Full Fathom Five – With 78 goals at 5-on-5 in just 30 games, the Capitals sit atop the NHL in that particular offensive category. But as they prepare to take on the Blackhawks in Chicago tonight, the Caps have gone a bit dry on the 5-on-5 scoring front.
Washington has rolled up a 4-1-1 record since the calendar turned to December, but it has been subsisting on special teams, goaltending and staunch defense over that span. Since the beginning of the month, the Caps are among five teams tied for 28th (last) in the League with just nine goals at 5-on-5.
“Individually, we all need to bear down and capitalize on our opportunities; I think that's what it is,” says Caps center Nic Dowd. “I think we've done a good job of creating opportunities at 5-on-5, but we just need that finish at the end, and we need guys to step up and put the puck in the back of the net. I think that's really the only difference.
“You want to continue your 5-on-5 success, because at any time your special teams can go up and down. Our power play has been great so far, and we gain a lot of momentum off of it, too. I think the five guys that are out there at any given time have done a really good job of setting up our bench and even if they don't score, setting up the game with momentum. But it's important to continue that 5-on-5 success, because that's ultimately the main part of the game, and that's what's going to drive offensive success. Plus it gets everyone involved, keeps guys involved and keeps happy and playing well.”
The Caps generally feel like they’ve been generating enough scoring chances at 5-on-5, but they’ve lacked the finishing touch. There is also the fact that they are no longer seen by the opposition as a team that is simply off to a hot start.
“I think a lot of teams probably didn't really understand our lines at the beginning of the season, and they hadn’t pre-scouted us,” observes Caps center Dylan Strome. “And I feel like you can kind of jump on teams when they don't know what's coming. Look at how Dowder’s line can grind down a team, or how me, [Alex Ovechkin] and [Aliaksei Protas] can score off the rush, and how [P-L] Dubois’ line can do both of those things, where they shut guys down and score off the rush.
“We were scoring a bunch of different ways, and now, [30] games in, teams are always pre-scouted and they know what to expect. I think it’s natural for 5-on-5 scoring to drop a little bit throughout this part of the season. But I still feel like – and even [Caps coach Spencer Carbery] touched on it – the last four or five games, our chances are up, our 5-on-5 chances are up. So it’s just about bearing down and putting those in. It feels like it's not as important when your power play is scoring, but we know from the beginning of the year how important 5-on-5 scoring is.”
The main thing is that Washington is pulling in standings points on a regular basis. They’ve lost consecutive games just once all season, and they rolled out of that tiny tailspin with the longest point streak – nine games, 8-0-1 – that any team in the League has managed to this point of the campaign. Monday night’s loss in Dallas was their first regulation setback since Nov. 23, and even in that 3-1 setback to the Stars, they were generally pleased with the overall quality of their 60-minute performance.
“Whether we win 3-1 or whether we lose 3-1, or it's 2-1, 1-0 or 5-1 for that matter, we're concerned with our process, and last night, I thought there was a lot of good things inside of our process, especially at 5-on-5. So you’ve got to take those positives. There are some things in areas that we can continue to work on and take from last night, and that's what we'll do. But overall, we’re happy with the way that we played on the road at Dallas.”
On The Road Again – A night after their impressive 10-game road winning streak came to a halt in a 3-1 loss to the Stars in Dallas, the Caps move on to the next city to finish up their sixth set of back-to-back games since the beginning of November. Washington visits Chicago on Tuesday before returning home to host Carolina on Friday and Los Angeles on Sunday.
Washington’s franchise record road winning streak started in St. Louis on Nov. 9, and it stretched through 10 different cities and buildings over half a dozen separate journeys, spanning more than six weeks.
The Capitals are just the second team in NHL history to forge home and road winning streaks of seven or more games before the 25-game mark of a season; they also had a seven-game home winning streak that stretched from Oct. 15-Nov. 6.
Now 30 games into the season, they’ve achieved a lot they can be proud of in just two months of the 2024-25 campaign, and they should be imbued with a lot of confidence based on their achievements to date.
Washington has turned its goal differential upside down from last season, it has morphed into one of the top scoring teams in the NHL, and it has also forged a strong defensive identity. Prior to their loss in Dallas on Monday, the Caps had also strung together five straight games in which they surrendered two or fewer goals against, doing so for the first time in nearly five years.
“There's definitely a lot of hockey left, but we've certainly shown that we can win all sorts of ways,” says goaltender Charlie Lindgren. “We're finding ways to score a lot of goals, and then we can play that defensive style as well, where maybe it's a little bit tougher to get to the net or find the rush chances.
