Top Five Power Plays on Display
Posted on February 14, 2013Powering Up – Washington’s power play has clicked at a rate
of 25.5% this season, tied for fifth in the NHL. The Lightning’s power play is
one of the four that has outproduced the Caps this season; the Bolts’ extra-man
unit is at 27.4%.
Tampa Bay scored three power-play goals in seven
opportunities in the season opener here in Tampa on Jan. 19. The Bolts had
another game with three power-play strikes, an 8-3 home ice win over Winnipeg
on Feb. 1.
At its best, the Tampa Bay power play outfit scored in each
of six straight games from Jan. 22 to Feb. 2. The Lightning’s extra-man unit
clicked on 10 of 26 opportunities (38.5%) during that stretch.
Since then, the Bolts have cooled a bit.
Sami Salo’s game-tying power-play goal with 44 seconds left
in regulation against Montreal on Tuesday ended an 0-for-14 extra-man skein for
the Lightning.
Washington opened the season with two goals in its first 17
power-play opportunities. Since then, the Caps have cashed in at a lusty rate
of 33.3% with the extra man (10-for-30).
Elias on Brouwer – When Caps right wing Troy Brouwer tallied
32 seconds into overtime on Tuesday in South Florida to make 6-5 winners of the
Caps, he scored the game-winning goal for the second consecutive game.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the first time in Brouwer’s seven-season
NHL career that he has supplied the game-winning goal in each of two
consecutive team games.
Brouwer joins Alex Ovechkin (Oct. 2010), Marcus Johansson
(Oct. 2011) and Brooks Laich (March 2012) as the fourth Capital to achieve that
distinction in the last four seasons.
Red Light District – After scoring a total of 25 goals in
their first 11 games, Washington has erupted for 11 goals in its last two
games. The offensive largesse displayed over the past two games has been enough
to push the Caps up to 11th in the NHL with an average of 2.8 goals
per game for the season.
Shoot ‘Em Up – The Lightning fired 34 shots on the
Washington nets in the Jan. 19 season opener between the two teams. That
remains Tampa Bay’s single game high for the season. The Bolts have surpassed
30 shots on goal only once in their last six games.
Washington has held its foes to fewer than 30 shots on goal
in four of its last five games.
The Lightning is seeking to halt a five-game losing streak
(0-4-1) tonight.
Barnburner – The Caps’ 6-5 win over the Florida Panthers on
Tuesday marked the first time Washington has won a game in which it surrendered
five or more goals since Oct. 10, 2011. That game, the second of the 2011-12
regular season, was a 6-5 shootout win over the Lightning at Verizon Center.
