The Capitals have the second-worst power play in the league, and something needs to change.
WASHINGTON — After a third power-play attempt that fell flat on Friday against the Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin made his way back to the bench, breaking his stick before kicking the boards a few times for good measure.
The captain himself hasn't scored in the last seven games, and all the while, the power play went 0-for-5 on Friday, and postgame, coach Spencer Carbery was far from impressed, to the point where he didn't even want to get into specifics.
"I just do not feel like getting into the power play right now. It was not good," Carbery said bluntly.
It's not just Friday, though, where the power play struggled. Out of 183 total attempts on the man advantage this season, the Capitals have banked in on just 29, and their 15.8 percent success rate is the second-worst in the NHL, in front of only the Colorado Avalanche, who have played four less games.
What exactly is going wrong, though?
The issue lies in a number of areas, and a glaring issue comes with entries and getting set up. From there, it becomes difficult to get set up and execute, leading to the other team easily recovering the puck and sending it back down the ice.
Getting shots isn't necessarily the issue; Washington's managed 265 shots on the power play while generating 278 scoring chances in total; there's a lack of finish, though, and high-danger opportunities, that's putting the team in a difficult position.
"I know they're frustrated. Guys, they want to score in those spots, specially (Dylan Strome), (Alex Ovechkin), (Jakob Chychrun), they want to produce, because they understand that's an important part of their identity and their roles, is capitalizing on the power play," Carbery said. "When they don't, they get frustrated. I get it."
The Capitals' personnel just also doesn't seem to be clicking on a consistent basis. Ovechkin himself is struggling to score, and his teammates aren't able to find him for that classic one-timer as much as the past.
All the while, injuries to Ryan Leonard and Tom Wilson over the last couple of months have interrupted building chemistry on that top unit.
There are solutions to consider; Pierre-Luc Dubois' return has given D.C. a big part of its identity back and could spark the top unit, though he's lined up on PP2. John Carlson's absence has also taken away from that second unit.
Washington is also approaching the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline and is looking to add a skill winger, which could add another key piece that could spark the man advantage. However, it may go beyond just personnel, with the team having to consider more than just the players on the ice.
In the end, Carbery and the Capitals are well aware that things need to change one way or another. They also know that the lack of production with the man advantage cost them games earlier in the season, and they can't afford that to happen again during the playoff push.
"We have to (improve)," Carbery said. "We'll continue to work at it, and hopefully, some of those pucks will start to go in for us."