Capitals: Top 5 takeaways of the season so far

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Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

#4 Power play needs work

The Capitals used to be known for an effective power play but this season they are ranked in the middle of the pack at 17th in the league on the man advantage with a success rate of 19.4 percent.

The Caps have two effective power play units and it looked like an upgrade on the surface with the Ilya Kovalchuk addition. The first unit features him, T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson. The second unit boasts Tom Wilson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov.

Ovechkin leads the team with 13 power play goals. Oshie has 10. Kuznetsov added six this season. Wilson has five. Carlson, Backstrom and Eller each have two. Jakub Vrana and Dmitry Orlov each have one.

Carlson leads the team with 24 assists on the power play. Backstrom is second with 16 power play assists. Vrana is third with 11. Kuznetsov added six. Ovechkin has five. Eller and Orlov each have four. Oshie and Wilson have two each. Travis Boyd and Nick Jensen each have one.

One suggestion I have is to get Vrana more time on the power play since he’s scored just one goal on the man advantage while the rest of his 24 other goals came on even strength.

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