Jean-Yves Ahern/USA Today Sports
Last nights shootout loss to the Flyers was a huge disappoint for all of Caps Nation. The game was about as even as a game could get. Tied 2-2 after regulation, each team had 38 shots, and went to extras in the shootout. It was the extra inning where things quickly went off the rails.
Coach Barry Trotz doesn’t have a lot to think about when it comes to deciding who will be the first three shooters for the Caps. 1) T.J. Oshie, 2) Evgeny Kuznetsov and 3) Nicklas Backstrom. A pretty solid trio, set in stone at this point. The questions begin to swirl as to who goes fourth, a spot lately held, until last night, by Alex Ovechkin.
Trotz said he went w/ Williams in the SO for a few reasons: He’s got similar numbers to Ovi, has a home here and desire to mix things up.
— Tarik El-Bashir (@TarikCSN) December 22, 2016
I was fine with reasons #1 and #3, but including a players housing status as a selection criteria left me scratching my head a bit. Does Brook Orpik, a Massachusetts home-owner, go 4th when visiting the Bruins? Anyway, the stats back-up Trotz’s decision.
FWIW, Williams has a 36.8 percentage in shootouts over his career. Ovechkin is at 30.3 percent.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 22, 2016
Personally, I’ve seen Vrana in shootouts, and he’s pretty slick. In my opinion, it’s a matter of time before he’s in the mix. I understand that Trotz needs to feel comfortable with the new guy, but at some point you have to give it a whirl.
So who, do you think is fourth in line in the shootout?
By Jon Sorensen
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