Washington Capitals: Attacking With Cannons And Bayonets
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Two Julys ago, when then recently hired Washington Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan seized prized defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen from the top of the free agency pile, a friend of mine that grew up a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan began making grumblings. While much was said about the amount and duration of the contract extended to Orpik, especially by legions of skeptical Washington Capitals fans, Tom was stung more by the effect that the Penguins not re-signing Niskanen would have on the Penguins. “We lost the Cannon,” he admitted dejectedly.
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Naturally, I had to give closer inspection about what this whole “Nis-cannon” thing was all about. I was pleased to find that he was not exaggerating. I watched clip after clip of sixty foot slappers reach twine through a tangle of legs and sticks and wondered how this addition might piece together with the defensive corps already in place in Washington. This offseason, that picture seems to be coming into sharper focus: the Washington Capitals offense is preparing a tactical assault.
A cursory glance at Matt Niskanen’s career high season with Pittsburgh in the 2013-2014 reveals that he tallied up 10 goals and 46 points. That means that out of those 46 points, 36 of them came on Assists. A closer inspection reveals that a great deal of those points came during the team’s man advantage and were begun at the opponents’ blue line. While Niskanen has shown to be a very proficient passer, the Assists he tallied were largely generated by his booming slap shot, which even when seen and stopped by goaltenders, promote big rebound chances for opportunistic goal scorers in the crease. The traffic and chaos that follows a shot like Niskanen’s is nerve-racking (and often painful) for opposing defensemen and flustering for even the most controlled goaltenders.
If you look at last year’s defense pairings, you’ll notice the Washington Capitals employed three of these “cannons”: John Carlson, Niskanen and Mike Green. They were paired with more traditional role-playing defensemen (Orpik, Karl Alzner and a revolving door of partners). Despite the loss of Green this off-season, Dmitry Orlov keeps the artillery lit and ensures that goalies feel threatened from the point during every offensive shift.
As we predicted, we may see those pairings shake up a little bit depending on who Reirden decides will see the team’s toughest minutes against the opposing team’s top talent, but the formula will likely stay intact for the Washington Capitals. Even without Alex Ovechkin, this presents a constant and significant scoring threat during every game. No better evidence can be found than in some of last year’s blue-line-bombing highlights.
What’s been a struggling part of the Washington Capitals offense however, were the aforementioned opportunistic goal scorers sitting in the crease whacking at loose pucks in front of the net. Not since Mike Knuble began scoring “greasy” goals with the Washington Capitals during the 2009-2010 season do I remember having a type of player so adept at “trenchwork” and battling in front of the net.
Playing in a position often described as a hardworking role, Knuble regularly took stick blades to the face and hard cross checks below the numbers, but was rewarded with 53 goals between 2009 and 2011. If Matt Niskanen is a cannon, then Mike Knuble was a bayonet. It was rarely pretty, but it sure got the job done. We need more guys with bayonets. The Washington Capitals lost a bayonet when Joel Ward signed with the Sharks.
The Washington Capitals just got a bayonet. Former Los Angeles Kings forward turned Washington Capitals forward Justin Williams has it all: great speed up the wing, a sneaky release to his wrist shot, a brutally hard-charging slap shot and an ability to battle in the trenches like few can. He’s big, he’s skilled and he’s physical; a combination that we will hopefully see more of from Tom Wilson on the third line this year.
Williams gives the Capitals coaching staff the freedom of choice as well. He could be deployed on the top line with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom to provide the same kind of crease work Knuble and Ward did (with an obvious bonus in talent). He could slot in on the second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and either Andre Burakovsky or Marcus Johannson to play in dirty areas while bringing positive possession and freeing up shooting lanes. Ward and Brouwer could do this to an extent, but were never justifiable line mates for the likes of Ovechkin and Backstrom.
Williams could also provide the Capitals with a responsible forward for their shutdown line or in a pinch, mentor Wilson in his tenacious ways on the third line. It’s not hard to see why coaches love having guys like Williams and why Kings fans are distraught to see him go.
It feels likely that we’ll see plenty of T.J Oshie buzzing around the net during power plays and testing the limits of goaltenders peripheral vision as they struggle to keep one eye on a primed Ovechkin hovering around the left circle and another on himself. Combine those threats with the ones waiting behind the net in Backstrom and hovering on the blue line in Carlson or Niskanen and it will be a small wonder how opposing goalies prevent themselves from throwing their hands up and simply quitting.
I think Trotz was trying to form this type of vibrant and dangerous style of offense last year with the roster he inherited from the previous administration, but ultimately fell short and instead favored whoever he thought was most cohesive at the time. That was Burakovsky for a short while, then Wilson and Brouwer and Ward and on and on it went. The strength of the combined individual talents never truly forming the united attack force. I predict that changes this season.
Tying the dynamic Washington Capitals offense together with the brand of hockey that Barry Trotz and company have instilled in our players up to this point makes for a remarkable hockey team. The varied looks that they can bring and score with will only make what most teams in the league would consider a nightmare matchup in the playoffs even more challenging to play against. It’s disciplined and diverse. Defensively sound and delightfully deep. We’re in for a treat.
It’s going to be a fully-mounted assault and I cannot wait to watch.
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