By The Numbers: Is The Capitals' Start As Bad As It Seems, And What Next?

It's no secret that the Capitals are struggling to open 2023-24. But is it as bad as it all seems?

It's no secret that the Washington Capitals are struggling to open the 2023-24 campaign, managing just three of eight possible points so far while seeing their top names struggle to get going. But is it as bad as it seems?

Washington (1-2-1) hasn't hidden from the fact that things don't look good out of the gate. Captain Alex Ovechkin, who has stressed having a strong start to the season after the Capitals failed to make the playoffs last year by a handful of points, even took accountability for his own rough performance out of the gate.

And looking at the numbers, it's easy to see that Washington's play so far is by no means impressive — and in all, it's among the worst in the league to start thing sout.

With the exception of Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens, where the team took a slight step forward with its first 30-plus shot game of the year, the team has failed to get a lot going on the forecheck. The Capitals currently average just 24.8 shots per game, the third-least in the NHL, and their five goals on the season (and 1.25 GF/G average) rank last.

Looking at their top contributors, the only players with three points are rookie Matthew Phillips and defenseman John Carlson. Ovechkin (two assists) and Dylan Strome (two goals) are the only other players with multiple points this season.

As for shots against and goals against, they again rank in the bottom-10th, as their 32.5 shots against per game and 3.75 goals against per game are the ninth and eighth most in the NHL. Washington has also surrendered the first goal of the game in all four games, and most of those goals against have come following missed defensive assignments.

Then, there's special teams. The Capitals are currently operating under a new power-play coach in Kirk Muller, and he and Spencer Carbery were tasked with revamping the team's power play, which had started to decline after the same tricks over the years. Scott Allen is still running the penalty kill, though there's an adjustment period there with Beck Malenstyn playing his first year up with the big club and Nic Dowd hurting.

However, so far, the man advantage has yet to click, going 0-for-13 through the first four games of the year. On the PK, Washington will see big moments at times, but the team has given up a power-play goal in all games this season and has made it too easy on the opposition, allowing them to make tape-to-tape passes and execute plays.

So, breaking it all down, it's not pretty, but is it panic time? Far from it.

There's going to be an adjustment period and growing pains with Carbery taking over and the team still incorporating some youth, though it's time for the leaders on the team to step up. There were flashes of that in the 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens on Saturday, as the club's top contributors were making plays and getting their chances.

Plus, with regard to Ovechkin, there was another year where he went without a goal in four straight games to kick things off: 2012-13. The lockout season was the same one where he ended up leading the league with 32 goals in 48 games.

And also of note: the team is again dealing with injuries, as Dowd (upper-body), Charlie Lindgren (upper-body), Joel Edmundson (hand) and Max Pacioretty (Achilles), and all of those names can all help in key areas when healthy.

So, to summarize: it's not time to throw in the towel in the District. This team is one that's in a strange retooling period, and it's just four games — and ultimately, 15 days — into the campaign. There's still time to get back on track, and if need be, make adjustments on the fly.

Still, as Ovechkin and others have pointed out, the season moves fast, and those points you lose at the beginning are often the ones you regret to be missing at the end. The Capitals will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, where they'll hope to live up to their words and bounce back.