The Washington Capitals finally found some of their early-season form in a 3-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night. The Ducks are in very rough shape again this season, so they aren’t a great measuring stick, but this one could still function as a “get-right game” for the Caps.
At least, I hope that’s what this becomes. Momentum, in the right direction, can get started against both bad and good teams.
- The five-on-five numbers portray the same level of domination the Capitals were putting on any and every team during the first month of the season. They decisively won battles at five-on-five in shot attempts (62-47), expected goals (3.26-1.71), scoring chances (35-19), and high-danger chances (13-5). Their 62 five-on-five shot attempts were their most in a game since they recorded 65 against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 12. Great restart – needs to keep happening.
- Logan Thompson posted his first shutout of the season and the first of his Capitals career. Thompson made 18 stops, improving his record to 19-2-3 with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. Per MoneyPuck, he saved 1.56 more goals than expected.
- Spencer Carbery’s tweaks to his top-six worked…at least against Anaheim with the home last change. Alex Ovechkin had his first positive results at five-on-five in weeks playing with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Aliaksei Protas on the Capitals’ top line. With the three on the ice, Washington held positive differentials in shot attempts (+4), shots on goal (+4), scoring chances (+3), and expected goals (+0.08). Dubois also recorded his 27th assist of the season in the win.
- Ethen Frank scored his second career NHL goal, recording a point in all three of his first NHL games. Per the Capitals, Frank is only the sixth player in franchise history to begin his NHL career with a three-game point streak and the first since Andre Burakovsky, who had a four-game point streak to begin his NHL career at the start of the 2014-15 campaign.
- Not only is Frank producing, but the Capitals’ third line, comprised of Frank, Lars Eller, and Taylor Raddysh, has been revitalized since his arrival. During their five-on-five shifts over the past three games, the Capitals have seen 68.6 percent of the shot attempts, 76.2 percent of the expected goals, 69.4 percent of the scoring chances, and 75.3 percent of the high-danger chances.
- John Carlson scored a goal that was not called back by a review. That’s notable enough for its own bullet. The marker was his “first” since November 27.
