The Washington Capitals Are An Average Team Ten Games Into The Season
By CJ Witt
The Penalty Kill Looks More Impressive Than Their PK%
Right now the penalty kill ranks 14th in the league, not bad, at 79.4%, not very good. At one point the Capitals allowed 7 goals on 22 power plays against. Since then they have killed 12 straight power plays. I think it’s fair to say they have found their way while shorthanded.
There is one thing we need to talk about, even when their penalty kill was struggling.
If it wasn’t for their PK this team could easily have three more regulation losses. Instead of being 5-4-1 they could be 3-7-0. Thanks to penalty troubles, the Caps could have or should have lost to the Flames, the Canadiens and the Wild. But the penalty kill, even while struggling, came up huge, and I mean HUGE in those games. Killing late penalties, killing 5 on 3’s, killing too many third period penalties in tie games or games they were trailing.
Without their penalty kill that has struggled for half of this season they could be in a lot more trouble than they are in. The percentage may not be the best, but they are getting better, and it has saved the Capitals more than once this season. Don’t forget that right now.