“Lighting the Lamp” is a new WTOP feature added this winter. Take a look back at the inaugural article, if you missed it.
The Washington Capitals rested up during February as they were the only team in the NHL not to have a player on any of the Four Nations Faceoff rosters. But any question of the team being more rusty than rested was dismissed after they beat Pittsburgh and Edmonton by the combined score of 15-6.
But then they wrapped up the month with consecutive home losses (they hadn’t lost a regulation game in Washington since November) and began March with a 3-1 loss in D.C. to Tampa Bay.
Three straight regulation losses at home? It is a testament to this team’s outstanding play this season that this is the first time it’s happened to the Caps. Should one be concerned? Let’s wait a few more games before pressing the panic button.
Record: 38-14-8 (after a 4-2-2 February plus Saturday’s loss to Tampa Bay), strengthening its grip on first place in the Metropolitan Division (seven points ahead of Carolina). They also entered March with the best record in the Eastern Conference (eight points better than Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Saturday morning) while starting the month three points behind Winnipeg for the best mark in the NHL. Their cushion is now 20 points over the first team out of the playoffs after Saturday’s games who is Ottawa. As fate would have it, the Senators drop by the District on Monday.
Rankings: First (3.63 goals per game) in the NHL in scoring while tying for third (2.56) in goals against, ninth (24.1%) on the power play and fourth (82.2%) on the penalty kill.
Iceman of the Month: Alex Ovechkin’s seven goals may be impressive, but Tom Wilson’s six with three assists get the nod this time. The 30-year old recently set a career mark for goals in a season (he had 24 during the 2021-22 campaign) and is on track to pass his career-high for points (52) set the same year. In a time where other key cogs from the 2018 Cup champions like Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie have been sidelined, it’s nice to see part of the old guard still standing and producing.
Hot Sticks: John Carlson led the team with eight assists in February, while fellow defenseman Matt Roy had seven helpers. Dylan Strome tied Ovi with 10 points (three goals and seven assists) while Pierre-Luc Dubois (3-5) and Connor McMichael (3-4) continue to have strong seasons. McMichael’s 21 goals and 24 assists are already career highs.
Ovi-Odometer: Alex Ovechkin posted seven goals in February before scoring in Saturday’s loss to Tampa Bay, giving him 31 for the season and 884 for his career which places him 10 away from Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Ovi’s 31 goals in 44 games puts him on pace for 46 if he plays every game for the rest of the season. Prorating his pace over the final 22 games has Ovechkin reaching Gretzky’s mark in game 15, which is Tuesday April 2 at Carolina. Game 16 is Friday April 4 in D.C. against Chicago.
Matchup of the Month: Friday, March 7, the Capitals host Detroit, facing a Red Wings team that’s scraping for a playoff spot and if the postseason began today would be the Caps’ first round foe. It’s also a chance to see if this team has started to bounce back from their three-game slide or if they’ve continued to slump.
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