Special Teams Units Enjoy A Change for the Better

Positive Results Are Immediate Under Caps' Boudreau

When Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Washington Capitals' bench almost two weeks ago, one of the biggest challenges he faced was turning around the struggling special teams units.

So far, so good.

In his first six games as interim coach, the Capitals' power play has scored on better than 26 percent of its opportunities while the penalty kill has snuffed out more than 92 percent of the shorthanded situations it's faced. Both percentages would rank first in the NHL.

"I've always said if you can be equal five-on-five and your special teams are successful, then you can usually be pretty good," said Boudreau, who is off to a 3-2-1 start in his first NHL head coaching job. "It's only been six games, and the numbers can change in a hurry. But if you can get those two things going good, then you are going to be way ahead of the game."

Success on special teams has been a hallmark of Boudreau-coached teams, so the improvement does not surprise winger Brooks Laich, who's played for and against Boudreau in the American Hockey League.

"If you look at his track record going back to his teams in Manchester, they always had a top power play and a top penalty kill," said Laich, one of the Capitals' top penalty killers. "Obviously, we had the same thing in Hershey. Every night we talk about how the key to victory is going to be winning the special teams battle. He's just a smart guy when it comes to the special teams."

On the power play, Boudreau has used different alignments and personnel depending on several variables, including the opponent's tendencies. But the message to his players has remained constant: more movement in the offensive zone, more traffic in front of the net and more shots on goal.

"It's the exact same," said defenseman Mike Green, who played for Boudreau in Hershey and has scored twice on the power play the past six games. "What he said on the first day he was here was, 'It doesn't matter what level you're at, it's going to work.' He just asked us to believe in it. And that's the biggest thing, we're believing in what he's trying to teach us."

Boudreau has used as many as 10 players on the penalty kill in the same game. But the mission is the same regardless of who's out there: be aggressive, relentlessly pressure the puck carrier, make your opponent beat you.

"You know the thing he does very well? He doesn't let anyone off the hook," Laich said. "It doesn't matter if you're a 10-year veteran or a first-year player, if you don't get the puck down the ice, you're going to have a voice in your ear."

The results cannot be argued. The power play, led by Alex Ovechkin's three goals since the coaching change, has connected on 6 of 23 opportunities, including four of the first seven opportunities under Boudreau. The penalty kill, meantime, is 24 of 26. The recent upturn has seen the power play surge into a tie for 17th (16.7 percent) and the penalty kill improve to a more respectable 81.2, tied for 18th.

Like an NFL coach guarding his playbook, the man nicknamed "Gabby" clammed up when asked about specific aspects of his special teams strategies.

"Not that we're that cloak and dagger," Boudreau said with a smile. "But let the other teams figure it out."