Washington Capitals: Power Play Problems Aplenty

The Washington Capitals have elite talent, but their power play is a meager 3-for-20 and has given up two short-handed goals through five games. What is the problem?

Through five games the Washington Capitals, at 3-0-2, look like serious Stanley Cup contenders. While that is very likely the case, their usually potent power play unit is becoming a problem. If it’s not rectified soon, it will become a serious problem. It cost them a point against the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon and it will continue to cost them games until it’s fixed.

After a 3-for-6 effort on the man-advantage against the New York Rangers on opening night, the power play has faltered. They’re now 0-for-14 since that performance on opening night and have given up 2 short-handed goals in the process. What seems to be the problem?

The unit is predictable, John Carlson has struggled early and the absence of Nicklas Backstrom are to blame. Predictability on zone-entries in particular have hurt them. The Washington Capitals have struggled gaining the zone but once they do, they are having trouble maintaining pressure. Anthony Mantha is clearly not the answer on the top unit. He simply can’t make the passes that Backstrom or Evgeny Kuznetsov can make and is seemingly unable to win the puck battles he should be winning for a player that is 6-foot-4.

The solution, until Backstrom’s return, is to put Kuznetsov down low on the top unit and slot Daniel Sprong onto the half-wall where Kuznetsov is currently playing. This puts another elite-shot opposite Alex Ovechkin and puts Kuznetsov in the best position to generate offense. A lot of teams have been shading Ovechkin heavily, and by placing someone like Sprong on the other wing, teams will quickly learn they have to respect both wings and the Washington Capitals power play unit will become more multi-dimensional.

In addition to Sprong being slotted onto the top unit, the Capitals simply need more out of Carlson. Carlson needs to win more one-on-one battles and needs to start taking more opportunities to put the puck on-net. The point is, Carlson is not playing up to his abilities and the Capitals need more from him. Interchanging him with Ovechkin throughout a power play adds an interesting wrinkle to the unit and something that Blaine Forsythe, the assistant coach in-charge of the power play, ought to encourage.

If Carlson can’t contribute more consistently on the man-advantage, the team has two other capable defensemen that can quarterback the unit. Justin Schultz is an excellent puck-mover and Dmitry Orlov is a highly-underrated offensive player who can single-handedly solve the Capitals short-handed goals against problem with his elite one-on-one and odd-man-rush defending capabilities.

Something has to change, this unit is far too talented to be this bad.