Capitals: Handing out player grades on the season so far

There is a pause in the Washington Capitals season.

Usually, around this time we would be previewing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs or even recapping what went down for the Washington Capitals the night before. But alas, we have to wait and see.

At the end of last season we dished out report cards for each player. We hope to do that again if the NHL decides to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup.

In the meantime, this post will be a benchmark to see where each player is at in terms of their on ice performance this season. We’ll go by order of jersey number. Let’s begin.

#3 Nick Jensen

Nick Jensen has been the subject of criticism for a Capitals defense that struggled throughout the season. He has no goals and just eight assists. He’s blocked 79 shots and dished out 59 hits. Excluding the goalies, Jensen has the sixth most ice time with 1,212 minutes, an average of 17:49 per game. If he’s going to be counted on, he needs to step up more after the team brought him in at last year’s deadline and signed him to a contract shortly after. Granted, he’s done better lately with the new defensive since the Brendan Dillon addition.

Grade: D+

#4 Brenden Dillon

Brenden Dillon hasn’t produced any points in his 10 games so it’s a tough sample size for now. He averages 20:02 on the ice primarily on the top pair with John Carlson. Carlson and Dillon have a Corsi For percentage of 51.34% compared to 48.77% when Carlson was paired with Kempny (courtesy of Natural Stat Trick).

Dillon has dished out 16 hits and blocked seven shots. He won the fans over with his first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins when he fought Evgeni Malkin.

Grade: B-

#6 Michal Kempny

Michal Kempny had to overcome a hamstring injury he suffered towards the end of the season last year. He finally returned to the ice in mid-October. He has three goals and 15 assists for 18 points, averages 18:38 points per game and has dished out 42 hits while blocking 72 shots.

After the Dillon addition at the trade deadline, Kempny switched spots from his usual spot with Carlson to the third pair with Jonas Siegenthaler but was recently brought back up to the top pair.

Grade: C

#8 Alex Ovechkin

This is a no brainer and it’s a shame the season is on pause in that we won’t get to know (yet?) of what Alex Ovechkin‘s final stat line would be. But he hasn’t aged and this year is no different. 48 goals, 19 assists for 67 points for a guy who’s 34 isn’t too shabby.

Grade: A+

#9 Dmitry Orlov

Dmitry Orlov has improved since last season’s down year. He has four goals and 23 assists for 27 points as well as 82 blocked shots and 106 hits in an average of 22:10 ice time per game. He also has a career-high Corsi For percentage of 52.9%.

Grade: B

#13 Jakub Vrana

After getting a raise in the form of a two-year bridge deal, Jakub Vrana has taken his game to the next level. He already has a career-high 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points. If this season was to be completed I could see him being a 30-goal scorer. This is a young forward loaded with potential who hasn’t reached his ceiling yet.

Grade: A+

#14 Richard Panik

Richard Panik had great expectations as a third liner who could fill the void left by Andre Burakovsky after the team traded him. So far he’s scored nine goals and added 13 assists in 22 games. It took an adjusting period but since moving to the fourth line after the Ilya Kovalchuk addition, he’s done well.

Grade: D+

#17 Ilya Kovalchuk

Like Carl Hagelin a season ago, Ilya Kovalchuk is playing for his third team. We’ve only seen him in a Capitals sweater for seven games where’s scored a goal and added three assists for four points. So far so good, but still need to see how a top line of the Russian trio of Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Kovalchuk to really get a grip on how he would do. One can only dream.

Grade: B-

#19 Nicklas Backstrom

Nicklas Backstrom is having a bit of a down season with just 12 goals and 42 assists for 54 points but he still remains an impact player on the Capitals top six forwards. Backstrom averages 19:01 of ice time and has improved his Corsi For percentage from 49.9 percent last season to 53.3 percent this year.

Grade: B

#20 Lars Eller

Ah yes, the Tiger. Lars Eller scored 16 goals and tied a career-high 23 assists for 39 points before the pause. He’s arguably one of the best third line centers in the league and we’re lucky to have him. Coming up in the clutch when the Caps need him the most gets him bonus points.

Grade: B+

#21 Garnet Hathaway

We loved the Garnet Hathaway addition as he’s been a huge upgrade to the fourth line. He has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points and is just three goals away from his career-high. Through 69 games with 13 to go, he has an opportunity to do that if the NHL decides to continue the season.

Grade: B+

#26 Nic Dowd

Nic Dowd recorded seven goals and eight assists for 15 points. His Corsi For percentage is at 52.9 percent while his Fenwick For is 54.2 percent. He’s just one goal away from tying his career-high from last season.

Grade: B+

#28 Brendan Leipsic

Brendan Leipsic joined his fifth NHL team this summer when the Caps signed him in free agency. He has three goals and eight assists for 11 points. Ever since the Kovalchuk addition, Leipsic has been the odd man out of the lineup with Panik taking over on the fourth line. Despite less playing time, he still posted a solid Corsi For percentage at 53.2 percent.

Grade: C

#30 Ilya Samsonov

One of the biggest questions of the offseason was whether or not the team would bring up Ilya Samsonov during the season to get him a good look at NHL action. Head coach Todd Reirden named him the backup prior to the season and so far he’s enjoyed a solid rookie campaign of going 16-6-2 in 22 starts with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.

Grade: A

#33 Radko Gudas

Radko Gudas has enjoyed a solid first season in Washington and there’s debate going on for whether or not to re-sign him after the season. He has two goals and 13 assists for 15 points as well as a Corsi For percentage of 50.4 percent and a Fenwick For percentage of 49.4 percent.

Grade: B

#34 Jonas Siegenthaler

Jonas Siegenthaler has been the backbone of the bottom pair of the defense throughout the season. He has a career-high two goals and seven assists for nine points, a Corsi For percentage of 50.7 percent and a Fenwick For percentage of 51.9 percent. No sophomore slumps for Siegenthaler.

Grade: B

#43 Tom Wilson

Tom Wilson recorded 21 goals and 23 assists for 44 points. He’s just one goal away from matching his career-high. He not only has stepped up his offensive game over the last three years but minimized his time in the penalty box. His 93 penalty minutes this season are a career-low.

Grade: A

#63 Carl Hagelin

We got a small sample size of Carl Hagelin last season and so far he’s shown consistency with the bottom six forwards in his first full season in Washington. He has eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points as well as a Corsi For percentage of 53.6 percent.

Grade: B

#70 Braden Holtby

In what could be, oh am I kidding, not in the mood. Braden Holtby went 25-14-6 in his 47 starts this season with a 3.11 GAA and a save percentage of .897. Both are career-worst in those categories. If this truly the end though, Holtby deserves a statue outside the arena depicting the best save of our lives.

Grade: C+