The Capitals' penalty kill is the second-worst in the league to open 2023-24. What's not clicking?
For years now, one constant for the Washington Capitals has been the success of the team's penalty kill, as it had sat comfortably in the top 10 league-wide for years — until now.
To open 2023-24, Scott Allen's PK has taken a nosedive, plummeting to 31st in the league at a 68.2 percent success rate. Washington has surrendered at least one power-play goal in all five games this season, and the lack of discipline isn't helping either, as two PPGs after multiple penalties on Tuesday led to a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who the Capitals otherwise outplayed for the majority of the night.
But what's going wrong?
Washington has been playing loose to open the year, and lately, there's been a lack of discipline. The Capitals' 5.80 penalties taken per 60 ranks eighth league-wide to open the year, and Tom Wilson also noted that prolonged time in the box will eventually lead to a PPG against, one way or another.
"Eventually it's going to end up in your net," he said matter-of-factly.
Looking at the team's coverage, several goals have come off missed assignments, with players out of position and leaving key players exposed for easy goals. For one reason or another, Washington's four players on the ice haven't been on the same page to open the season, and it's led to holes in coverage and easy goals for the likes of Sidney Crosby and Auston Matthews.
It also doesn't help that the team is without its top penalty killer in Nic Dowd. The 33-year-old, who underwent core surgery this offseason, is dealing with an upper-body injury and appeared to be ailing through the first two games of the season. He is "day-to-day to a certain extent," per head coach Spencer Carbery, but taking Dowd out of the picture is a major blow.
In turn, Beck Malenstyn and Aliaksei Protas, both playing their first full year up at the NHL level and still adjusting to the speed of the game, face a tall task as they take the lead on the kill against top teams.
Then, there's failure to clear the puck, which Martin Fehervary cited as one of the biggest issues with the kill to kick things off.
"I think we just need to clear the puck better, make sure we clear it all the way to the other end," Fehervary explained. "Because anytime it happens that we kind of try to clear it, they either take it, or they just kind of catch it on the blue line or whatever. And they just come back, and the chances are going from there."
The defensive pairings also haven't gotten into a groove yet for one reason or another, and things also have to tighten up when it comes to 1-on-1 coverage, as Spencer Carbery pointed out on Tuesday.
The pairings have also been changing early and often amid the team's struggles. That also makes it harder to sync up and leads to lapses in coverage.
So what's the fix?
Unfortunately, the biggest answer right now is time and practice. The team is still adapting to Carbery's systems, and the defense is also still getting used to Mitch Love. And even though the PK shouldn't change much with Allen still at the helm there, this team is still working through some growing pains.
The fix is also easier said than done, but communication, strong clears and avoiding lapses in coverage should also help this team in transition.
Washington's PK will go up against the New Jersey Devils' top-ranked power play (44 percent) on Wednesday.