Capitals top line impresses against difficult Bruins top line

The Washington Capitals are blessed with four forward lines that have the ability to contribute each and every night. With each trio carrying different levels of responsibility, the one that is relied on and entrusted the most is the top line of Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie.

So when the Capitals dropped their first game back from the All Star break, a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders, some of the blame had to fall on the Capitals’ first line. The trio was pitted primarily against New York’s top line of John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey. In fact, 13 of Backstrom’s 18 even-strength shifts were against that group of Islanders.

It wasn’t Backstrom and his fellow linemates’ best performance. According to Muneeb Alam, a hockey analyst at Japers’ Rink, the Capitals’ top line were out shot-attempted by a median score of negative one, meaning the puck was in the Capitals’ defensive zone when these two lines were on the ice more often than the Capitals’ offensive zone. In total, each of those Capitals forwards finished with a 44 percent shot attempt percentage, again, suggesting they weren’t able to drive as much offensive as they allowed.

“I thought Tavares’ line carried the play a bit more against Backy’s line,” Trotz said following the loss.

Backstrom said that Trotz addressed this slight with the three scorers before the start of the Capitals’ most recent game against the Boston Bruins, which came just the night after the loss to the Islanders. Backstrom said that the focus was to get back on track, and seemed to have faith that it was just a fluky effort.

“It was just a game after a break,” Backstrom said. “Maybe we were rusty.”

Matched up primarily with the Bruins’ top threesome of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, Backstrom and his linemates seemed far more comfortable within the game and controlled the pace. The six forwards (with the exception of a brief absence from Bergeron due to injury) played 14 total even strength shifts against one another, with the Capitals recording a median score of four, according to Alam, suggesting the Capitals were able to generate more offense in this particular matchup.

The Capitals also converted on their chances on five on five play. Backstrom and Oshie each scored a goal at even strength against the Bruins’ top line.

“I knew that they could be better,” Trotz said. “They should be a dynamite line every night, and they were. They made a statement [after] I challenged them a little bit to up their game.”

But here’s what makes the statement all the more powerful. Not only did the Backstrom line respond with a much better performance, they did so against one of the more difficult matchups they could possible go against. With Bergeron and Marchand in particular, that couple is the strongest pair of possession players in the NHL.

If we look at their shot attempt percentage, the exact same formula that determined just how well the Capitals top line played against the Bruins’ top line, Bergeron has a 62.48 shot attempt percentage, while Marchand is at 61.31 percent, according to Corsica. Those are the two highest percentages in the NHL. Bergeron is averaging 27.5 more shot attempts than his opponents for every 60 minutes he plays at even strength, an astoundingly high number.

To put in perspective of just how great those percentages are, the Capitals’ top possession player is third line center Lars Eller. Eller’s percentage is 57.18, an impressive number (anything above 50 percent is considered positive), but still significantly less than Bergeron and Marchand. 

Trotz likes to utilize, as he says, “power against power,” meaning he will take his best line and put it right up against the opponent’s top line. If the trio of Backstrom, Ovechkin and Oshie is able to generate offense against the opponent’s first line, or, at the very least, neutralize the opposing line, Trotz has faith that he can win the other matchups on the ice with any of his other three forward groups.

“If we can go head-to-head with our best against the other team’s best every night and feel like we’re getting an advantage, then I know that our other lines can take advantages the same way,” Trotz said. “I was real happy with the [top line’s] response.”