Bad Where It Counts: Capitals 241, Hawks -8

Shots: Hawks 39, Capitals 25
Faceoffs: Hawks 55%, Capitals 45%
Hits: Hawks 17, Capitals 15
Powerplay: Hawks 0/4, Capitals 1/3
Giveaways: Hawks 5, Capitals 22
Corsi: Hawks 60%, Capitals 40%

Looks to be a pretty dominant effort by The Blackhawks, apart from the PP, doesn't it?  Yet...
So what went wrong?  Of course I think I know.  Behold!

The Powerplay

What did I say the other day?  Stale and predictable.  Well, let's add slow to that condemnation.  There is zero urgency, no briskness.  Franson returned to the PP and at least got the puck toward the net, as always, but the forwards always seemed to be off in the weeds and never around the net when the puck was there.  The PP has been rotten for weeks and just seems to be getting worse.

Shooting Locations

Half of The Hawks' shots, and most of their attempts on the PP, came from locations where the shooter was on a 30-40º angle to the net.  Only a handful of quality shots came from the slot or high slot.

Goaltending Beyond Corey Crawford

Errors by Keith paved the way to the first two WSH goals but, as he always does and as mentioned before, Anton Forsberg managed to let in an utterly savable shot and out came the hook.  JF Berubé was about as good as he's likely to ever be, i.e. not good.

New Look Forward Lines

I don't have The Answer, here, but Coach Q clearly doesn't, either.  With all those reassignments he still managed to keep DeBrincat and Kane separate.  And Toews - Hartman - Hayden was just a waste of time.  

Who's next?  Buffalo, on Friday, and I predict The Hawks will be outshot 40-20 and win 2-1.  That would make sense in this season that just makes no sense at all.