Washington Capitals: Match ratings from Week Seven
In their busiest week of the season so far, the Washington Capitals saw a number of key players go down to injury. How did this affect this week’s games?
Things are starting to pick up for the Washington Capitals, as their first of back-to-back four-game weeks saw them split the difference, going 2-2-0. The narrative of the week, however, revolved around the return of Tom Wilson, followed by the losses of multiple important players due to injury.
Entering play Monday, the Caps are now 9-7-3 for 21 points through 19 games and sit one point outside of a playoff spot and four points outside of the wild card. A win on Monday over the Montreal Canadiens puts them at 10-7-3 for 23 points, good for third in the Metropolitan Division. With the fabled Thanksgiving deadline approaching this week, Washington would like to see their luck change quickly.
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Before this last week began, the story was that the team was struggling mightily defensively and on special teams. With three games on the road against some of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Capitals really needed to step that part of their game up.
So, let us take a look at Week Seven for the Capitals, with regards to both the team’s performance as well as entertainment value. Perhaps the patterns that are obvious here will still be relevant come next spring. Or maybe one of these games is just so fun that it must be rewatched.
While I would like to branch out the scope to more teams, I am unfortunately only able to watch Washington Capitals games with any consistency, so these articles will only look at those games. Without further ado, let us look back at Week Six for Washington!
Game 16: 11/11/18 vs. Arizona Coyotes
121. 1. 19. Final. 4
It is a good thing that this game happened so early in the week, because this was easily the worst effort I have seen from the Washington Capitals all season. Despite playing beyond regulation the night before, the Arizona Coyotes came into DC and dominated the home team, winning 4-1.
There is really nothing else to say about this game. The Capitals were beyond abysmal, Braden Holtby‘s struggles continued, and the special teams were anything but, with a 0-2 power play combining forces with a 4-6 penalty kill. Not quite the recipe for success.
The final stats show that Washington outshot the Coyotes 39-22, but to lose 4-1 to a tired team at home is inexcusable. To make things worse, this was not a very watchable game either, as Arizona played in their typical snooze-fest fashion.
This game sucked, end of story. Hopefully, there will be absolutely no reason to come back to watch this game at the end of the season, because the tape should be burned.
Performance: 1/10
Entertainment: 3/10
Game 17: 11/13/18 @ Minnesota Wild
2. 98. Final. 5. 19
Imagine that you saw the scores of these last two games right next to each other without knowing any context. How could the same team come back from the vile performance at home against Arizona by utterly dominating the red-hot Minnesota Wild on the road?
The Wild were making their return to the State of Hockey following a very successful seven-game road trip that saw them go 5-2 and rise to second in the Central Division. Yet, they were unable to keep that momentum rolling against Tom Wilson and the rejuvenated Washington Capitals.
Washington was the better team by far in this one, outshooting the Wild 33-28 and killing off 5-6 penalties; the only power play goal against they allowed was in garbage time. Pheonix Copley was great in goal, as the Capitals turned in their best performance since opening night.
From an entertainment standpoint, there was not much drama to speak of, and while Copley had to make some big saves, the game was pretty clearly in Washington’s control all the way through. It was a fairly typical midseason game, but with the added storyline of Wilson’s return.
This was fun! The Capitals should play like this more often.
Performance: 9/10
Entertainment: 6/10
Game 18: 11/14/18 @ Winnipeg Jets
1. 19. 3. 107. Final
Man, the schedule-makers REALLY did not give the Washington Capitals any favors, did they? Less than 24 hours after dispatching of the Wild, they had to make the short trip to face the Winnipeg Jets, a preseason favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
To make matters even more difficult, Braden Holtby missed his scheduled start with an upper-body injury. As if the decks were not stacked against Washington enough, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov were injured over the course of the game. None of them have returned as of Monday.
Despite all of these issues going against them, the Capitals put forth a spirited effort against a rested Jets team, allowing only two shots against and scoring the only goal in a dominant first period. Winnipeg came roaring back the rest of the way, but Washington kept along.
Ultimately, however, the Capitals were unable to overcome the odds and lost 3-1 following an empty-netter. The result should still not undermine this admirable performance, including Copley’s second start in two nights.
This was also a very fun game to watch. It was like the opposite of the Washington-Florida game from a few weeks ago, with one team dominating early and forcing the game to open up later on. Add some good goaltending and a lot of talent, and this was a fun one.
Performance: 7.5/10
Entertainment: 7.5/10
Game 19: 11/16/18 @ Colorado Avalanche
19. 2. 103. Final. 3
Full disclosure: I was unable to watch this game due to other commitments. As such, it would not be fair for me to rate the performance of the Washington Capitals, or the entertainment value of this game against the Colorado Avalanche.
That being said, it should still be mentioned that for the Capitals to win this game on the road despite facing so many injuries, and with Copley starting his third game in four nights, it is incredibly impressive. They are doing something right, to say the least.
Performance: N/A
Entertainment: N/A
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Overall, while the Washington Capitals were only 2-2 on the week, I was more impressed with how they played over these past four games than I was for the last few weeks. The Arizona game notwithstanding, the Capitals played with a passion and effort that has not been present this year.
Unfortunately, this newfound energy seems to be coming just as we reach the entertainment dead zone of the season. Outside of the Jets, none of the games this week are really worth rewatching simply because it was a great match.
Despite Thanksgiving coming up this week, the Capitals will still be busy, with another four-game week coming up. How will Washington fare this time? We will find out next week, but until then, enjoy the long weekend!