Braden Holtby recorded 3 shutouts. Philip Grubauer also had one. Alex Ovechkin reached his 1,000-point plateau vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins (awesome!). The Caps led the NHL with 12 wins. The team earned their highest point percentage in franchise history. The offense was on fire, having nine games with five or more goals. The Caps scored a total of 65 goals, averaging just about 4.5 goals per game. Team defense was ranked #1. The power-play started clicking and coming together. And, on top of all of that, Evgeny Kuztnetsov was named NHL's first star of the month, scoring seven goals and 13 assists in 15 games.
The Caps have found their identity, and were excellent in all facets of their game, from defensive zone coverage, to special teams, and to generating offense. And to me, it all stemmed from how every player, from the goalie on out, chipped in to contribute to the team's success throughout the entire month-talk about balance!
But unfortunately, we can't bask in January's glory for too long, because there are still ten weeks of Caps hockey left. So let's put January in the rear view mirror, put the pedal to the medal, and take a look at the month ahead. Here's what to expect:
Enjoy some more Caps hockey… and talk to you next month!
Go Caps,
Courtney
