Capitals finding success on special teams amid recent surge originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Though it has taken longer than it usually has over the last decade and a half, the Capitals have started to hit their stride. They beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Friday for their third straight win and sixth over their last nine games.
The win represents a significant step in the Capitals’ attempt to climb out of the hole (13-12-4) they dug for themselves to begin the season. They pulled back over .500 for the first time since they were 5-4-2 on Nov. 1, securing their 30th point toward the standings to thrust themselves into the thick of the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference.
“I think we’re right there,” winger Anthony Mantha said after Friday’s win. “I think we’ve been playing good. We just need to keep pushing a little bit more and like I said as the confidence comes around for this group of guys, I think anything can happen.”
Washington’s recent run of success has coincided with the return of winger T.J. Oshie, who missed 11 games with a lower-body injury. In the nine games since his return on Nov. 23, the Capitals have gone 6-2-1 with notable success on the power play. They’ve converted 27.6% of their chances with at least one power-play goal in all but one game over that stretch.
Oshie has tallied six points across those nine games including two power-play goals and one assist.
“I feel like we’re growing as a power-play group,” winger Marcus Johansson said. “I think since Osh got back it’s been great and it’s been winning some games for us and getting us back in games and all that. So I feel like power play has done a good job. There were a few tonight that I thought was a little bit sloppy but we got a big goal and that got us right back into the game and we gotta keep building off that.”
As important as Oshie is, the impact of Alex Ovechkin is impossible to discount. The franchise icon is closing in on 800 career goals and he’s picked up his play as well, putting up multi-point efforts in six of his last nine games. He’s only scored one power-play goal since Oshie returned but has assisted on four others, drawing plenty of defensive attention his way.
On the other side, Washington has also killed 87% of opponents’ penalties over that span — third-best in the NHL. The success on special teams has translated into the Capitals’ best stretch of the year even as they’ve experienced some ups and downs at 5-on-5. They still have plenty of work to do if they’re going to make a run at a playoff spot, but the Capitals’ early-season hole has started to look much smaller over the last two weeks.
