Caps Take on Rangers in Saturday Matinee
Washington's homestand continues with New York's first visit to D.C. this season
Washington's five-game homestand continues on Saturday afternoon when the New York Rangers hit the District for a solo Saturday afternoon contest with the Capitals. Saturday's matinee match is the front end of a rare set of weekend back-to-back games at home for the Caps; the New Jersey Devils move into D.C. to supply the opposition for the back half of the set on Sunday night.
The Caps made like James Brown in Thursday's homestand opener, getting on the good foot with a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Following a 3-1 victory over the Pens in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, it marks the first time in just under two years that Washington has limited the opposition to one or zero goals against in consecutive contests.
In both games, Washington scored first, built on its lead twice and protected the lead despite permitting a goal against in the back half of the third period.
"When it comes to the third period, we were good defensively, but I would have still liked to have pressed more offensively," said Caps coach Peter Laviolette after Thursday's win over Buffalo. "I think that the defending part has been better in the last few games. There were a couple of mistakes that were made - not necessarily defense - but just mistakes that were made and the pucks ended up in the back of our net in that first Pittsburgh game.
"But the chances have been really low against, from a 5-on-5 perspective. Defensively, we've been good. The second period, I don't think we gave up much, but we didn't generate much. I still think that there could be a push to generate a little bit more."
The first period Thursday's game was fast paced in that there were few whistles. But the Caps knew they were capable of being better.
"I think we all knew after the first that maybe we weren't playing to the standard that we had in Pittsburgh," says Caps right wing T.J. Oshie. "And I think the guys did a good job of responding in the second, getting a couple of goals on special teams and just finishing out the game, really.
"As far as a complete 60 [minutes], I think we all think we can do a lot better. But we're definitely happy with the win and the way we responded in the second."
As good as the Caps have been defensively these last two games - and to some extent, as Laviolette notes, for longer than these last two games - the offense could stand to pick up some steam. While Washington limited Buffalo to just 23 shots on net in Thursday's win, the Caps mustered only 21 shots of their own, matching their lowest single-game total of the season.
With an average of 3.47 goals per game, the Caps are tied for fifth in the NHL. And while Washington ranks fifth in the circuit with 38 goals at 5-on-5 in its 15 games, three of its four goals at 5-on-5 in the last two games have come from the same line, the Lars Eller line.
"I think we've still got to get on the attack more," says Laviolette. "I think there is a lot of room for us to be better with what we're doing. The chances are low defensively, but they're not where I'd like to see our group offensively.
"To be honest, [Thursday] night I thought we were a little slow out of the gate and we didn't have that attack mindset. If I'm focusing just on us and not looking at the opponent or who we're playing - or the start times or anything else - the expectation has to be for us to be more of a team that is working to create, and [Thursday] night I don't feel like that happened. We talk about these things, we look at it, we send out video clips for the players to look at to try and get better and try to improve upon. [Saturday] is another crack to try to get back to that mindset of being an attack team."
In their only previous meeting with the Rangers this season - in New York on Feb. 4 - the Caps fell behind in the game's second minute, and they chased and never caught the Blueshirts the rest of the way, dropping a 4-2 decision. In the immediate aftermath of that win over Washington, the Rangers dropped four straight (0-3-1) before halting that slide with a 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday night.
New York has eked out only six goals worth of offense in its five games since defeating the Capitals, and the Rangers are highly dependent upon their 5-on-5 offense for goals. The New York power play ranks 27th in the League at 12.3% and has gone 1-for-19 (5.3%) in the team's last six games.
