I'd completely redesign the PP. Seemingly everyone in the league runs the 1-3-1 now, so not only are they practicing it, they're also practicing *against* it. The players replacing Backstrom don't possess the same vision and aren't capable of making his passes, especially across the ice to Ovi in his office. Sticking 1 guy in the left faceoff circle to isolate Gr8 is far easier and more effective now, and makes the resulting 4-on-3 much easier to accomplish successfully for their PK.
Also, the number of short-handed goals against the Caps' current PP setup should be a hint and a half that something about it needs changing yesterday.
I'd completely redesign the PP. Seemingly everyone in the league runs the 1-3-1 now, so not only are they practicing it, they're also practicing *against* it. The players replacing Backstrom don't possess the same vision and aren't capable of making his passes, especially across the ice to Ovi in his office. Sticking 1 guy in the left faceoff circle to isolate Gr8 is far easier and more effective now, and makes the resulting 4-on-3 much easier to accomplish successfully for their PK.
I'd seriously look at this:
https://thecoachessite.com/behind-net-powerplay-formation-driven-analytics/
Also, the number of short-handed goals against the Caps' current PP setup should be a hint and a half that something about it needs changing yesterday.