As the season was getting ready to launch last year, we hypothesized that the arrival of Peter Laviolette, and his reputation for hyper-discipline and structure, would reverse a trend a decade-and-a-half in the making. We thought that finally, maybe, the Capitals would take fewer penalties than they drew by a meaningful margin.
We were sadly mistaken, and for the fifth consecutive season, as well as for the 11th time in 14 seasons, the Caps were presented with the task to kill penalties more frequently than given the opportunity to take advantage of a powerplay.
But maybe discipline takes time.