Backcheck
Team diagnostic
2025-26last seasonAs of Sun, Sep 20

Washington Capitals

5-on-5 · model-estimated

Capitals: a outshot/run-and-gun team (0.0% 5v5 xG) with league-average goaltending, flagged for regression (2 signals).

How to read this

This is one team through the publication's three layers. The identity row separates process — the chances a club creates and allows (, ) — from luck, which is what measures. Process predicts the future; luck predicts a correction.

Everything below follows that split: regression flags mark places where results have outrun (or trailed) the underlying play, talent tiers and the player table rank the roster by a model-estimated , and roster needs compare each position group against league average. The proxies rank things usefully but share credit with linemates — read orderings as solid and exact magnitudes as approximate.

PROCESS
chance creation and possession — xG%, Corsi. The repeatable part.
RESULT
goals, wins, special-teams conversion. What the standings see.
LUCK
PDO, finishing vs expected, GSAx — the part that mean-reverts.
GOLD/RED
regression flags: gold = watch it, red = act on it
Fine print · verbatim from the model
  • WAR / Impact are model-estimated proxies, not cap-validated
  • Roster-need gaps are ordinal — ranked correctly, magnitudes relative
Identity · outshot/run-and-gun
0.0%
xGoals %
This team gets buried territorially.
49.5%
Corsi %
0.00
xGF / 60
1.018
PDO
The bounces are flattering them — expect some giveback.
Strengths
  • No standout edges flagged.
Weaknesses
  • Out-chanced at 5v5 (0.0% xG share).
Regression watch · luck-reconciliation

PDO 1.018 — running hot at 5v5; expect negative regression.

Team finishing is -10 goals below xG — finishing should rebound.

Flags mark gaps between process and result likely to move toward the mean.

Talent tiers · model impact
Elite00
  • None
Top06
  • Jakob Chychrun
  • Alex Ovechkin
  • Tom Wilson
  • Aliaksei Protas
  • Ethen Frank
  • Hendrix Lapierre
Middle11
  • Dylan Strome
  • Ryan Leonard
  • Justin Sourdif
  • Connor McMichael
  • Anthony Beauvillier
  • Rasmus Sandin
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois
  • Martin Fehrvry
  • Trevor van Riemsdyk
  • Matt Roy
  • Timothy Liljegren
Depth03
  • Declan Chisholm
  • Brandon Duhaime
  • David Kampf
Rate-first

Special teams

Power play
0.00 xGF/60 · 17.8% SH%
5.35GF/60
Penalty kill
0.8 Kill%
7.24GA/60
Source · MoneyPuck 5-on-5 + ST splits
Team GSAx +0.0

Goaltending

Above expected
GoaltenderGP
Logan Thompson5891.180+0.0
Charlie Lindgren2187.870+0.0
Source · GSAx = xGoals − goals, computed in-app
Roster needs · ranked
01
Depth defensehigh
team 49.2 vs league 87.3
-38
02
Bottom-6 forward depthhigh
team 46.1 vs league 81.9
-36
03
Top-pair defensemanhigh
team 65.8 vs league 91.5
-26
04
Top-6 forwardhigh
team 64.3 vs league 86.1
-22

Gaps are ordinal — needs are ranked correctly; treat the magnitude as relative, not absolute.

Top players · adjusted impact
PlayerGPTOI/GP
Jakob ChychrunD8018.8+74.40+3.1
Alex OvechkinL8212.3+71.10+3.0
Tom WilsonR7213.6+68.00+2.9
Aliaksei ProtasL7614.9+62.50+2.3
Dylan StromeC8013.9+46.80+1.9
Ryan LeonardR7511.8+49.60+1.6
Justin SourdifC7813.2+55.40+1.4
Connor McMichaelL7812.7+48.90+1.4
Ethen FrankR6210.6+64.50+1.1
Anthony BeauvillierR8213.8+50.50+1.1
Schedule load · logistics

How hard is this team’s season, logistically? This grades the schedule itself — travel, rest, and clustering — separate from how good the team is.

Logistics, not talent

Schedule load

AVERAGE
Load index
61/ 100 · pctile vs league

The 13th-heaviest schedule in the league84 games, 1.3 days average rest.

Total travel
36,639
road miles flown
14
Back-to-backs
2 games, 0 days off
13
3-in-4s
3 games / 4 nights
14
4-in-6s
4 games / 6 nights
6
Longest road trip
4,380 mi
Rest-days distribution
0d14
1d47
2d14
3+d8

Nights of rest before each game · 0 days = red, 3+ = green

Rest advantage

21 games with more rest than the opponent · 20 with fewer · 42 even.

Hardest stretches
  • 6 games in 11 days with 5,215 travel miles

    Jan 2Jan 12

  • 6 games in 10 days with 3,370 travel miles

    Mar 1Mar 10

  • 6 games in 13 days with 5,511 travel miles

    Jan 22Feb 3

Source · NHL schedule · arena coordinates · rest & travel model
By the Model5-on-5 aggregates · MoneyPuck* WAR / Impact are model-estimated proxies, not cap-validated