Washington Capitals Must Get More Secondary Scoring

Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals tend to rely heavily on Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. While that isn’t the worst thing in the world when the two are on a hot streak, when they don’t score, the Washington Capitals typically don’t do well. That’s something that the Washington Capitals should address before the playoffs because in the playoffs, the teams that have the most success tend to have four solid forward lines. The Washington Capitals know that they need to have more secondary scoring.

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"Sure, Alex Ovechkin still leads the NHL in goals, Nicklas Backstrom still ranks first in assists and the top-line anchors rank second and fifth, respectively, in total points. But the Capitals have also struggled lately without primary scoring, particularly when Backstrom goes pointless; after starting the season 12-5-3 in such situations, they’ve gone 1-8-0 since Valentine’s Day.“[Secondary scoring is] tremendously important,” Trotz said. “I think any team that’s won in the playoffs or have gone far, you look at the bottom six, they make a big difference. Either your stars are completly outplaying the team’s top players, or they’re nullifying each other and it’s really your depth and your seven through 12 in the forwards and your bottom-three defensemen make the biggest difference, then obviously the goaltender’s the X-factor in every playoff series.” – Washington Post"

The Washington Capitals’ lack of secondary scoring has been especially obvious since Valentine’s Day. Since Valentine’s Day, the only Washington Capitals forward averaging over two points per 60 minutes at even strength is Ovechkin. Curtis Glencross is in second with 1.8 and Backstrom is in third with 1.6. After that, it gets a bit murky as no other forward is averaging over 1.5 points per 60 minutes during that time frame. Jay Beagle, Jason Chimera, Tom Wilson and Brooks Laich all are averaging 1.4 points per 60 minutes during that time span. The only two other forwards averaging a point per 60 minutes during that time frame are Eric Fehr and Andre Burakovsky.

The Washington Capitals have been doing well on the power play since Valentine’s Day, but seeing as how a majority of every hockey game happens at even strength, the Capitals must be more productive at even strength. How can they do that? By making a few line changes based on who’s playing well and who isn’t.

Ovechkin, Backstrom and Wilson should be the first line from here on out. Let Wilson grow as a player on the first line because even at his worst, he’s the best first line option (other than the two obvious ones who are already on the first line) that the Caps have on their team.

Despite Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s lack of production at even strength, that’s fueled by a sub 95 PDO thanks to a low on-ice shooting percentage. He’s been playing a lot better as of late and it’s showing. Glencross should stay on the second line. At this point, Troy Brouwer should not be on the second line. Marcus Johansson would be a much better fit with his speed and skill.

The third line should stay largely the same. Chimera and Fehr play well together. However, Joel Ward has been really struggling as of late. Brouwer should take his spot as the third line right wing. Once Beagle gets healthy, this line could change.

The fourth line should consist of Laich, Michael Latta, and Ward. I hate breaking up the fourth line that has been playing well as of late, but Wilson deserves more playing time. Hopefully moving Ward to the fourth line will let him get the rust out of his game and get back to the awesome checking line wing that he was last season and earlier this season.

This might be rough on guys like Brouwer and Ward, but if guys like Burakovsky and Wilson get punished when they aren’t playing well, why shouldn’t the veterans be treated likewise? Especially when the playoffs are coming up soon?

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