Welcome to the seventh installment of our Washington Capitals weekly trends report. The regular feature provides a very brief snapshot of the most relevant statistical trends for the Capitals over the past seven days.

The following table lists the Capitals team stats and league rankings for last week (Left side – after 23 games) and the current stats and rankings for today (after 26 games). The colors indicate improving (green) and/or worsening (red) trends over the past week. [Click to enlarge]

[The statistics used in this post are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick. If you’d like to learn more about the statistical terms used in this post, please check out our NHL Analytics Glossary.] Click to enlarge.

The week was yet another mixed bag. The Capitals began the week with a convincing and promising 5-1 drubbing of the Canucks in Vancouver, only to be followed by 3-2 overtime loss to the Kraken in Seattle and a 5-2 defeat to the Flames in Calgary on Saturday. That’s three points out of five, which isn’t bad for a northwest road trip.

NEGATIVES

Goals For Per Game – 5-on-5 scoring continues to be a challenge for the Capitals, although the stat slightly improved this week. Again, this arguably the biggest reflection of the team’s injuries to date. Lines have been continuously changing, with no one line ever really providing any kind of consistent play. However, it should be noted that the Capitals used the same lineup in back-to-back games this week for the first time in 13 games.

Shots Per Game – shot generation continues to be a struggle for the Capitals who are now 27th in the league. A rebound was occurring until recently, so it will be interesting to see if the team can regroup and find more shots, or if the digression continues.

POSITIVES

Possession Metrics – The Capitals possession metrics took a hit in Calgary, but overall, continue to improve, as they have for the previous five weeks. The Capitals xGF% continues to rise, along with their high-danger shots for (hdcf%) and high-danger goals for (hdgf%) percentages.

Penalty Kill – The Capitals penalty kill is now 8th in the league after a very productive week.

Faceoffs – The Capitals work at the dot continues to improve and continues to approach 50%.

The Capitals next face Edmonton tonight before returning to the east coast to wrap-up their season-long six-game road trip in Philadelphia on Wednesday. They return home on Friday to host the Seattle Kraken.

SEASON TRENDS

By Jon Sorensen