For a team that finished second in the NHL in goals, the Washington Capitals offense has been relatively tame to begin their second-round series versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, who led the Capitals in scoring, and Justin Williams, who Washington acquired for his accolades in the postseason, have two points each in eight playoff games, and they know they need to be better.
"We need to be a little firmer and (more) confident in our abilities," Williams told Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post. "You can't second guess if you don't score for a few games or you're not as productive as you were in the regular season. You just need to simplify it and do the same things you were doing when you were successful and trust your instincts. And for us to win, we know that we have to be a big part of it. So we're putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to be productive."
Williams has scored one goal in his last 15 games, and had a simple answer when asked if it's not the postseason production he's looking for.
"That's a nice way of putting it," Williams said.
Kuznetsov, meanwhile, has one goal in his last 28 games, but his teammates believe he's bound to snap the drought.
"He's still working hard. He's still doing some sick plays out there," Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky said. "I mean, we need him here in playoffs and I'm not worried. I still think he's doing really good plays out there and working hard and winning battles and beating his guys one-on-one. The only thing that's missing is points, but it's going to come. There's no question about it."
Pittsburgh has carried the play for most of the first two games, and production from Washington's second line could certainly help turn things around.
