Washington Capitals Keys To Success In 2015-2016
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Capitals Power Play Must Not Disappear
Why did the Washington Capitals lose to the New York Rangers in the playoffs last season? Henrik Lundqvist playing out of his mind (yet again) certainly played a huge part in it. However, I’d say the biggest reason was that the Capitals power play disappeared in the playoffs. During the regular season, the Caps power play was an elite group, scoring on a league leading 25.3% of their power plays. In the playoffs, it fell to just 10.7%. Against the Rangers, the Caps managed to score on just one of their fifteen (6.7%) of their chances with an extra man.
As great as John Carlson was in 2014-15, I admit that he played a pretty big role in this failure. The Capitals power play revolves heavily around getting the puck to Alex Ovechkin. Carlson struggled mightily with his passing after taking over Mike Green’s spot on the first power play unit. If Carlson fails again in 2015, the Caps could go to Matt Niskanen, who is no stranger to having success on the power play.
Another reason that their power play stalled was that the rest of the power play got too predictable. While passing the puck to Ovechkin is almost never a bad idea, it is if you pass up a good scoring chance yourself. Of the 15 shots on goal that the Caps forwards had against the Rangers while on the power play, 10 of them were by Ovechkin. Of the seven forwards that the Caps used on the power play against the Rangers, only three forwards not named Ovechkin (Joel Ward, Andre Burakovsky, and Nicklas Backstrom) managed to get a shot on goal. That’s something that just can’t happen in 2015.
There is hope, however. T.J. Oshie was a contributor for the Blues power play. Though he has unimpressive numbers, he is likely a better option around the net than Troy Brouwer. Oshie’s quickness, cat-like reflexes and unpredictability could make him a lethal weapon for the Washington Capitals.
The Washington Capitals will have plenty of power play options, as Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky are currently not even slotted to be on the first power play unit (assuming everyone is healthy). If Marcus Johansson struggles, Burakovsky could easily replace him. Kuznetsov could be an option there as well, but he is better suited in Backstrom’s role. If the Caps really want to get creative, their power play currently isn’t well suited for a left-handed defenseman, but Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov could force the Caps to find a way to get them involved.
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