Can the Caps Bring the D?

Although the Caps split the first two games against the (heavily favored) Boston Bruins, the Caps haven’t exactly been strong from a possession standpoint. Indeed, as the series has gone on, Boston’s edge in expected goals has gotten stronger:

We’ve talked about the importance of Lars Eller already here, so let’s switch our focus to the backend. Specifically, here’s how the Caps defensive pairs have performed so far against Boston:

That’s obviously not a great look for John Carlson & Dmitry Orlov.