It’s no secret the Washington Capitals are a better team since trading for Carl Hagelin and Nick Jensen. Since the second of those trades was completed, the Capitals are 7-1-0, with the NHL’s longest active winning streak of seven games and counting.
It’s also no secret what Hagelin and Jensen were brought to Washington to do: add speedy skating and penalty-killing prowess.
Yet the Capitals‘ 3-1 win Sunday against Winnipeg showed their penalty kill unit has benefitted from the shake-up — because it remained stellar when Hagelin himself had to watch from the penalty box.