Capitals Top Players From The First Half Of The Season
Game number forty-one is technically the half way point of the season.
That game usually comes and goes and unless you’re really paying attention you might miss it. It’s just another game in a long season. The all-star break lasts longer and is close to the half way point of the season. For that reason it’s usually referred to as the half way point of the season.
It’s the time of the season to sit back and assess where your favorite team stands. It’s time to figure out which players have been playing well and which ones might not be playing the best.
We’ll stick with who’s playing well today and maybe tackle who needs to improve later. Lets start positive though. Lets go ahead and look at which of the Capitals players have been the best on the team so far, through forty-nine games played.
Alex Ovechkin
Well…Duh! I could probably end it there. The 34-year-old captain of the Capitals has shown no signs of slowing down as the age meter continues to tick. The 34-year-old has scored 34 goals in the 49 games played. That puts him on pace to score 56 goals this season. That would be the most goals he’s scored in a season since the 2008-09 season when he was 23.
His greatness was on full display right before the break scoring eight goals in three games. Other than that, there isn’t much to say about this guy anymore. He’s been the most consistent scoring threat on the Capitals and that’s not surprising anyone.
His advanced stats aren’t the best, but they’re far from bad. His Corsi% is 51.31%. While on the ice the Capitals have had 350 scoring chances and had 332 chances against. That means he has a 51.32 scoring chance percentage. He’s also been on the ice for 152 high danger attempts for and 141 high danger attempts against. That means his percentage is 51.88%.
Ovechkin also has 201 individual scoring chances. Impressive a number in itself but considering second place is at 133 shows you how many chances this guy gets.
All of his advanced numbers are somewhat average but the 34 goals is more than plenty to say that Ovechkin has been one of the top Capitals in the first half of the season.
Jakub Vrana
We just called Ovechkin the most consistent threat of the season. If you doubt that it’s probably because you think it’s been this man. Vrana doesn’t have as many goals, obviously, but even at the times he’s not scoring he’s had chances which is the only thing you can ask for.
His 22 goals though 49 games puts him on pace to score about 36 goals this season, shattering his previous career high of 24 that he scored last season. This season could also catapult Vrana into being a superstar. Instead of being a twenty goal scorer he’s now turning into a thirty or forty goal scorer. The possible heir to the Ovechkin goal scoring throne? (at least on the team, not all time)
His advanced stats are similar to the “Great Eight”, nothing that stands out but still above fifty percent which means he’s doing well. His Corsi is 51.93%, His scoring chance percentage is 53.66%, he’s been on the ice for 315 scoring chances for and 272 scoring chances against. He’s been on the ice for 124 high danger attempts for and 115 high danger attempts against as well. That gives him a 51.88 high danger attempts percentage.
We mentioned Ovechkin’s lead in scoring chances and that second place guy has 133 chances, Vrana is that guy. He has more chances than Kuznetsov, Oshie, Wilson, Carlson and keep on going down the list.
I’m not sure what Vrana is doing is that surprising but to see him do it is still impressive. It gives you hope that he can get better and better and if he scores nearly 40 goals at age 23 there’s no telling how good this young player can get. But that’s something we’ll worry about later. For now we’ll just worry about this season, and so far Vrana has been one of the best Capitals players for the first half of the season.
Lars Eller
If you have been reading our stars of the week you would know how high I’ve been on Eller’s play this season. In terms of consistent play I’m not sure there is a player who has been better. Ovechkin and Vrana might be consistent scorers but there are games that go by without noticing them much. I can’t say the same for Eller.
On a line that hasn’t done much scoring Eller has still found a way to be noticeable. He’s found a way to score 11 goals and 27 points as well. Meanwhile his usual linemates have a combined 8 goals and 21 points.
Eller has also jumped up in the lineup due to the top two center missing action. He replaced Evgeny Kuznetsov early in the year due to suspension and filled in for Nicklas Backstrom while he missed time with injury.
