What is wrong with the Washington Capitals?
Courtesy: Ray Stubbleline/Reuters
Last nights game against the Ottawa Senators could have been a turning point for the Washington Capitals. Coming off a spirited home win against Buffalo, the Caps were poised to snap out of this slump and start clicking under new coach Adam Oates. They had an early jump on the Sens, too, taking a 2-0 lead with some hard work and relatively clean play. Then the penalties came. And came. And came. And at the end of the night the Caps were sulking their way back to the locker room after a Sergei Gonchar power play goal sealed their fate. While the Joel Ward penalty that led to the goal was extremely questionable by any teams standards, that doesn’t let the Caps off the hook for blowing a two goal lead.
So what’s wrong? What has happened to the powerhouse Washington Capitals that only a few years ago were the most feared offensive team in the league?
I have a few theories that I’m sure you’ve all heard at some point before.
1. Another new coach. Adam Oates is the third coach in as many years for the Capitals. After the lockout ended, he had less than a week to impliment a new system to his new team and try and find that long lost chemistry that seems to be dodging the Caps stars. So far, it’s failed. The power play is brutal. The penalty killing is worse. Even strength isn’t much better. But it’s only been two weeks since Oates was allowed to coach his players. He’s been mixing up the lines to spread the wealth and it seems like a fine idea, but he needs to get Ovechkin and Backstrom working together again.
The worse thing that happened to the Caps was when they stopped being themselves and started listening to all the naysayers telling them they couldn’t win a cup. When Boudreau tried to incorporate a more defensive minded system, they lost their grip on the game – and that’s not Bruce’s fault. Dale Hunter drilled a defense-first mentality into their skulls and it looked good during the playoffs, but ulitmately failed. Now Oates has to put the pieces back together and do so in a shortened season. The Caps are probably the most confused team in the NHL because they’ve had 4 different systems crammed into their heads in the last few seasons. But it’s only been two weeks.
2. The stars are not alligned. Ovechkin and Backstrom have a combined total of 5 points through 6 games this season. Joel Ward has 6 points by himself. Ovechkin and Backstrom have been all over the ice forcing passes lanes that don’t exist, not shooting when they should and trying to be the stars that dangle through traffic and toss it bar down in the net. They are not those players anymore, at least Ovechkin isn’t. If Ovechkin would just settle down and shoot the puck like he’s paid to do, he will succeed. He has does have 20 shots this year so far, but his shot choices suck. The old Ovechkin would have fired it without thinking and a lot of those would have ended up in the net. His shot choice now is sub-par. He’ll either stickhandle too much and lose it or try too hard to pick a corner and rifle it high and wide. He’s thinking too much. He wants to be an elite player again so badly that he’s forgotten what made him so popular. He’ll never be able to score highlite reel goals every night again, but he can at least SHOOT THE PUCK and stop playing with it. There’s no passion in his play anymore either. He’s looks lazy. On the power play he stands still instead of trying make a passing lane available to him by moving around. Does he not care anymore?
Backstrom is still good at controlling the play, but it almost feels like he’s trying too hard to slip a pass under too many sticks. He has amazing vision and is strong on the puck, but he needs to settle down and not force a play. He has help with Mike Ribeiro on the powe play and Backstrom needs to put his trust in him. The timing is off as well with he and Ovechkin, but that will come when they realize they’re not playing in the KHL anymore.
3. Swiss cheese. The goaltending could very well be the biggest problem. Holtby was slated as a savior in last years playoffs and the expectations were enormous for him to become the starter that the Caps so desperately need. He isn’t. He as shelled in the first two games and we haven’t seen him since. He needs more time to hone his skills and learn to stop chasing the shot. Boring saves are the best saves.
Neuvirth has played relatively well in his four starts, but he has let in some weak goals. A lot of them weren’t his fault and both goalies could use a little more help from the defense. Neuvirth still isn’t ready to take over as a number one goalie. He’s still too young. He needs to learn from an experienced netminder and mature, just like Holtby. They’re both great talents and will be something to see in a few years, but it’s not their time yet. When Neuvirth made some key saves against the Canadiens, that sparked the Caps offense and it looked like they had a jump in their step. But a few bad penalties and bad goals later and the new Caps were back. The Capitals need a veteran goaltender to calm things down and control the defense.
4. Green is good. Mike Green, in my own opinion, has been one of the best players for the Caps so far. He’s getting his confidence back and controlling the play like he used to. He’s shooting a lot and is being rewarded with a lot of ice time to jump start the rush. The Caps need this. He’s skating and controlling the puck very well and if he can get back to the way he played a few years ago, it will make a world of diffence offensively. His defense isn’t the best in the league, but it’s not awful either. He’s better than he was, and if he has a suitible partner to play off him, he doesn’t need to be spectacular. Schultz is Schultz. He’s not great, but he does play well with Green at times. I’d love to see someone else in his spot, but for the time being it will do.
Courtesy: Yahoo Sports
5. Brooksie-No-Laichy. The real leader of this Caps team is still injured. Brooks Laich is travelling with the team now which is a great sign and hopefully he’ll be back on the ice soon. They need him. Laich should captain. He’s vocal, he leads on the ice, but most importantly he leads in the locker room. Just because Ovechkin scored a bunch of goals and was popular for a bit doesn’t mean he should be captain. He dresses in the corner by himself instead of in the middle of his team where I think a real leader should be. The team misses Laich and he’s the spark they need. He and Mike Ribeiro will do very well together.
6. Missing piece. Laich is the offensive piece that is missing, and Dmity Orlov could be the one piece missing on the back end. Orlov played very well last year in his call up. He’s a physical presence on the ice and he can also play the power play. He moves the puck well and has the young legs and strength that make him valuable. They need him back.
7. No Veteran Presence. The Caps haven’t had true leadership in a long time and that’s partly because of the egos involved. Mike Knuble was a strong voice in the locker room and his presence was something that should have helped when times were tough, but it didn’t. The Caps need a veteran that can rally the troops and bring the team together. Can calm things down on the bench or the lockeroom and wrangle in the stars and get their heads back in it. Brooks Laich could do these things but the team needs someone to learn from. Someone who has been there. Someone who oozes experience and confidence.
I can go on and on, but these are issues that I think the Capitals need to address. I may be wrong in a lot of peoples eyes, but I’m also right in the eyes of others. The Caps need to figure something out and try to save the season before it gets out of hand. General Manager George McPhee has been walking a tight rope for the last 5 seasons and he is running out of twine. He claims he has nothing in the works but he is notorious for being secretive about his talks. If he wants to do some tweaking though, he’d better do it now while the team is still learning under Adam Oates. If the Caps start doing well by the trade deadline, and GMGM then brings in another body via trade it could disrupt any new chemistry that the Caps finally gained.
Or they can do nothing and continue with this team and hope that Brooks Laich and Dmitry Orlov come back soon and provide the answers. Hope that Adam Oates rallies the team together and gets Ovechkin and Backstrom clicking again. Hope that Neuvirth and Holtby become unstoppable. Hope that Ovechkin becomes the great leader they assumed he would be. And hope that the hockey gods grant them some puck love.
More to come…
