The Washington Capitals changed many things before this season to get better results than the 2022-23 season. Through the first four games, they have not been successful–in that endeavour, or in general.
The Capitals are last in the Eastern Conference and the fourth from the bottom of the NHL standings. The Washington Capitals struggles could doom them to a worse season than last year.
Washington Capitals Struggle on Both Sides of the Ice
Offence Lacking
The Washington Capitals have the lowest goals-per-game average in the NHL. The most glaring lack of production comes from the players who are expected to lead the team. None of the six highest-paid forwards have scored a goal yet. Coach Spencer Carbery has tried many combinations to try to spark offence. The lines have changed for every game so far.
Alex Ovechkin is the only player to have remained on the top line for all four games. Nicklas Backstrom, who was the first-line centre in the season opener, was demoted down to the third line only three days later. T.J. Oshie, the third member of the initial first line, has swapped with Tom Wilson on the second line. Dylan Strome, who started as the third-line centre, played on the top line in Saturday’s game against Montreal. He scored the Capitals only two goals that night, making him the team’s goal-scoring leader.
Washington’s second-biggest forward contributor so far has been its smallest player, Matthew Phillips. He currently leads the team in points with three. Before Saturday’s game, he led the team in Game Score, which is a measure of individual player impact using data from Natural Stat Trick. Phillips was also promoted to the first line in Montreal. He and Strome have the highest cumulative Game Scores for the Capitals.
Phillips is one of only four forwards with a positive Game Score despite having played some of the fewest minutes across the entire team. For of the top six forwards in total ice time have negative Game Scores. Backstrom is at the bottom of the chart with -2.48.
Defence Struggles
Offensive production is not the only issue preventing the Washington Capitals from being competitive. The defence has been chronically ineffective as well. At least half the defenders were near the bottom in Game Score in the first three games. Washington has allowed four times as many goals than it has scored. It has the second-worst goal differential in the NHL, only surpassed by the winless San Jose Sharks. The Washington penalty kill has allowed a goal in every game so far.
Only one defender has a positive Game Score: John Carlson, with 1.44 cumulatively and 0.48 averaged. He didn’t have a good start. He was one of the worst players by total Game Score in the Capitals season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. His individual defensive impact in that game was the worst, at -1.6. He has trended upward since then and was the Capitals best player in their 6-1 loss to Ottawa on Wednesday.
Washington recalled Hardy Haman Aktell from the AHL’s Hershey Bears following the Ottawa game. He played in Washington’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. Both Alexander Alexeyev and Lucas Johansen, who have the two worst Game Scores among Washington’s defence, were scratched. Haman Aktell paired with Trevor van Riemsdyk.
Martin Fehervary and Nick Jensen were the remaining pair, and they have the bottom-two Game Scores among defenders who have suited up for all three games. They both fell in the bottom five in the Wednesday loss. Fehervary had the Capitals lowest defensive Game Score. However, Jensen had the least detrimental performance of any defender for the team against Pittsburgh. He has eight years of NHL experience and his full-season average Game Scores have historically been positive.
Though it’s early in the season, the outlook is not great for Washington if things don’t change. Pressure is starting to mount on players who were key during last season, such as Strome, Fehervary, and of course Ovechkin.
Main Photo Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
