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Washington Capitals: Three Keys to Major Success

By David Trice

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 03: Alex Ovechkin #8, Nicklas Backstrom #19, and Brooks Orpik #44 of the Washington Capitals watch the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship banner rise to the rafters before playing against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on October 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 03: Alex Ovechkin #8, Nicklas Backstrom #19, and Brooks Orpik #44 of the Washington Capitals watch the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship banner rise to the rafters before playing against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on October 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 18: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks on against the St. Louis Blues during the second period of a preseason NHL game at Capital One Arena on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 18: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks on against the St. Louis Blues during the second period of a preseason NHL game at Capital One Arena on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Faceoff Win Percentage

It’s no secret the Capitals centermen are not the best when it comes to the playing the puck at the faceoff dot, as evidenced by my co-contributors recent article. Last season their FO% were Backstrom: 48.6%, Kuznetsov: 38.7%, Eller: 49.0% and Dowd: 51.9%.

This breakdown is only looking at the most consistent centermen the team employed for majority of the year, and of those only one had greater than 50% faceoff win percentage in Nic Dowd. To better control the tempo and possession game the Capitals will need to improve upon these numbers for the top 3 centers.  It directly correlates with the possession of the puck as those with near 50% FO% they also were the three best in terms of CF%.

Eller held the best with 51.4% CF%, followed by Backstrom at 49.9% CF% and Dowd with 48.6% CF%; while Kuznetsov had a 48.3% CF%. Still all very strong numbers but it can be shown that those with the increased success at the faceoff dot had increased the teams chance to maintain possession more effectively.

Realistically, it would be hard to ask all the centermen to account for a greater than 50% FO%, but if Backstrom, Eller and Dowd can get above 50% while Kuznetsov at least improves to 45%. This should correlate with maintaining possession better and increasing the teams opportunities to produce scoring chances as opposed to needing to defend them as frequently.

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 18: Hockey skates are seen during a preseason NHL game at Capital One Arena on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 18: Hockey skates are seen during a preseason NHL game at Capital One Arena on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

If the Capitals can gain some improvement in these three key areas of their game while maintaining the same level of play over the other facets, they will be in line for another division crown and be better equipped for a deep playoff run.

Another exit in the first round would not be considered a success, they will need to at least make it a good series into the second round if not make it to the conference final to be considered a major success.

More. 2019 Nicklas Backstrom predictions. light

I believe that will occur if they can improve these areas and continue that improvement into the playoffs when the pressure is at it’s highest and results matter the most.

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