Spencer Carbery outlines the specific areas he sees the Capitals' power play faltering in: 'The execution needs to be better. We'll continue to work on it.'

""The two areas that I evaluate our power play on - one is execution, so that's [when] we have the puck in possession, we take a shot, we make a pass, and it doesn't connect," Carbery said. "Whether it hits shin pads or whether it goes off someone's stick. So the execution needs to be better without a doubt. "And then, the other piece is, are we doing the right thing? Sometimes, everything that Mullsy's (assistant coach Kirk Muller) talking about, you can do it all right, and then the execution is off. Or, your passing is great, but the plan is incorrect, guys are in the wrong spots, they're not running the right routes, they're not supporting or doing the things that we're asking them to do. I saw it as a little bit of both.""

""While they did eventually pot a goal while up a man, it came well after the game had already been decided, off an accidental high-slot skate tip from Tom Wilson. The team ended the night 1-for-5 on the man advantage, bringing their total to 2-for-16 through five games, which ranks 27th in the NHL.""

""Five games into last season, the Capitals found themselves in the exact same position. The 2024-25 Caps were just 2-for-18 and also ranked 27th in the league. After some ups and downs throughout the year, the Capitals eventually worked their way up to a 14th-place finish, scoring on 23.5 percent of their power-play opportunities.""

Washington Capitals beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1, but the power play remained a notable weakness despite a late, accidental high-slot skate-tip goal by Tom Wilson. The team finished the game 1-for-5 on the man advantage and sits 2-for-16 through five games, ranking 27th in the league. Power-play problems include execution errors such as missed passes and shots being blocked or redirected and incorrect implementation of the plan with players in wrong spots, poor route-running, and inadequate support. Early-season struggles mirror a similar 2-for-18 start in the previous season that later improved to 23.5 percent.

Read at RMNB