Going into the season, the Washington Capitals were one of the favorites to repeat as Metropolitan Division champions and battle the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The season has passed the halfway point, and neither the Capitals nor the Panthers are playing at anywhere near the expected level.
The Capitals are in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division and they are currently outside of an Eastern Conference playoff position with a 24-18-6 record. They are struggling in their most recent games as they have a 4-5-1 record in their last 10 and they are just 10-9-3 when playing on the road.
Tom Wilson and the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin lead the team with 22 and 20 goals, respectively. However, the Capitals would like to pick up their scoring. General manager Chris Patrick said he is “actively pursuing” a winger in the trade market to address that key need.
Teams normally try to enhance their roster prior to the trade deadline, and that is still more than 6 weeks from now. Patrick believes that teams have to act when the trades become available and not wait for the March 6 deadline.
“With as many teams in the mix right now playoff-wise as there are, I think teams are very much trying to figure out their timing and what they need to do,” Patrick said, per NHL.com. “It’s when they become available, they become available. So, we’re going to keep trying to pursue those guys if they’re out there.”
Goal scoring is a key issue for the Capitals this season. They are averaging 3.23 goals per game and that ranks 12th in the NHL. The Caps averaged 3.49 goals per game last season when they finished second in scoring and were the top regular-season team in the Eastern Conference.
