The Washington Capitals are the best team in the NHL so far this season—and not by a small margin.
The Capitals have a five-point lead on the second-place Chicago Blackhawks for the top spot in the NHL standings, and they have played six fewer games. Their plus-58 goal differential is nearly as high as the next two teams (Chicago is plus-33, and Dallas is plus-32) combined. They have nearly four times as many regulation wins as they do regulation losses.
How has Washington been so dominant? We could probably fill a book with the long answer, so consider this the Coles Notes edition.
Strong special teams
Washington leads the NHL with a 23.7 percent efficiency rating on the man advantage. Alex Ovechkin leads the league with 14 power-play goals, while Nicklas Backstrom is fifth in the NHL with 22 points on the man advantage, but it would be a mistake to see the Caps’ success here solely through the lens of that duo.
Seven different Capitals players are inside the top 100 when it comes to power-play points in the NHL. Jason Chimera, who is eighth on the ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Jonathan Willis
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