#1 Lineup tweaks for better offense?
At the Capitals optional morning skate Hendrix Lapierre took the scratches skate with Alex Alexeyev and Lucas Johansen. It appears with that it means Nicolas Aube Kubel will draw back into the lineup.
While this is a minor tweak to the lineup we can’t stress enough that the Capitals offense needs to step up and score more goals. The Caps outshot the San Jose Sharks the other night 34-23 but only had one goal to show for it.
The Caps rank second to last in the NHL in goals scored with 42. Only the team they lost to on Monday night, the Sharks, have scored less goals this season. But they had more goals than them on Monday night by one.
Head Coach Spencer Carbery told Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post (subscription required), “When you don’t score, it starts to get in your head a little bit.”
It’s no secret that scoring goals isn’t just a physical thing but mostly a mental thing and as the Caps have scored less, their confidence is lower.
Washington’s shooting percentage is 8.0 which also ranks 31st in the NHL. Whether it’s five on five or the power play, Caps need to score aplenty tonight. Though it may be more difficult on the power play than ever as the Kings have the best PK in the league.