Nov. 8 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN/Caps Radio Network
Washington Capitals (7-6-1)
Tampa Bay Lightning (7-5-2)
Two nights after opening their four-game road trip with a 5-3 loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh, the Caps are back on the ice in Tampa where they’re taking on the Lightning on Saturday night.
Thursday night’s setback in Pittsburgh emphasized some of the things the Capitals have done well this season, particularly their 5-on-5 game at both ends of the ice. But it also shined some harsh light on their special teams, which have struggled through the season’s first month.
Thursday’s game was the second half of a set of back-to-backs for the Capitals, who have typically started slowly in those games this season. In Pittsburgh, the Caps were whistled for three penalties in the first period, and the Penguins cashed in for a pair of Sidney Crosby power-play goals to open up a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Ex-Cap Anthony Mantha extended that lead to 3-0 early in the second before the Caps began to mount a comeback in the back half of the middle frame. With goals from Dylan Strome, Rasmus Sandin and Tom Wilson, the Caps pulled even before the end of the second, and they were all even at 3-3 entering the third.
Washington had the first two power play opportunities of the final frame. The first of those opportunities produced an Alex Ovechkin shot on net and a couple of misses from the blueline. It also resulted in Pens penalty killer Connor Dewar ringing the iron behind Charlie Lindgren in a bid for a shorthanded go-ahead goal.
About four minutes later, the Caps got another kick at the power play can when Pens forward Ben Kindel gloved the puck over the glass in his own end of the ice. This one came with a well-timed television timeout, and an opportunity to chat and start the power play with the top unit.
This final opportunity resulted in one of the cleanest looks Ovechkin has had all season from his left dot office, and he cranked his patented one-timer, but Pittsburgh’s Arturs Silovs made the stop and froze the puck. Ten seconds after the ensuing offensive zone face-off, Washington’s power play came to an abrupt end when Strome was boxed for an iffy cross-checking call, resulting in a stretch of 4-on-4 hockey followed by a Penguins man advantage of 45 seconds in duration. The Pens cashed in for their third power-play goal of the game, with Evgeni Malkin making an excellent play and pass from the half wall to Bryan Rust on the weak side, and Rust buried the game-winner with 8:34 left.
“It’s kind of the story of our season so far,” says Strome. “We’ve been great at 5-on-5 for the most part and we obviously give up [three] on the kill. We get back into the game at 5-on-5 in the second and can’t capitalize in the third on the power play, and they do.
“We’re a great team at 5-on-5 right now. Our special teams isn’t good and we have to find a way to be better. There’s no way around it. Like Carbs said the other day, it’s cost us games, and it felt like another one [Thursday].”
Washington’s penalty kill yielded three goals against for the second time in 14 games this season, and its power play failed on two third-period opportunities to cobble together the go-ahead goal.
“The penalty kill, it’s the same story,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “We’ve got to get to work on it. There’s a bunch of different stuff, whether it’s structure stuff, lack of ability to find a way to generate clears in certain situations, whether it’s 50/50 pucks, battles, face-offs, all those scenarios.
“So, we’re spending way too much time in zone as a penalty killing unit, and eventually good players are going to make plays. That’s what you saw [Thursday night]. They just sat in there – and I’ve seen this a bunch – and then we fall asleep a little bit on the last one.”
Heading into Friday night’s slate of NHL activity, Washington’s power play ranks 27th in the NHL with a 15.2 percent success rate, and its penalty kill ranks 24th with a kill rate of 72.7 percent.
An NHL team’s ‘Special Teams Index’ is a basic way of seeing its success outside of even strength situations, and it can be computed simply; it’s the sum of their power play and penalty kill rates. Pittsburgh leads the NHL with a gaudy STI of 120.3, on a 35.9 percent power play rate (first in the NHL) and an 84.4 percent on the kill (eighth).
Washington is currently one of only three NHL clubs with an STI below 90. The Caps are at 87.9, ahead of only Vancouver (87.2) and Columbus 84.5. The aim is to be above 100, a level currently achieved by 15 of the circuit’s 32 teams.
“We’ve got work to do on special teams,” Carbery reiterates. “No different tonight. [Wednesday night vs. St. Louis] was a positive; it felt like we built some momentum. And [Thursday night] we take a step back.
Since stumbling out to an uncharacteristic 1-4-2 start to their season, the Bolts have charged their way back up the Atlantic Division standings. Tampa Bay has won six of its last seven games (6-1-0) and it just concluded a three-game road trip out west with a 6-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City on Thursday night. The Bolts won two of three on the trip, faltering only in Colorado, where their five-game winning streak was halted with a 3-2 loss.
Tampa Bay’s recently vaunted power play has also fallen on hard times; it sits just a few notches above Washington’s with a 16.7 percent success rate. But the Lightning’s penalty kill has been sturdy at 89.4 percent, third-best in the League. The Lightning’s STI is a strong 106.1 as a result.
Washington won the first of the three meetings between the Caps and Lightning this season, prevailing 3-2 in an overtime decision on Jakob Chychrun’s game-winner. The season series will conclude later this month in the District.
