Capitals Report Card: Grading their impact so far in 2020

The regular season has been completed for the Washington Capitals.

Usually, we know who the Washington Capitals are playing by now for the Stanley Cup playoffs. We at least know the gist of what they’ll be up against once this new 24-team playoffs get underway.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at each of the players and give them their final regular season grade. We hope to grade them again after the playoffs for their final grade of 2019-20.

#3 Nick Jensen: Jensen got his fair share of criticism for a Capitals defense that was struggling. He has eight assists and blocked 79 shots as well as laid out 59 hits. He played better after the Caps acquired Brenden Dillon. Grade: C

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#4 Brenden Dillon: Dillon didn’t record any points in his 10 games but won the fans over with a fight against Evgeni Malkin when the team hosted the Penguins. He’s dished out 16 hits and blocked seven shots, a small sample size and we’ll see what he brings to the playoffs. Grade: C+

#6 Michal Kempny: Kempny scored three goals and added 15 assists for 18 points. He also has 42 hits and 72 blocked shots and averaged 18:38 in ice time. He’s rotated around from the top pair with John Carlson to pairing with Jonas Siegenthaler on the third pair. Grade: C+

#8 Alex Ovechkin: Ovechkin just won his ninth Rocket Richard Trophy leading the NHL with 48 goals. He also added 19 assists for 67 points. It’s a shame the regular season wasn’t completed so he could get to 50 and I still believe he would have finished with 56 at least. Grade: A+

#9 Dmitry Orlov: Orlov has improved this season with four goals and 23 assists for 27 points as well as 82 blocked shots and 106 hits. Grade: B

#13 Jakub Vrana: Vrana has been one of the biggest impact players on the Caps this season after he inked an extension last summer. He has a career-high 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points. Grade: A+

#14 Richard Panik: Panik has nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points. Since moving to the fourth line after the Ilya Kovalchuk addition his play has improved. Grade: C

#17 Ilya Kovalchuk: Kovalchuk has played in seven games for the Caps and has a goal and three assists for four points. It’s a small sample size but we can’t wait to see his impact in the playoffs. Grade: B-

#19 Nicklas Backstrom: Backstrom scored 12 goals and added 42 assists for 54 points. It was a down season for him but he is still relied upon to be an impact player. Grade: B

#20 Lars Eller: Eller had 16 goals and tied a career-high 23 assists for 39 points. He still comes up clutch when the team needs him and he’s proven to be one of the best third line centers in the league. Grade: A

#21 Garnet Hathaway: Hathaway had nine goals and seven assists for 16 points and was a huge upgrade to the fourth line. He also has a killer podcast with his line mate Nic Dowd. We loved the addition and love his physical play on the ice. Grade: A

#26 Nic Dowd: Dowd recorded seven goals and eight assists for 15 points. He also won 49.7 percent of his face-off draws. Not quite Jay Beagle face-off numbers but still a solid fourth line center. Grade: A

#30 Ilya Samsonov: We already graded his performance from his rookie season here but in case you missed it, it was an A.

#33 Radko Gudas: This might be the only season we get of Gudas in D.C. but two goals and 13 assists for 15 points as well as a 50.4 Corsi For percentage earns him a decent mark. Grade: B

#34 Jonas Siegenthaler: Siegenthaler has been the backbone of the bottom pair. He had a career-high two goals and seven assists for nine points. Grade: B

#43 Tom Wilson: Wilson recorded 21 goals and 23 assists for 44 points. He not only stepped up offensively but minimized his time in the sin bin with a career-low 93 penalty minutes. Grade: A

#62 Carl Hagelin: Hagelin has eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points and hasn’t lost his speed. He continues to be a huge boost for the bottom six. Grade: B

#70 Braden Holtby: Holtby went 25-14-6 in his 47 starts this season with a 3.11 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. Both are career-worsts in those categories. Holtby is still a fan favorite though and continues to give back to the city and will always be a Capital even if this is his last run with the team. Grade: B

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Those are our final grades from the regular season. Soon there will be playoff hockey and hopefully, we’ll come out with final grades for each player based on what they do in the tournament.

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