The Washington Capitals have the league’s second-most dangerous power play, converting 29.6 percent of their opportunities. The team, meantime, is off to a 7-0-0 start, the best in franchise history.
That’s not a coincidence.
On Hockey: Capitals’ resurgent power play keys 7-0 start
Toni L. Sandys/WASHINGTON POST - Instead of his usual spot at the point on the power play, captain Alex Ovechkin has spent the majority of the first two weeks along the boards or in the slot. The unit is clicking at a 29.6 percent rate.
The Capitals have converted eight of their 27 power plays through the season’s first seven games, including a pair in overtime, one that put them ahead in the third period and another that staked the team to a first-period lead it did not relinquish.
The unit appears to have regained the swagger it boasted during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 regular seasons, when it finished with back-to-back 25.2 percent effectiveness rates and struck fear into the hearts of opposing goaltenders. The Capitals’ current streak of five consecutive games with at least one power-play goal is the unit’s longest since March 2010.
“We’re just getting back to what we were doing,” said Coach Bruce Boudreau, the power play’s chief architect. “The last part of last year, there was a lot of panicville. . . . It’s only seven games in. We could go 0 for 20 the next few games and get back to 20th. But I think with [the players] seeing some success doing what they’re doing, they’re going, ‘Wow, let’s continue what we’re doing.’ ”
So what, exactly, are they doing differently, one season after converting only 17.5 percent of their chances (16th) in the regular season, then posting an anemic 14.3 percent in the playoffs?
Quite a bit, actually.
The most recognizable difference is having a player consistently parked at the top of the crease. In Saturday’s 7-1 stomping of visiting Detroit, for example, 6-foot-3, 213-pound Troy Brouwer obscured the sight line of Red Wings netminder Ty Conklin on both of Mike Green’s goals. Three days earlier in Philadelphia, Brouwer was in front of the Flyers’ Ilya Bryzgalov on Alex Ovechkin’s third-period tally. Against Carolina, Brooks Laich cut across Hurricanes goalie Brian Boucher’s crease a second before backhanding in a rebound.
Brouwer described crashing the net as his “sole purpose.” He also said Boudreau told him that receiving playing time on the power play is directly linked to positioning.
“It’s pretty easy,” Boudreau said. “If you want to play, you better to do what you’re supposed to.”
Boudreau has also implored his highly skilled lineup to embrace a more simple game. That means fewer attempts of long crossing passes and more shots on net instead. The idea is to reduce the number of intercepted passes while increasing sustained zone time and the probability of rebound chances.
“We were trying to be more cute last year than this year,” said center Nicklas Backstrom, the Capitals’ leading scorer with two goals and eight assists. “We want two passes and a shot, two passes and a shot.”
Another change has been the placement of Ovechkin. Instead of his usual spot at the point, the captain has spent the majority of the first two weeks along the boards or in the slot, locations that not only position him closer to the net but also allow him to utilize his playmaking ability. When Ovechkin plays up front, Green and Dennis Wideman patrol the point, utilizing their defenseman’s instincts to direct long shots on net and keep the puck in the offensive zone.
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