Washington Capitals: Match Ratings for December
A great final month of 2018 wrapped up the best calendar year in the history of the Washington Capitals, and put the team in a strong spot heading into next year.
When we last checked in on the Washington Capitals, they were riding high as November came to a close, having won their last seven games in a row. Buoyed by the return of Tom Wilson, the Capitals looked as good as they had all season.
With the final month of the year coming up, it was yet to be seen whether the team could maintain their high level of play going forward. After all, teams such as the Detroit Red Wings have already seen long winning streaks undone by inconsistent play thereafter.
So how important were the games that Washington played in December? Which ones should be remembered at the end of the season as key turning points or indicators of the team’s performance? Or, which games were so fun that they can be rewatched time and time again?
As I have mentioned in previous iterations, that is the purpose of these articles. 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. Hopefully, this article helps with that decision.
If you have followed this series of articles this year, you would notice that they were normally done on a weekly basis. I decided to try something new this time, by doing a monthly wrap with less detailed write-ups for each game.
Instead, one or two games every week that I believe are very important will be spotlighted and analyzed. The other games will be awarded performance and entertainment ratings, but will not be discussed. If you disagree with any of the scores I give, let me know in the comments!
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 December for Washington!
Week 10: 12/2 – 12/8
Spotlight: Capitals vs. Ducks (12/2)
105. 5. 19. Final. 6
For the first thirty minutes of this game, the Washington Capitals looked like a team set on extending their seven-game winning streak. They outskated, outshot and flat-out outplayed the visitors to the tune of a 5-1 lead.
For the final thirty minutes of this game, however, the Capitals hardly acted like anything resembling a group of hockey players. They slept through the second half of this one, allowing the Anaheim Ducks to snatch what should have been a sure victory away from the home team.
Everything about this game was infuriating to everybody related to Washington. It can only be hoped that the team learned its lesson about letting up at any point in a game. This kind of effort would not fly in the playoffs.
I have to admit, though – it was an entertaining comeback for sure.
Performance: 5/10
Entertainment: 7/10
Capitals @ Golden Knights (12/4)
19. 5. 942. Final. 3
Performance: 4.5/10
Entertainment: 7/10
Capitals @ Coyotes (12/6)
121. Final. 4. 19. 2
Performance: 5.5/10
Entertainment: 3/10
Capitals @ Blue Jackets (12/8)
19. 0. 113. Final. 4
Performance: 8/10
Entertainment: 5/10
Week 11: 12/9 – 12/15
Capitals vs. Red Wings (12/11)
6. 19. Final. 2. 72
Performance: 8/10
Entertainment: 3.5/10
Spotlight: Capitals @ Hurricanes (12/14)
6. 19. 5. 109. Final
A week earlier, it was the Washington Capitals blowing a big lead after taking the foot off the gas in the second half. This time, the shoe was on the other foot, as the Capitals rallied from a 4-1 deficit en route to a 6-5 shootout victory.
Much like the aforementioned Anaheim game, Washington really only showed up for half of this game. In the first 25 minutes they were hemmed into their own zone, taking too many penalties, and being absolutely slaughtered in special teams, which has been a major trend recently.
Afterwards, however, they used their physicality and speed to overwhelm the Carolina Hurricanes, with Alex Ovechkin‘s second hat trick in a row and the return of Tom Wilson from injury leading the Caps to the win. It was not their best performance of the year, but still an important one.
As would be expected in such a high-scoring affair, this was a pretty fun game to watch. It is a shame that the defense and goaltending was so putrid, because the offenses were flourishing.
Performance: 6/10
Entertainment: 6.5/10
Capitals vs. Sabres (12/15)
12. 4. 19. Final. 3
Performance: 6.5/10
Entertainment: 6.5/10
Week 12: 12/16 – 12/22
Spotlight: Capitals vs. Penguins (12/19)
19. Final. 2. 92. 1
Did you expect anything else? Of course this was going to be the spotlight for this week. Arguably the best rivalry in North American professional sports today took center stage for the third time this season, and the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins had themselves a classic.
This was the postseason in December. Fights, physicality, pucks being swept off of the goal line by diving defensemen; this brutal, back-and-forth, hugely entertaining game-of-the-year contender had everything one could possibly want from a regular season game. It was fantastic.
From a performance standpoint, while Washington did get unlucky with two pucks stopping right on the goal line, their special teams let them down once again. They took too many penalties, allowed a power-play goal, and could not strike on the man-advantage of their own.
The first game between these two teams was great, but way too sloppy. The second one was even better, but a bit too one-sided in favor of Pittsburgh, although the Capitals held on to win. This, however, was regular season perfection, plain and simple. I’ll be watching this next summer.
Performance: 6.5/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Capitals vs. Sabres (12/21)
Final. 1. 12. 2. 19
Performance: 6/10
Entertainment: 6.5/10
Capitals @ Senators (12/22)
91. Final. 4. 19. 0
Performance: 7.5/10
Entertainment: 3.5/10
Week 13 (and a bit of 14): 12/23 – 12/31
Capitals vs. Hurricanes (12/27)
1. 109. 3. 19. Final
Performance: 7/10
Entertainment: 4/10
Capitals @ Senators (12/29)
91. Final. 3. 19. 2
Performance: 6/10
Entertainment: 5.5/10
More. . light
Spotlight: Capitals vs. Predators (12/31)
19. Final. 6. 151. 3
I must be a glutton for punishment. The Washington Capitals only lost four games in the entire month, and I have analyzed three of them.
There is a reason for this, however, and it is that more can typically be learned from the losses than from the wins. In this game, the issues of the past month that had been masked by the good record manifested themselves to great effect, as the Caps ended 2018 on a rather sour note.
It is worth noting that Washington was shorthanded, missing the contributions of two of their Stanley Cup-winning defensemen in Matt Niskanen and Christian Djoos due to injury. Even so, the effort throughout the lineup was lethargic and complacent.
Even though the Capitals had a 3-1 lead at one point in this game, they never really looked like they were in control, and they deserved to lose. Still, it is better to have performances like this one in December than in May. Hopefully playoff games will be more exciting than this one as well.
Performance: 3/10
Entertainment: 3/10
dark. Next. One New Year's Resolution For Each Team
Despite the disappointing ending, this was a very good month for the Washington Capitals. They showed that they can win against all competition and proved that they are still viable Stanley Cup contenders, and one of the five best teams in the league.
That being said, there are wrinkles that the team needs to have ironed out. They tend to give up too many high-danger scoring chances, the special teams has been inconsistent (although it has improved recently), and injuries continue to prevent the team from playing at full strength.
Arguably, however, this is a good thing. When the Capitals were far and away the best team in the league, they became complacent with declining levels of play because they would still win. By losing every so often, the team will be kept honest going into the playoffs.
This was a 10 out of 10 year for Washington in every which way. Let us see if they can keep that going in 2019. Happy New Year!