7. Capitals' supporting cast of defensemen, goalies
Capitals goalie Logan Thompson, who is 31-6-6 in 43 games this season and signed a six-year, $35.1 million contract on Jan. 27 after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the offseason, ranks highly in both midrange save percentage (.912; tied for fifth) and high-danger save percentage (.822; just outside top 10), while he is third among goalies in goal differential (plus-61) trailing only Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (plus-81) and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (plus-72). Along with backup Charlie Lindgren (.899 save percentage in 34 games), Washington's goaltending ranks tied for seventh in team save percentage (.901) and, together with Ovechkin's goal-scoring prowess at 39 years old, have the Capitals (105 points) just behind the Jets (106 points) in the race for the Presidents' Trophy, with each team having seven games remaining in their respective regular seasons.
The offseason addition of defenseman Jakob Chychrun (acquired from Ottawa Senators; signed an eight-year, $72 million extension on March 25) and bounce-back season from Carlson have provided Ovechkin with plenty of support for his goal chase on both ends of the ice. Both defensemen have robust EDGE stats profiles, ranking in the 85th percentile or better at their position in the following categories:
Jakob Chychrun
Top shot speed, midrange shots on goal, midrange goals, long-range shots on goal, long-range goals
John Carlson
Top shot speed, total skating distance, high-danger shots on goal, midrange shots on goal, midrange goals, long-range shots on goal