Capitals (13-10-7) @ Atlanta (18-9-5) Keys to the Game
#1: No More Late Collapses
Something the Caps need to work on, which killed them against Pittsburgh, is their tendency to fade off later into the game. The Capitals goal differential for the second and third periods is -16. They rank 5th worst in the league in goals against for the second period (38) and 6th worst for GA in the third (36). Most of their goals are scored in the first period, but the Caps need to work on holding onto the lead late into the game. That might be hard because Atlanta is 3rd in the league for goals scored in the third period with 40.
#2: No More Shootouts
They lost to Fittsburgh in the shootout, which has become the norm for them. The Caps haven't won in the shootout. They've only scored one goal, tied with Carolina for last in the NHL (but the Canes have only been in 2 shootouts). Some disheartening statistics for the Caps are that they are worst in the league in shooting percentage (7.7%) and save percentage (33.3%) in the shootout. If the game goes to OT, the Caps better pull out all the stops to win it there.
#3: Limit the Shots
I probably sound like a broken record, but the Caps still give up more shots than anyone (36 per game). Glen Hanlon's approach to limit the number of shots to under 10 per period is a good one, but the Caps just cannot execute. This discrepancy just highlights the Capital's defensive weakness.
Players to Watch...
Atlanta: Marian Hossa
The leagues leading goal scorer (22) has had some great success against the Capitals in his career. Hossa has scored 21 goals and 43 points in 34 career games against Washington. He has been slumping as of late, only scoring 1 goal in his last three games. The question is will he have a huge game, or continue his woes?
Washington: Olie Kolzig
Kolzig is likely to start against Atlanta and Johnson against Philly tomorrow night. After surrendering 4 goals in the second half of the game against Pittsburgh, will he stand up to the task of facing Atlanta's barrage. He is 12-10-4-2 overall against Atlanta with a 2.72 GAA and a 90.6% save percentage in his career against the Trash. But in three games this year, he is 0-2-1 with a 3.96 GAA and an 87.6% sv. pct.
Something the Caps need to work on, which killed them against Pittsburgh, is their tendency to fade off later into the game. The Capitals goal differential for the second and third periods is -16. They rank 5th worst in the league in goals against for the second period (38) and 6th worst for GA in the third (36). Most of their goals are scored in the first period, but the Caps need to work on holding onto the lead late into the game. That might be hard because Atlanta is 3rd in the league for goals scored in the third period with 40.
#2: No More Shootouts
They lost to Fittsburgh in the shootout, which has become the norm for them. The Caps haven't won in the shootout. They've only scored one goal, tied with Carolina for last in the NHL (but the Canes have only been in 2 shootouts). Some disheartening statistics for the Caps are that they are worst in the league in shooting percentage (7.7%) and save percentage (33.3%) in the shootout. If the game goes to OT, the Caps better pull out all the stops to win it there.
#3: Limit the Shots
I probably sound like a broken record, but the Caps still give up more shots than anyone (36 per game). Glen Hanlon's approach to limit the number of shots to under 10 per period is a good one, but the Caps just cannot execute. This discrepancy just highlights the Capital's defensive weakness.
Players to Watch...
Atlanta: Marian Hossa
The leagues leading goal scorer (22) has had some great success against the Capitals in his career. Hossa has scored 21 goals and 43 points in 34 career games against Washington. He has been slumping as of late, only scoring 1 goal in his last three games. The question is will he have a huge game, or continue his woes?
Washington: Olie Kolzig
Kolzig is likely to start against Atlanta and Johnson against Philly tomorrow night. After surrendering 4 goals in the second half of the game against Pittsburgh, will he stand up to the task of facing Atlanta's barrage. He is 12-10-4-2 overall against Atlanta with a 2.72 GAA and a 90.6% save percentage in his career against the Trash. But in three games this year, he is 0-2-1 with a 3.96 GAA and an 87.6% sv. pct.
posted by The Jet at 12:24 PM
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