John Carlson Goes 1-on-1 About What's Been Going Wrong On The Capitals' Power Play

Capitals defenseman John Carlson sits down to discuss the Capitals' issues on special teams.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — John Carlson knows that the Washington Capitals power play isn’t anywhere close to where it needs to be.

The Capitals have gotten 40 total power-play attempts this season, and have only scored on six of them, giving Washington the sixth-worst power-play percentage in the league.

To make matters worse, over this four-game losing streak, D.C. is 0-for-13, and a power-play goal certainly could have been the difference between more recent wins and losses as scoring remains a glaring issue all around.

“We’ve had the opportunity to blow some games open and make some positive things happen for our team, and we haven’t, and that’s the most frustrating part of it all,” Carlson said.

So, what exactly is going on?

For Carlson, it begins with the team’s struggles on entries. It’s been a chore to get into the offensive zone, and when the Capitals do get in, they can’t do much with that zone time as they find themselves flustered.

“When stuff like this happens, making the simpler play feels like it’s the wrong play,” Carlson explained.

That being said, 5-on-4 isn’t as simple as it looks.

“From a fan perspective, it’s easy to see a power play (work for) another team and say, ‘Oh, it’s so easy to do this and that,’” Carlson said. “But they don’t watch enough hockey to understand just how hard those plays that look simple actually are. Nothing’s given out there, and we got to do a better job earning it.”

And the 35-year-old is right. Special teams have evolved significantly over the years, and what may have worked for the “Young Gun” or “Rock The Red” Capitals would fall flat in today’s game.

Nowadays, penalty kills are held to higher standards, with teams deploying their top skill guys to get the job done while going over a significant amount of film. It’s made power plays even more difficult, as Carlson’s come to find out in what’s now his 17th season in the NHL.

“I mean, people pre-scout more than ever, players skate better than ever and it’s a lot more aggressive. Before there was never a chance to score off the rush, back 7, 8, 9, 10 years ago,” Carlson said. “It was more defensively structured and now it’s more up in your face, making you turn the puck over, betting on that you won’t be able to complete the two or three plays that you need to… I think it’s difficult to make two or three really good plays through teams.”