Capitals To Make 'Tons' Of Changes To Power Play After 10 Games Without a PPG; Carlson & Ovechkin Reflect On What's Not Working
WASHINGTON — Over the last 10 games, the Washington Capitals have had nearly an hour of power-play time to operate with. There's nothing to show for it, with the exception of frustration and harsh critiques.
Washington has gone 0-for-28 on the man advantage over this 10-game stretch, and overall, the Capitals' six percent success rate on the power play this season ranks dead-last in the league. Out of 50 total chances this year (the least amount of any team), D.C. has only struck on three.
"Certainly, it's not good enough. Certainly from this group, it's not acceptable," defenseman John Carlson said.
It's not for a lack of effort; Both PP lines are put to work every single practice, and the team has shaken things up and tried to better evenly divide the ice time between their first and second units. Washington is also still adjusting to new power-play coach Kirk Muller's systems after 17 years operating under Blaine Forsythe.
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"We trying, you know?" Capitals captain and the NHL's all-time power-play goals leader Alex Ovechkin said, adding, "it's frustrating for us. But we move on and keep fighting and keep playing the pace."
Though looks have been there from time to time, the power play, for the most part, remains underwhelming. It's lackluster performance is underscored by stagnance, familiarity and bad habits. And, to make matters worse, bounces just aren't going in Washington's favor right now.
"It seems like the chances we do get aren't going in, so I think that makes every mistake even more glaring," Carlson added. "I think it makes everyone more frustrated and nobody has a perfect power play, but it's difficult. The pucks that we work for, good spots, good chances, they're not going on."
That being said, head coach Spencer Carbery isn't waiting any longer to see his unit come to life. Ten games has been more than enough time for him, and he said that starting on the California road trip, things are going to shake up significantly when it comes to 5-on-4.
"We're gonna have to change a bunch, tons of different things personnel-wise, puck management-wise, puck recovery, decisions, routes, I mean, you name it," Carbery said, adding, "We'll continue to look to try to find a combination of five guys that are able to execute the power play and be able to do the necessary things required to have an effective power play in this league."
