Late goals dog Stanley Cup champs
It’s a situation the Washington Capitals or any team wants to be in: leading a game, and expecting the opposition to pull their goaltender for an extra attacker.
The desperation is ratcheted up.
And while the Capitals have excelled at defending a lead in recent seasons, the defending Stanley Cup champions have struggled in that regard this season.
When the opposition has had an empty net for a six-onfive, Washington has allowed eight goals, though the Capitals have ultimately lost the game just once. Last Sunday, the New York Rangers tied the game with 31 seconds left in regulation time, but Washington then prevailed in overtime.
“We’ve talked about it,” defenceman Matt Niskanen said. “What’s causing that is maybe up for debate. A few different things have happened. But yeah, we’ve talked about it.”
Coach Todd Reirden said personnel turnover has been part of the problem, with centre Jay Beagle — one of the league’s top faceoff men — leaving in the off-season for Vancouver. Washington sent out recently acquired winger Carl Hagelin to take a late faceoff on Sunday, only to see Brady Skjei’s shot deflect off the shaft of Hagelin’s stick before beating Capitals goalie Pheonix Copley. Niskanen said the Caps’ defenders were in good position were it not for that bad bounce. Forwards Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson are often used in those late-game situations, and captain Alex Ovechkin has even been out there in the past in an effort to score an empty-net goal to seal the game.
“We’ve tried a number of different players in that situation,” Reirden said.
“We lost one or two key guys from last year who were part of it, who were on the ice in those situations. It’s been a little bit of an audition for that position, so ... I wouldn’t say we’ve had the same exact group doing it all of the time, which is something we have had in the past. Now, as we move into the last 19 or 20 games of the season, we’ll be getting to more of our group that’s going to be used in those situations. It was an opportunity that was out there for some, and some took advantage of it and some didn’t. We’ll get closer to the guys we want to use in that situation now in the upcoming games.”
Defending a six-on-five late in the game should be easier because there’s less space for attackers to work with. But the “desperation” factor can make it more challenging, Reirden said.
“The urgency level is way higher,” Niskanen said. “And there’s more chaos.”