Defense-first Caps have reinvented themselves
The Capitals had the NHL’s most prolific offense a year ago, a goal-scoring juggernaut that put fear into the hearts of goalies and defensemen across the league.
But exactly halfway through the 2010-11 season, that high-powered team has disappeared. Gone are the thrilling 6-5 or 5-4 wins that entertained Verizon Center fans and made Washington a top draw throughout the league with its go-go style of play.
In its place is a team still navigating its way through low-scoring, one-goal contests in which a single mistake can cost standings points. After an eight-game losing streak last month, the adjustment has finally showed some positive results. Over the last nine games, Washington has allowed just 14 goals. That is a small sample size, of course. But since Nov. 24 — the first game after back-to-back 5-0 shutout losses — the Caps have allowed just 41 goals. That’s 2.16 goals against per game over 19 games — close to a quarter of a season. Overall, Washington ranks seventh in the NHL in fewest goals (2.54). Last year that number was 2.77, good only for 16th.
There are clear reasons for the improvement. The Caps have received solid goaltending from youngsters Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth. Bruce Boudreau has tweaked his system, more often employing a trapping style in the neutral zone to take pressure off his defensemen.
Maybe most important of all, the penalty kill has been brilliant. Hard to believe that the unit that finished 25th last season is now one of the league’s best. But it’s hard to dispute. Through 41 games Washington is third in the league at 85.4 percent and has killed 23 penalties in a row.
| Caps notes |
| » The Caps have improved their defensive play in spite of blueline injuries. Tom Poti (22 games), Jeff Schultz (nine) and Mike Green (seven) all have missed time. Scott Hannan has played in just 15 games since his trade from Colorado. |
| » Washington led the NHL with 3.88 goals a game last season — 0.55 more than the second-best team (Vancouver). It is down to 2.88 this season, 11th overall. |
| » The Caps’ power play also led the league last season at 25.2 percent but is down to 12th overall at 18.5 percent this season. |
“I don’t know if we gave [Tampa Bay] a chance,” Boudreau said after a 1-0 overtime loss to the Lightning on Tuesday. “They’ve been doing that for a couple weeks now. It’s why I think our record is [5]-0-2 in the last [seven] games. It certainly isn’t because of the power play.”
No, it isn’t. The power play has scored three times in its last 39 attempts. But since that Nov. 24 game against Carolina, the penalty kill is 63-for-72 (87.5 percent), which over the full season would lead the NHL.
“It’s definitely not easy to go from [25th] and improve that much that fast. But you can do it if you learn to work together,” defenseman Scott Hannan — acquired via trade from Colorado on Nov. 30 — said last week. “And that’s something that’s been happening for us.”
