Friday, February 15, 2008

Not So Special Teams

The Washington Capitals look for their first win against a Southeast Division opponent since beating Florida nearly a month ago. In the time since, they are 0-2-1 against division opponents and have been unable to string two wins in a row since January 21st, 11 games ago.

In the Capitals last 10 games, they are 5-4-1, not a terrible record, but no team in the Southeast has played worse than that in their last 10 games. In each team's last 10 games, Tampa Bay has 13 points, Carolina and Florida have 12, and Atlanta and the Caps have 11. The most glaring cause of the Capitals inability to take control of the division is their power play ineptitude.

Just how bad has the Capitals power play been? They scored a PP goal in only two of these ten games. Worse yet, on their 29 power play opportunities, the Capitals have scored three goals, but allowed two. To me, that says their power play effectiveness is 1-for-29 or 3.4 percent.

It has been well documented that the Capitals are abysmal when in control of a two-man advantage, but just how bad are they? Using statistics compiled at behindthenet.ca, I have done some numerical research. And the results are not good.

For starters, the Capitals are one of only two teams to ALLOW a goal when up 5-on-3 (in fact, only 12 teams have even allowed a shot.) But it doesn't stop there. The Capitals rank dead last in the league in Goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-3 time (referenced as "/60" from now on) and are next to last in Shots/60. The Capitals are in fact taking FEWER shots when on a 5-on-3 advantage (43.6/60) than when on a 5-on-4 PP (48.2/60), not to mention scoring less (4.0 Goals/60 when 5-on-3), (6.3 Goals/60 when 5-on-4).  

Just 43.6 Shots/60 when up 5-on-3? Not good when ten teams average over 100 Shots/60 in the same situation. Only 4.0 Goals/60 when up 5-on-3? Again, not good when half the league averages over 23 Goals/60 in the exact same situation.

But Washington's struggles don't begin and end with their power play. Their penalty killing not only ranks in the bottom ten in the NHL, but they haven't been creating scoring chances on the PK all year long. They are content with getting the puck out of the zone without any giddy-up and go. When the Capitals are on a 5-on-4 power play, opponents average 18.8 shorthanded shots/60 minutes against the Caps. In contrast, when the Capitals are playing shorthanded 4-on-5, they average only 7.4 shorthanded shots/60 minutes, fourth fewest in the league. 

Only three Washington players have scored shorthanded: Matt Bradley (on 10/29), Brooks Laich (11/19), and Boyd Gordon (11/24) have each netted one goal apiece.  No shorthanded goals in nearly three months. Only one since Bruce Boudreau took over, and it was his second game behind the bench. 

The Capitals have always been a team that creates chances when down a man, all the way back to the days of Kelly Miller, Mike Ridley, and Dale Hunter. In 2005-06, the Capitals were fourth in the league in SHG. Last year they tied for seventh and were led by Chris Clark who had four shorties and Matt Pettinger with three. Those two have combined for the same seven goals this year, total. 

As the statistics have illustrated, the Capitals are unable to create shorthanded chances, but their opposition is having no trouble whatsoever. And it's affecting the Caps' power play. So why can't Washington cause problems on their opponents' power play by creating their own shorthanded chances?

After all, Montreal, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Pittsburgh have the league's top four power plays.  And they seem to have no problem winning.

Read More From The Archive Or Head To The Home Page