Caps were undone by their poor power play in Game 1 loss to the Lightning
The Capitals outshot the Lightning, 28-24, in Game 1 of the conference semifinals at Verizon Center. They outhit their guests, 28-19, and had the upper hand on faceoffs, too, winning 54 percent of them.
But they were undone Friday by the one statistical category that often separates winners from losers each spring: special teams. The Bolts converted one of their four power-play opportunities, while the Capitals failed on five opportunities in a 4-2 defeat that Tampa Bay sealed with an empty-netter.
But they were undone Friday by the one statistical category that often separates winners from losers each spring: special teams. The Bolts converted one of their four power-play opportunities, while the Capitals failed on five opportunities in a 4-2 defeat that Tampa Bay sealed with an empty-netter.
Track every shot and goal of every Capitals playoff game.
The Alex Ovechkin-dominated unit might deserve a pass had it been just one bad performance. But it has been a season-long struggle, one made all the more confounding by the fact that it possesses one of the most talented rosters in the NHL and, only 13 months ago, led the NHL at 25.2 percent. Even after struggling for the first five months this season, the power play finished the regular season strong, connecting at a 26.6 percent clip over the final 15 contests.
On Friday, though, it was disjointed, lethargic and, at times, just plain lazy, mustering five shots on goal while surrendering five short-handed shots against.
The power play also committed three giveaways, was whistled for offsides three times. Ovechkin did not record a single shot on net with the man advantage, despite 7 minutes 3 seconds of ice time. Two power plays, in fact, resulted in no shots at all.
But statistics weren’t the most damning indictment of the power play’s effort. That came during Coach Bruce Boudreau’s postgame news conference.
“We weren’t getting to any loose pucks, once there was a shot,” he snapped. “And we weren’t shooting the puck, which is what we were talking about. We were talking about getting the puck to the net, crash the net and simplify the game.”