Eller’s stats are a little more impressive than the two guys we’ve mentioned before. His Corsi% is a solid 56.23%. He has been on the ice for 300 scoring chances and 257 scoring chances against. His percentage in that stat is 53.86%. His high danger attempts percentage is 51.26% being on the ice for 113 high danger attempts and 107 against.
Eller is fourth on the team in individual scoring chances with 117, behind only Ovechkin, Vrana and T.J. Oshie who has 130. Not bad for your third line center.
If you want to talk about consistency I think the conversation should stop at Eller. I seem to notice him every single game. On a team full of superstars that is saying something. If you have a list of the best players from the first half of the season and it doesn’t include Eller, in my opinion, you’re just wrong.
Ilya Samsonov
Oh what a season it’s been so far for the rookie goaltender. The discussion around Samsonov has gone from how good can or will he be to should the team trade Braden Holtby and make him the full time starter. A pretty ridiculous statement I would say but that just shows you how good Samsonov has been.
Samsonov has played in 19 games so far this season and he is an incredible 15-2-1. He’s not just raking in the wins on an offensive powerhouse team. His goals against average is 2.06 and his save percentage is .927%. He is at times bailing his own team out. He’s easily been the teams best goalie this season making more big saves than a Vezina and Cup winning Holtby.
One more number to compare the two goaltenders this season. Samsonov’s high danger save percentage is at .820%. Among the fifty-one goalies to play over 1,000 minutes that ranks at 17th best.
Holtby on the other hand has a .773 high danger save percentage. That ranks 45th out of 51. Do you need anymore proof that Samsonov is just making more big saves?
He’s been impressive. In a time where the future is questioned for this position for the Caps Samsonov’s play has been inspiring. If Holtby is in fact in his final few months as a Washington Capital the future looks good for the goaltending position. With that being said, Samsonov has easily been one of the best players of the first half of the season.
The 4th Line
The trio of Brendan Leipsic, Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway has been absolutely tremendous this season for the Capitals. While they might not have the best stats, in terms of goals and points you can’t really expect that anyways. You don’t need much hockey smarts to tell you that this has been possibly the best and most consistent line on the Capitals this year.
The stats will tell you this. Their shot attempts percentage is by far the best line this season at 61.22%. Their scoring chance percentage is even better at 62.58% and their high danger attempts percentage is even better than that at 63.64%.
It’s a fast line, it’s a physical line and I dare you to find a better one. It’s lines like this that can turn good teams into great teams, and great teams into Stanley Cup winning teams. You need your depth to contribute and this line has done it nearly all season. They have scored nine goals as a line and allowed only four. On top of the pressure they put on you they are also scoring more than double of what they allow.
Maybe even better for the future, two of the three guys are signed past this season. Hathaway and Dowd are signed past this year, Leipsic is the only guy who will need a new contract for next season. It’s possible this fourth line can cause some trouble for teams for a long while.
But, again, we’ll worry about that later. As of right now this trio has been one of the bright spots of the first half of the season.
John Carlson
This one is probably the most obvious. John Carlson might be the poster boy for the first half of the season. He’s been setting team records, he could possibly do things only a few defensemen have ever done. The first half of the season has been quite impressive for Carlson.
Carlson has 60 points and 13 goals through the teams first 49 games. That puts him on pace for exactly 100 points. That would make him the first defenseman to score 100 or more points in a season since 1991-92, that was Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers.
His advanced stats are similar to the first two guys we mentioned, not great but still on the right side of 50%. His Corsi% is 50.99%, his scoring chance percentage is 51.36% being on the ice for 414 chances for and 392 against. Finally his high danger attempts percentage is 50.78% being on the ice for 162 high danger attempts for and 157 against.
There honestly isn’t much more to say about Carlson. Just read the paragraph above about being a defenseman to score 100 or more points in a season. It might happen, it might not. But to be having this discussion half way through the season is unbelievable.
He’s the no doubt favorite for the Norris Trophy right now, his name should be in the MVP discussion and he is most likely the best Capital through the first half of the season.
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There you have it. The first half of the season is over and done with. These players have been the best in my opinion. Anyone I leave off? Who do you think has been one of the best through the first half of the season?