October was kind to the Washington Capitals. They will be looking for more of the same in November when they kick it off with a visit from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
The Capitals went 7-2-0 last month, dropping their season opener before reeling off five straight wins. After that streak was snapped in a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 26, they responded with consecutive victories this week against the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens.
“So far, we’ve been pretty consistent,” Washington forward Tom Wilson said. “And in this league, consistency is huge, it’s everything. After you lose a game, you’ve got to make sure you get right back on the horse and get back to doing the right things, pull that next game our way and keep moving forward.”
A strong rebound on offense from a season ago has helped fuel the Capitals’ early success. Washington had just 19 goals through nine games last season and finished 28th in the NHL last season with 216 goals scored, an average of 2.63 goals per game. Through nine games this season, the Capitals are tied for 10th with 37 goals and are third with an average of 4.11 goals per game.
“We’re generating more,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “Our (offensive) zone time is significantly higher than it was last year, so we’re trying to threaten the net more. We’re doing a lot of things which are leading to more shots and more (offensive) zone time, which, at the end of the day, if you keep accumulating that, you’re going to generate scoring chances and hopefully finish. And we’ve been able to do that.”
Balanced scoring has been a factor. Dylan Strome (13 points), Alex Ovechkin (10) and Connor McMichael (10) each have double-digit points. Aliaksei Protas is one away from joining them, and Wilson and John Carlson are two points shy. Wilson leads the team with six goals, and Ovechkin and McMichael have five apiece.
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, will look to rebound after taking a 6-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday that ended a four-game point streak (3-0-1).
Columbus has been off to a surprising start, going 5-4-1 through its first 10 games.
“Remember early in the year we were talking about we were playing a winning type of hockey and we weren’t getting a couple of wins here and there,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “You’re not going to win every hockey game, but you just continue to play winning hockey in different ways and you get rewarded.”
While the team is getting rewarded overall on that front, so are its players.
Mathieu Olivier has been known for his hands over his previous five seasons in the NHL, but more so for throwing punches than scoring goals. However, the 27-year-old already has four goals, tied for second on the team and one shy of his career high.
Olivier has six points this season, nine off his personal best set in 2022-23 and halfway to his total from last season.
“All accounts were he wasn’t just that guy, a guy that goes out and fights and hits,” Evason said. “He’s got hands. … He’s earned the opportunity to play more and in an elevated role, and he’s excelling at it.”