“We're just finding different ways to come out on top. And I think we're comfortable in a lot of different situations; even when we've found ourselves down in games, I think there's been no panic at all really. We have a lot of confidence that we can find a way – after 60 minutes or 60 plus minutes – to come back and win. It’s a really fun team to be part of. It's been really cool to see the way we've formed an identity here the first couple months. And yeah, there’s a lot of a lot of hockey left, and hopefully we keep that going.”
Last season, the Caps suffered 24 losses by a margin of three or more goals; only San Jose (33) and Chicago (27) were on the wrong end of more setbacks by three or more pucks. This season, only one of Washington’s seven regulation losses – a 3-0 defeat in Tampa on Oct. 26 – came by as many as three goals. The Caps have the fewest losses by three or more goals in the NHL this season.
“All of us in the locker room have a good feel for how we’re playing, regardless of what's going on externally,” says Dowd. “I think what’s maybe different from years past is that we've been able to win hockey games in different ways. Last year, if we scored three or more goals, we won a lot of games. If we scored two or fewer, we were 0-19-1 or something ridiculous.”
“What's different this year is that we've just had the ability to win tight hockey games – 1-0, 2-1, overtime – and we've had the ability to score early and often. And then it's just that same mix; if we give up three four goals, we're still able to find a way to score five or six and win a hockey game. Going forward, that gives us the confidence that I truly feel in this locker room. We never feel like we're out of any type of game, regardless of where we are during the game or what period it is.”
Thirteen of Washington’s 21 wins have been of the comeback variety.
“You hit the nail on the head with the confidence aspect of it,” concurs Strome. “Our team confidence in being able to find ways to win is high; I feel like we are capable of winning games 2-1, like we have done previously, and we are also capable of winning games 6-5 or 7-6, too. We’re just trying to stick with it and to keep playing good hockey.
“Sometimes you are going to have breakdowns, teams get hot on the power play or you’re going to give up a shorthanded goal. But it’s all about how you bounce back, and it’s important to not let one mistake lead into another. And I feel like that’s where we’ve done a good job of not letting a 1-0 [deficit] turn into 3-0 real quick. Last year, I felt like that happened quite a bit. This year, we’re just sticking with it. I feel like when we give up a goal, usually we have a pretty good response time on getting the goal back or at least changing the momentum of the game back to our side. But it’s all about not letting one mistake compound into two, three or four, and when you do that, you’re going to have a chance to win every night. And if you’re only down one goal, you always have a chance to win.”
In The Nets – Seeking his 13th victory of the season, Logan Thompson gets the start for the Capitals tonight in Chicago. Thompson has limited the opposition to two or fewer goals against in six of his last seven starts, and he has helped Washington to collect points in each of his last five appearances (4-0-1).
Lifetime against Chicago, Thompson is 4-0-1 in five career appearances – all starts – with a shutout, a 1.76 GAA and a .940 save pct.
With veteran Petr Mrazek sidelined with a lower body injury, Arvid Soderblom has gotten the starting nod in three of Chicago’s last four games, and he will get the net tonight against Washington as well. On the season, Soderblom is 3-7-1 with a 2.76 GAA and a .909 save pct. in 11 appearances.
In his lone career start against the Caps, Soderblom is 0-1-0 with a 4.10 GAA and an .852 save pct. He permitted four goals on 27 shots in his prior start against Washington.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we believe the Caps and the Blackhawks might look when they take to the ice on Tuesday night in Chicago:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
24-McMichael, 17-Strome, 16-Raddysh
21-Protas, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
88-Mangiapane, 20-Eller, 13-Vrana
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 63-Miroshnichenko
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 3-Roy
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Extras
27-Alexeyev
29-Lapierre
52-McIlrath
Out/Injured
8-Ovechkin (fractured fibula)
15-Milano (upper body)
19-Backstrom (hip)
77-Oshie (back)
CHICAGO
Forwards
17-Foligno, 98-Bedard, 8-Donato
23-Kurashev, 91-Nazar, 59-Bertuzzi
95-Mikheyev, 16-Dickinson, 86-Teravainen
77-Maroon, 73-Reichel, 22-Anderson
Defensemen
72-Vlasic, 46-Crevier
42-Allan, 5-Murphy
14-Korchinski, 78-Brodie
Goaltenders
40-Soderblom
33-Commesso
Extras
44-Kaiser
Out/Injured
4-Jones (lower body)
15-Smith (upper body)
25-Martinez (upper body)
34-Mrazek (lower body)
39-Brossoit (lower body)
71-Hall (undisclosed)
