Charting Chances: Pittsburgh Penguins Jump On Washington Capitals Early
Mar 11, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing James Neal (18) breaks up ice with the puck against the Washington Capitals during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center.The Penguins won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Beyond keeping their noses ahead of Boston for the Eastern Conference catbird seat, the Pittsburgh Penguins severely injured the Washington Capitals’ playoff chances by sweeping their division rivals in this week’s home-and-home series.
According toSports Club Stats, the Caps have just a 6.4 percent probability of making the postseason afterlosing 2-0 at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. As for the Pens, their three wins in a row have given them an even 50-50 shot at claiming home ice advantage through the East playoffs and an outside chance at the President’s Trophy.
More importantly, the Penguins seem to be getting gradually more cohesive with new additionsLee StempniakandMarcel Gocin the lineup. Both trade acquisitions have played four games in black and Vegas gold.
Looking at last night’s scoring chances, Pittsburgh enjoyed a vast edge early but couldn’t put a second puck behindJaroslav Halakuntil the closing minutes. (For an explanation of how a chance is defined, refer to thisprevious post.) The Capitals gained strength late, but it wasn’t enough to have the overall advantage in the dangerous areas of the ice:
[table id=9 /]
For the first time since I started theCharting Chancesproject a couple weeks ago, the Penguins didn’t get a ton of good looks on the power play. That may be simply because they had just two opportunities, but it bodes well that the Pens were able to create quite a bit at even strength.
Here’s the individual chart:
[table id=10 /]
James Nealmakes his second appearance atop this list, although as usual he was the beneficiary of some high-quality setups. Glancing beyond the typicalSidney Crosbybrilliance,Matt Niskanencontinues to be opportunistic on the offensive end, no matter on the power play or at even strength.
The aforementioned Stempniak was at his most noticeable, picking up another assist to give him three in two games on the top line with Crosby andChris Kunitz. Stempniak appears to gel well with the high-tempo games of Nos. 87 and 14.
Also, third-linersBrian GibbonsandBrandon Suttercombined to create a pair of scoring chances, andTaylor Pyatt‘s name keeps showing up on the chart. Maybe that’s whyDan Bylsmahas given Pyatt some shifts withEvgeni Malkinand Neal in recent days.
The Penguins get some much-needed rest after traveling to six cities in the past 12 days. They’ll get back to game action Saturday in Philadelphia.