I'm sure somewhere somebody is on AM radio ranting about how acquiring Kevin Shattenkirk really screwed the chemistry of the Capitals and contributed to their recent losing streak.
A nice narrative, but it's a little bit more than far fetched - it's an outright stupid theory.
The Capitals are a great team - most likely even the best team in the NHL - but they're not the team that scored six goals per game while hardly allowing a goal from (pretty much) Christmas to Valentines day.
The Caps' Sh% and Sv% were always going to come back to earth. You knew that. Better to run cold now than in April/May. pic.twitter.com/E4jJpY2z7b
— Japers' Rink (@JapersRink) March 13, 2017
No team could keep that up. So when the Capitals suddenly can't score and they are on a four game losing streak - it's just part of the ebb and flow of an 82 game hockey season. It certainly isn't something we should ascribe panicky labels to.
As the chart above illustrates, the Capitals were simultaneously scoring and preventing goals at crazy rates.
A return to the norm is inevitable.
Shattenkirk didn't ruin the chemistry.
Burakovsky wasn't way more important than you thought.
Nate Schmidt wasn't the secret key to success.
Ovechkin didn't suddenly do five years of declining all at once.
He is simply not scoring for who knows what reason. I can pretty much assure you it's not because Kevin Shattenkirk upset his chemistry set.
Several factors have beset the Capitals all at once and now they are on a losing streak. But there is no reason to think it's anything they won't bounce back from.
At the end of the day, if you can lose four in a row and maintain your First Place Ranking in the standings, then you're doing OK.