Now in the midst of his 16th NHL campaign, Washington Capitals winger Justin Williams has carved out a solid career as an excellent two-way player that excels at driving possession and one who is a proven playoff performer. In more than 1,000 regular season contests, Williams has tallied 251 goals with 387 assists while compiling a Corsi For % of better than 57%. Despite his past success, Williams finds himself mired in a deep slump this season, though as Isabelle Khurshudyan writes, the three-time Stanley Cup winner is trying to stay positive.
On the season, Williams has potted just two goals and four points in 22 games for the Capitals; a scoring pace which if maintained would result in the lowest full-season output of his career. But even at 35, it’s likely Williams still has enough gas in the tank to turn his season around. Last year, Williams tallied 22 goals and 52 points, totals which suggest there should be plenty of quality hockey left.
Khurdshudyan notes that Williams’ season to date can be summarized by a sequence during the Capitals recent tilt against the Islanders. Late in the first frame, Williams appeared to cash in on a cross-ice feed from Evgeny Kuznetsov but replays showed the puck crossed the line just after time expired in the period.
Williams’ struggles can be attributed at least in part to a shooting percentage well off his career rate. For his career, Williams has found the back of the net on 9.3% of his shots on goal. To this point in the campaign his success rate is just 4.1%. Williams is still generating shots near his career average – 2.64 per to 2.22 – which reinforces the belief that it’s likely just a matter of time before the veteran winger starts putting the biscuit in the basket again with regular frequency.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they have activated veteran checking winger Matt Calvert from IR. Calvert, who had missed the past five contests with an upper-body injury, has two goals and three points in 17 appearances for the Blue Jackets this season. Rob Mixer, who covers the Jackets for the team’s official website, adds that Calvert is likely going to be in the lineup tomorrow night when Columbus travels to Arizona to take on the Coyotes.
- Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Thomas Di Pauli underwent back surgery today and is expected to miss up to 12 weeks, according to a tweet from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins official Twitter account. Di Pauli signed with the club as a college free agent this summer, spurning overtures by the Washington Capitals, the team that originally drafted the young center in the fourth-round of the 2012 draft. In his first pro campaign, Di Pauli has just one point, a goal, in eight games.