Washington Capitals season snapshot fantasy honors

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.
Today, a fantasy recap of the Washington Capitals at the pause:
NOTE: Rank for fantasy most valuable player is based on standard-category production to date.

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Fantasy MVP: Alex Ovechkin, LW (rank: 10) -- The Washington Capitals left wing is tied with Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak for the NHL lead in goals (48) and ranks second in shots on goal (311) behind Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (318). Though Ovechkin's minus-12 rating is the third worst of his NHL career, and he has NHL career lows in assists (19) and power-play points (18), he remains a top 10 fantasy player because of his unmatched category coverage of goals, SOG and hits (184; T-18th in NHL).

Biggest surprise: Jakub Vrana, LW -- He's third on the Capitals with 25 goals, an NHL career high, behind Ovechkin and right wing T.J. Oshie (26). Vrana also ranks third on Washington in SOG (187) behind Ovechkin and elite defenseman John Carlson (189). Though it also was surprising to see Carlson be better than a point-per-game player (75 points in 69 games) and emerge as the best fantasy defenseman in the NHL, Vrana's breakout season, including his NHL-high totals in points (52) and power-play points (12), is also impressive considering he doesn't usually play on the first power-play unit. Vrana is tied for 11th in the NHL in even-strength goals (24) with elite forwards Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres and Max Pacioretty of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Unsung hero: Ilya Samsonov, G -- He ranks second among rookie goalies in wins (16) behind Mackenzie Blackwood of the New Jersey Devils (22) and has much better peripherals (2.55 goals-against average, .913 save percentage, one shutout) than Washington teammate Braden Holtby (3.11 GAA, .897 SV%, no shutouts), who's a potential 2020 unrestricted free agent. Though Samsonov's playing time has decreased in recent months and he is 0-4-1 in his past six games, he ranks 15th in even-strength save percentage (.923) among the 52 NHL goalies who have played at least 25 games (26).

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