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The Washington Capitals had an above average penalty kill in 2014-2015. It was ranked 14th in the NHL, as the Washington Capitals killed 81.2% of their penalties. However, the Capitals must make some adjustments in order to sustain success while short handed. In losing Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward, the Washington Capitals are losing a guy who spent a lot of time killing penalties (Brouwer) and arguably their best penalty killer (Ward). Combine that with the likely loss of Eric Fehr and the Caps penalty kill is losing three pretty important guys.
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The Caps penalty kill is going to look different, but let’s look at the guys who are returning.
Who’s Returning For The Washington Capitals Penalty Kill
Returning will be two of the more efficient penalty killers Jay Beagle and Brooks Laich. Beagle will most likely be the primary face-off man since Brouwer and Fehr are both gone. However, the Capitals are currently looking to sign another center, so that center will likely give Beagle some help. Also returning is Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom isn’t excellent at killing penalties. Combine that with his expertise on the power play and that adds up to not seeing too much of Backstrom on the penalty kill. However, he is certainly an option. Most likely returning will be Jason Chimera, who is better at killing penalties than one would think.
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Hopefully returning (and most likely taking on a larger role) will be Marcus Johansson. He has seen limited time on the penalty kill, but when he has, he’s been effective. His likely third line role could lead to him getting more time on the penalty kill. Before, the Washington Capitals couldn’t really use on the PK since he was already playing first or second line minutes. He also basically had to be used quite heavily on the power play because of the way it’s set up. Now that he will likely be on the third line, that opens up some more opportunities for him to earn ice time. Also returning and probably seeing more playing time: Michael Latta.
Also returning will obviously be the iron men of the Caps penalty kill Brooks Orpik and John Carlson. They ate up a lot of time on the penalty kill, even if they weren’t always the most efficient. Hopefully the Washington Capitals will better manage their time. They can definitely afford to do that since Karl Alzner and Matt Niskanen were quite effective while short handed last season. These four guys will be called upon to lead the penalty kill, as I can’t see Nate Schmidt or Dmitry Orlov seeing much, if any, time on the PK. I can’t talk about the Washington Capitals penalty kill without talking about Braden Holtby, who is their best penalty killer. Holtby was outstanding while the Caps were shorthanded last season.
The New Additions To The Washington Capitals Penalty Kill
The Washington Capitals will be seeing a major addition to their penalty kill. T.J. Oshie will likely replace Brouwer on the penalty kill. He brings something to the table that the Caps didn’t have on their PK last season: offense. The Blues penalty kill has been elite over the past three seasons. Oshie played a pretty big role in that. Oshie is a pretty good penalty killer, but there’s going to be a few issues. He’s likely going to be getting first line minutes at even strength. Secondly, he’s likely replacing Brouwer on the power play as well. Granted, Justin Williams and Tom Wilson could also see time in Brouwer’s old spot on the power play, but still, the Washington Capitals must manage his time efficiently.
Justin Williams could see some time on the penalty kill as well, though he didn’t really see much time on the PK with the Kings. When he did, he was fairly effective. Williams could play a big role in helping to manage Oshie’s minutes, especially if he can contribute on the power play and penalty kill.
The Washington Capitals penalty kill is losing two important guys, but they are adding a very important guy in Oshie. They’re also adding a potential contributor in Williams. It should be interesting to see how well the Caps do while shorthanded this season.
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