Washington Capitals: Top 3 keys to victory against Isles
The Washington Capitals and New York Islanders go head to head in a battle for first place in the MassMutual East Division. Here is how to watch the game as well as our top 3 key players to watch. Read on to learn the top 3 keys to a Capitals victory tonight.
The Caps are coming off a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers in the first game of the five game tri state area road trip. Tomorrow night they’ll head down the turnpike to New Jersey to take on the Devils in a two game series. Then it’s back to New York to finish the trip.
#3 Picking up where they left off from March
The Caps flat out dominated in the month of March, a big improvement around here compared to the way things were last March. The Caps ended the month of March with an 11-3-0 record, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the second highest points percentage (.786) in the NHL.
.786 is tied for the fourth highest point percentage the Caps have had in the month of March in franchise history. The Caps ranked seventh in the NHL with 3.36 goals per game in March and with 2.50 goals against per game. The Caps will look to put up similar numbers as the team embarks on a new month.
#2 Win the face off battle
The Caps have been good this season on the face off dot. On Tuesday night against the New York Rangers, the Caps won 29 of their 52 face offs, good for 55.8 percent. That was tied for the fifth highest face off percentage in a game this season.
Since Feb. 16 and over the course of the last 22 games, the Caps have a 50.6 face off percentage. That ranks 12th in the NHL. Additionall, the Caps have won 52.8 percent of their face offs in their defensive zone and 53 percent of their face offs on the penalty kill, which ranks ninth and fourth, respectively.
This is a huge jump from where the Caps were at the beginning of the season when they were adjusting to a new system. During the first 13 games, the Caps ranked 28th in the NHL with a 46.0 face off percentage.
Nic Dowd was spectacular on the face off dot, winning eight of his 13 draws. He ranks eighth in the NHL in face off win percentage (57 percent) among skaters with at least 400 face offs this season. Dowd has won 194 of his 314 face offs (61.8 percent) since Feb. 16, tied for second in the NHL among skaters with at least 300 face offs during that span.
#1 Show up in the third period
The Washington Capitals were missing the last two third periods. In their home contest against the Rangers, there was a combined six goals. Although the Caps scored two of them, they still allowed four after having a 4-0 lead. On Tuesday, things went from bad to worse.
The Caps had a 2-0 lead, but they since allowed five unanswered goals. They’ll be looking for a much better third period tonight and the chance to have a killer instinct.
The Caps will need to get used to the Islanders and the building they’re playing in. Four of the next five will be played at the coliseum. 19 of the 29 goals they’ve allowed in their last 12 games have come in the third period. It is something where the defense has to step up.
Dowd told the media via Mike Vogel of WashingtonCaps.com:
“I think a little bit of it is that we’ve had some leads going into the third. Unfortunately, guys are either getting bored or we’re getting on our heels a little bit waiting for the time to tick down, and teams have been able to come back on us. It’s the NHL; teams are going to make a push. But in a game like that, we’re up 2-1 in a building [Madison Square Garden] like this with 20 minutes left to go. I’m not going to say we’ve got to learn how to hold onto leads, because we have one of the oldest teams in the NHL. We have to – as a group – understand why this is and what has to be done here.”
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Dowd is right. The Caps have to learn how to hold onto leads. It’s a new month and a new opportunity to get it right. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Washington.