GDT#56 Capitals @ Jets 2018-02-13 8:00pm EST NBCSWA

[ArJunaZ]

                     

                 Tue. Feb. 13   Washington Capitals @ Winnipeg Jets
                 Place:  Bell MTS Place
                 Time: 8:00 p.m.
                 TV: NBCSWA, TSN3
                 Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
                 NHL.COM
                 Winnipeg Jets               73-32-15-9 Last Game: Feb 11 Lost 3-1 against Rangers
                 Washington Capitals    70-32-17-6 Last Game: Feb 11 OT Loss 5-4 against Red Wings

                                             

                       8-Ovechkin          19-Bäckström        43-Wilson
                     10-Connolly           92-Kuznetsov         77-Oshie
                     65-Burakovsky      20-Eller                  39-Chiasson
                     18-Stephenson       83-Beagle               25-Smith-Pelly


                               29-Djoos                 74-Carlson
                                 9-Orlov                   2-Niskanen
                               44-Orpik                 22-Bowey


                                              70-Holtby (starter)
                                              31-Grubauer


                                           -- SCRATCH --
                                              13-Vrana                                             
                                               4-Chorney


                                           -- INJURED --


                                    -- 1st Powerplay Unit --
                    77-Oshie            19-Bäckström     92-Kuznetsov
                                 8-Ovechkin           74-Carlson
                               
                                    -- 2nd Powerplay Unit --
                    39-Chiasson        20-Eller             65-Burakovsky
                                2-Niskanen             9-Orlov
       

               Referees:   Dan O’Halloran (#13)  Tom Chmielewski (#18)
               Linesmen:  Jonny Murray (#95),  Kory Nagy (#97)











By Jesse Dougherty February 13 at 11:42 AM

Inside the mind of the Capitals’ Brett Connolly, a selective sharpshooter in a selective offense


Brett Connolly’s shooting percentage of 28.6 is the highest on the Capitals. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)


In the example in Brett Connolly’s head, he is coming down the left wing with the puck, there is an imaginary defenseman in the middle of the zone, an imaginary teammate streaking on the other side of that defensemen, and a puzzle.

He is at an odd angle and has two options. The first is the one on everyone’s imaginary mind, to shoot the puck, test the goaltender, give his team a perceived high chance at a goal. The second requires a bit more thought: to do something other than toss a save-able shot at the net, to pass or skate around the back of the goal or do anything to raise a low-percentage scoring opportunity into a higher one. Connolly, more often than not, goes with the latter.

“Generally, I’m not just going to throw a puck at the net just to get a shot on goal or because that’s what you’re ‘supposed to do,'” Connolly said before the Capitals’ 3-2 win in Columbus last week. “I like to look for really good scoring chances, one or two a game that have a good chance of producing a goal. That’s where my game is right now.”

That is working for Connolly so far this season, and it’s also a microcosm of sorts for this year’s Capitals. The Capitals are last in the league in shots on goal per game (28.6) and, while they’ve  at times acknowledged a need for a few more “pucks at the net,” they are generally uncompromising in their own search for the right scoring opportunities. Connolly has 14 goals on 49 shots this season (which also puts him one goal short of a career-high he set last year). He has a team-high 28.6 shooting percentage, which would be league-high if his low shots on goal total didn’t disqualify him in the category. He is making the most of limited chances, like when he scored once on one shot on goal in an eventual 5-4 overtime loss to the Red Wings on Sunday, or scored six times on 12 shots on goal across 14 November games.

This approach for Connolly, who counts shooting as his best offensive asset, is not only born of calculation, but of a time early last season when he was trying to hang in a lineup and didn’t want to waste any opportunities. Now he’s a fixture on the Capitals’ third line and ranks third on the team in goals behind Alex Ovechkin (NHL-leading 33) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (15). The Capitals (32-17-6) have a four-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division heading into an 8 p.m. matchup with the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Tuesday night.

“When you’re trying to prove yourself and get on a line or stay in the lineup, I don’t think five or six shots on goal are going to help you too much unless they lead to goals,” Connolly said. “So that’s where those one to two chances come in. I always go back to that. Sometimes, if you go without a shot on goal for a few games, maybe you throw a puck on goal just to get yourself going and feel it a bit. But for the most part you’re looking for the spots that you can score in and that’s it. At least that’s what I do.”

And, at least for now, so do the Capitals.

The rate at which Connolly is scoring, in relation to his shots on goal total, is extremely rare. Since the 2005-06 season, nine players (including him) have scored 10 or more goals on 50 or fewer shots in a season. According to the hockey analytics site Corsica, Connolly should have six goals based on when and where he took his shots, an indication that there may be some luck on his side.

But Connolly, who needed 81 shots on goal to score 15 times last season, doesn’t often factor luck into his calculations. The Capitals tend not to either. Last Friday, they finished with 17 shots on goal in a 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets, a team known for tossing puck after puck at the net, finished with 37 shots on goal. The Capitals then had just 10 shots on goal through two periods against the Red Wings on Sunday, and trailed by three due to flat offense and scrambling defense.

So on one hand, the Capitals’ low shot volume was fine because it produced the chances they needed to score. On another, it was detrimental in producing hardly any scoring opportunities at all. Sometimes, Connolly’s own low shot volume produces the one chance he is looking for. Sometimes that second chance comes soon after, like when he scored twice on four shots on goal against the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 18. Then he went back-to-back games without a shot on goal last week — making it impossible for him to find the net — and he may start to question himself a bit before the next time he beats a goalie.

“It can all be really confusing,” Connolly said while scratching his head in the visitors locker room in Columbus. He was talking about himself. He could have been talking about his team, too.

[BarfingMonkey]

Let's GO CAPS!
I think T-Dub will have a great game!

[Surreylily]

Oh fuck.  O;Halloran as a ref.  No joy here here boys and girls.
Get your sarcasm and joyous unicorns unleashed.

[Surreylily]

Let's GO CAPS!
I think T-Dub will have a great game!

Yoy're not right.

[OldHat]

Are they losing yet?

[ArJunaZ]

Are they losing yet?

Surprisingly, no!

[OnlyCaps2]

I want to see two things: do not give up the first goal, and get a minimum of 12-14 shots each period.

Wishful thinking?

[ArJunaZ]

We're actually shooting the puck. I may not watch Olympic Curling after all!   

[OnlyCaps2]

And how the hell in Nisky in the line up after the game he had???

[DC_1908]

Damn, sans Red Drawf, I didn’t realize how big the Jets where

[alta]

aww shyt, forgot there was a game. Last months schedule has me all messed up

[alta]

someone isn't happy with the apple and blueberry I put in his bowl

[ArJunaZ]

Oh fuck.  O;Halloran as a ref.  No joy here here boys and girls.
Get your sarcasm and joyous unicorns unleashed.

O'Helloran is on the our side today, I sent him a coupon for a free Sindy BJ.

[ArJunaZ]

We are definitely improving. It took 15 minutes to give up the first goal.

[OnlyCaps2]

fcuk that

[DC_1908]

. . . Nice D Bura


 

[alta]

Are they losing yet?

are now

[OldHat]

OV playing better defense than the defence... 

[DC_1908]

Jesus Harold we aren’t even at 80% PK!!!


WTF!!!!!!!!   That it’s just inex-god damn-scuable

[washcapsfan]

Holtby keeps getting faked out of his skates. What the fuck is his problem? He left a huge opening and Ovy had to take a penalty to stop an easy goal