Washington Capitals: Match Ratings for February 2019
After a dreadful January, the Washington Capitals turned things around last month as the stretch run to the playoffs began.
When we were last examining the play of the Washington Capitals, they had just completed an abysmal seven-game losing stretch and were hoping to improve following the All-Star Break. Of course, it would have been hard to be much worse, but February was indeed a tremendous month for the Caps, as they went 9-4-3, a marked improvement over their 3-6-3 January. Along the way, they went to California, made some trades, and emerged ready to defend their title.
So which games in February were the most important for Washington? 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?
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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 playoff time. 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 had normally been done on a weekly basis. Starting with December, the format has been changed into 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 February for Washington!
Week 18: 2/1 – 2/9
Spotlight: Capitals vs. Flames (2/1)
4. 19. Final. 3. 112
There were two things about the seven-game losing streak coming into this one that made watching those games so irritating: a general lack of effort, and an overall boring game from both teams.
If one was worried that this would be repeated in February, the first game of the month should have dispelled that notion. The Washington Capitals, perhaps energized by the break, played a tough, dramatic game that stood in stark difference to those preceding it.
Not all of the ills from January had been fixed magically, but the Capitals still looked much better in this game than they did in much of the previous month. They did well to control much of the game against the best team in the West.
Despite that effort, the Flames were still able to keep things close, until Washington pulled away in the last minute. Between a great performance and the great entertainment of the game, this was a solid way to start the month.
Performance: 7/10
Entertainment: 7.5/10
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Other Games This Week:
2/3: Capitals vs. Bruins (1-0 Loss)
Performance: 3/10
Entertainment: 4/10
2/5: Capitals vs. Canucks (3-2 Win)
Performance: 6.5/10
Entertainment: 6/10
2/7: Capitals vs. Avalanche (4-3 OT Win)
Performance: 6/10
Entertainment: 6.5/10
2/9: Capitals vs. Panthers (6-5 OT Loss)
Performance: 5/10
Entertainment: 7.5/10
Week 19: 2/10 – 2/16
Spotlight: Capitals @ Sharks (2/14)
120. Final. 5. 19. 1
In January, I spotlighted San Jose’s trip to the nation’s capital, a 7-6 OT loss for the Washington Capitals that was one of the wildest games of the season. While I thought the Caps played pretty well in that game, they played way better here.
As the first stop on the dreaded California road trip, and as part of Washington’s season-long six-game road swing, it would not have been much of a surprise if the Caps came out flat here; after all, they have traditionally struggled in San Jose.
Instead, after spotting the Sharks an early lead, the Capitals dominated the rest of the way, controlling play against a very good opponent en route to an impressive victory. It may have been their best effort of 2019 at that point.
Unfortunately, the sheer dominance of the Caps meant that there was very little drama associated with this game. On the bright side, that meant that fans could go to bed at 12:30 and not have missed too much.
Performance: 8/10
Entertainment: 4/10
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Other Games This Week:
2/11: Capitals vs. Kings (6-4 Win)
Performance: 6/10
Entertainment: 6.5/10
2/12: Capitals @ Blue Jackets (3-0 Loss)
Performance: 1.5/10
Entertainment: 2/10
Week 20: 2/17 – 2/23
Spotlight: Capitals @ Maple Leafs (2/21)
Final. 3. 19. 2. 116
This was a very interesting week: of the four games, the Washington Capitals had two tremendous efforts in tough environments, and two duds against teams they should have defeated.
I have chosen to highlight one of the former games because I feel that it is more indicative of where Washington is at right now. With the California swing of the trip done, the Caps prevented a season sweep from the Toronto Maple Leafs with a solid 3-2 victory north of the border.
This was a very even game in every way – there were some great rush chances for both teams, both goaltenders played very well, and the advanced stats showed very little separation between them. That is exactly what a road team needs in Scotiabank Arena.
Outside of some lackadaisical defense at times, I thought this was a fantastic performance from the Capitals, and a pretty entertaining game as well. This would be a great potential playoff matchup.
Performance: 7/10
Entertainment: 7/10
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Other Games This Week:
2/17: Capitals @ Ducks (5-2 Loss)
Performance: 3/10
Entertainment: 3/10
2/18: Capitals @ Kings (3-2 Win)
Performance: 6/10
Entertainment: 5/10
2/23: Capitals @ Sabres (5-2 Loss)
Performance: 4/10
Entertainment: 4.5/10
Week 21: 2/24 – 2/28
Spotlight: Capitals vs. Senators (2/26)
19. Final. 2. 91. 7
Only two games this week, so I decided to talk about this one, the only game in February that the Washington Capitals played after the trade deadline.
On paper this was a big mismatch: the Stanley Cup champions going up against a tire fire in full rebuilding mode. Despite a slow start, the Capitals soon showed just how wide of a gulf there is between these two franchises.
This was more than just dominance – this was carnage from Washington. Outside of those first ten minutes, they played as though they wanted to embarrass Ottawa. It was the kind of performance that would be successful against any team, let alone the Senators.
Needless to say, this was not a very entertaining game in the traditional sense, but I get the feeling that a lot of fans enjoyed watching this one play out.
Performance: 7/10
Entertainment: 3/10
Other Games This Week:
2/24: Capitals vs. Rangers (6-5 OT Win)
Performance: 5.5/10
Entertainment: 7/10
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This was a very strong month for the Washington Capitals, and it came at the right time. With just over a month left in the regular season, the time for the team to up their intensity and effort is now.
It seems as though they have taken that to heart, as the apathy that was present in January has not been evident recently. In addition, between savvy trades and more contributions from depth players, this team is looking more and more like last year’s championship squad.
Can the Washington Capitals continue their strong play through March and April? I will be back after the regular season with more match ratings and a look ahead to the Stanley Cup Playoffs!