Now the only teams worse are Buffalo, Arizona, Montreal, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Those are, to be precise, ass-tier hockey teams, and Washington is among them.
So let’s have some fun. Let’s play the blame game!
By Peter Hassett 2 years ago
The Washington Capitals power play is bad and needs an overhaul. Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Peter Laviolette and PP coach Blaine Forsythe will once again try to fix the problem with a bandaid.
That bandaid will come in the form of Lars Eller and Evgeny Kuznetsov flipping places. Eller to the first power-play unit and Kuznetsov to the second.
By Chris Cerullo 2 years ago
In their daily feature, our bitter enemies at Japers Rink revealed Thursday’s noon number was zero, as in that’s how many shots on goal the Capitals generated in six minutes of power-play time in their loss to Edmonton on Wednesday night. Once the “gold standard” power play in the NHL, Washington’s is now one of the league’s worst.
Fixing the power play needs to be Washington’s priority down the stretch.
By Peter Hassett 2 years ago
