Not too bad. Normal gaps in between the games and no weekend afternoon game. I suppose you get that when you are the marquee series of the second round.
A big reason why this is a marquee matchup is because it is littered with superstar talent. Today I am going to highlight the talent on the Washington Capitals and what makes their great power play tick.
Washington has the best power play player of all time on their roster which makes their unit a threat to score whenever they find themselves with the man advantage.
If you want to dig your teeth into an absolutely thorough breakdown of the Washington power play which includes their breakouts, entries, and zone setup you should read the following article from Arik Parnass
Arik does the best work on special teams at the moment. He is very good.
I am going to try and explain the answer to one of the most popular questions about the Capitals power play: How the hell does Alex Ovechkin always find a way to be open in that same spot?
On the surface it seems ludicrous that Ovechkin gets as many looks as he does on the power play, but the Capitals power play is about more than Ovechkin. The Great 8 obviously has the biggest impact but the other parts are in sync with him and create other options. Ovechkin's shot opens up great opportunities for his teammates because of the attention he draws and the other personnel on the power play know how to take advantage.
Washington has an awesome half wall guy in Nicklas Backstrom who is able to control the flow as well as anybody on that right hand side. The other two forwards use a staggered screen in front of the net (usually TJ Oshie and Marcus Johansson) with John Carlson taking the top position in the umbrella. Everybody is properly slotted for their skill set which is a staple of any good power play.
So how does Ovie get that lane? The biggest reason is John Carlson. He isn't afraid to shoot the puck from the point. He has a heavy shot whether it is via slap shot or wrister and he is able to get it through. The staggered screen in front is equipped with guys that have decent hands for tips and puck retrievals. The Capitals will eventually score with this look and they do. John Carlson had three power play goals in Washington's first round series. Here's an example of one of those goals
Look how wide open Carlson is. That Ovechkin lane is shut right down but it doesn't matter if the guy up top can lay down bombs. Nicklas Backstrom who is behind the net got in front of the goalie by the time the shot came through.
Here is a second example
This is the moment Carlson shot the puck. Notice that there's no big windup or giveaway he is going to just fire it. He just does. The staggered screen in front does its job. You can see Mason attempting to look around it. Another look at it
So now that John Carlson is a threat this forces the top penalty killer in the diamond formation to get up higher in order to take away Carlson's shooting lane. This creates a gap behind the killer which magically opens up an East West lane for Ovechkin. Carlson does a nice job of holding that top penalty killer up top and can get it to Backstrom who will whip it back across to Ovie or he'll just feed Ovie directly.
If teams try to cheat way up top guarding both Ovechkin and Carlson that is when Nicklas Backstrom goes to work on down low. Washington reads where they can find their 2 on 1's as well as any power play unit in the league. It is why they are so consistent year after year.
Ottawa isn't even cheating all that bad and they still were able to expose that space down low and get it to Ovechkin for a gimme goal
Washington is going to be tough enough to deal with at even-strength. Giving them open looks with the offensive talent they have on a power play is just asking for trouble and the examples above are the reasons why.
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Here is every Penguins playoff goal so far in under a minute.
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