{"id":530033,"date":"2026-03-29T22:17:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T22:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/530033\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T22:17:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T22:17:19","slug":"capitals-dont-make-it-easy-on-themselves-in-win-over-golden-knights-numbers-for-the-morning-after","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/530033\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitals don\u2019t make it easy on themselves in win over Golden Knights: numbers for the morning after"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ud83d\udcf8 : RMNB\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Washington Capitals ended their three-game road trip on a high note, downing the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 in a shootout<\/a>. The victory was definitely not a pretty one, but they all count the same.<\/p>\n

I like the fight the team is showing, but the same issues that have plagued them keep plaguing them, even in wins. Some stuff needs to get sorted out before next season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Capitals have not been good at five-on-five overall on this trip. They\u2019ve played well for stretches of games, but tend to cede momentum to their opposition for far longer stretches. At five-on-five during this three-game stint, using score and venue-adjusted metrics, the Caps have controlled just 41.6 percent of shot attempts, 40.2 percent of expected goals, 40.5 percent of scoring chances, and 37.2 percent of high-danger chances. Those are atrocious figures, and they only won two of the three games because their goaltender is the best in the league, and the opposing goalies certainly were not.
\nI don\u2019t mean to turn a win post into a negative vent session, but I\u2019ve been sorta holding this back for a good while. The Capitals have been god-awful analytically since some point in December. They were one of the top teams in the entire NHL in the fall, but completely fell apart once winter arrived. Let\u2019s quite literally look at how they\u2019ve played pre and post the start of winter. In their 35 games before December 21, they controlled 52.6 percent of shot attempts, 52.8 percent of expected goals, 52.8 percent of scoring chances, and 53.6 percent of high-danger chances. In the 39 games after, they\u2019ve controlled just 47.2 percent of shot attempts, 49 percent of expected goals, 47.5 percent of scoring chances, and 49.2 percent of high-danger chances. This decline also began before they did what they did at the trade deadline. It\u2019s up to the coaching staff and club management to figure out what changed and, if there were purposeful changes, to never make those changes again.
\nAfter the win, per MoneyPuck<\/a>, the Capitals\u2019 playoff qualification odds increased to just 8.8 percent. This team isn\u2019t making the playoffs. I don\u2019t say that to be a Debbie Downer. I say it because they entirely should have made the playoffs, even with PLD\u2019s injury, and there needs to be an evaluation this summer to figure out why that didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

Washington’s five youngest players combined for seven points in tonight’s 5-4 shootout win over Vegas.<\/p>\n

Cole Hutson, age 19 \u2013 2a
Ryan Leonard, age 21 \u2013 1a
Ivan Miroshnichenko, age 22 \u2013 1a
Justin Sourdif, age 24 \u2013 1g, 1a
Hendrix Lapierre, age 24 \u2013 1g<\/p>\n

\u2014 Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Really great stuff from the above names. All five of those players finished in the bottom six in terms of ice time, excluding Aliaksei Protas due to injury. Ivan Miroshnichenoko played just 7:49, Hendrix Lapierre just 8:04, Cole Hutson the least among defensemen at 15:10, Ryan Leonard at 15:16, and Justin Sourdif at 17:34. Read into that whatever you will.
\nI almost decided not to talk about the power play again, but we have to after they gave up another two shorthanded goals. Remember the \u201csame issues\u201d I spoke about in the intro to this post? Yeah, you already know, I don\u2019t need to explain it. The Capitals have now given up 11 shorties this season, one fewer than the Colorado Avalanche at the top of that leaderboard. When it comes to net power-play percentage, which factors in shorthanded goals, the Caps are operating at just 12.2 percent effectiveness this season, the second-worst mark in the NHL. Anyone not named Spencer Carbery involved with this year\u2019s power play needs to go. Simple as that.
\nNow, they did actually score two power-play goals in this game, both sparked by brilliance from Hutson. He recorded his first career multi-point game in the win, becoming\u00a0the first teenage NHL defenseman to factor on five consecutive power-play goals by his team since Mikhail Sergachev (2017).<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcca<\/p>\n

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