Courtesy: NHL.com
The NHL began it’s regular season yesterday, but tonight it’s time for the Washington Capitals to embark on their quest for the Stanley Cup as they face off against the Montreal Canadiens to start their 2014-15 campaign.
Washington would like to start off with a win, but this team’s goals reach far beyond a season-opening game in October. The Capitals failed to make the postseason for the first time since 2006-07 last year and are looking to turn a page with new head coach Barry Trotz.
This isn’t Trotz’ first rodeo as he comes to D.C. after a 15-year stint behind the bench of the Nashville Predators. He was the franchise’s first coach and brought an expansion team a fair amount of success. The Predators made the postseason under his guidance seven times, but they never advanced past the second round — they made it that far only twice.
Some may point to an inability to get deep into the postseason — he last coached in the playoffs in 2011-12 — as a deficiency possessed by another former Capitals bench boss — Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau brought the Capitals four Southeast division titles, but never advanced past the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Since his firing in 2011-12 after just 22 games, it has been a coaching carousel with a combination of Dale Hunter, Adam Oates and now Trotz to try and bring a title to D.C.
Trotz brings a different philosophy than that of his predecessor Oates. Oates, a former Capitals center, came from the New Jersey Devils where he was an offensive coordinator. He came to D.C. to bring a new offensive direction to the team and unfortunately, things didn’t work out. Oates wasn’t able to command the team and appeared to over manage lines, along with uncertainty between the pipes — not totally his fault. But the biggest task Oates had to embark on and the toughest one he left off since his termination for Trotz is the handling of captain Alexander Ovechkin.
The captain was the NHL leader in goals scored once again with 51, but posted a -35 rating — third worst in the league. Playing right wing for Oates didn’t seem to affect his offensive abilities, but defensively and in the neutral zone last season, it was clear Ovechkin was virtually nonexistant.
He will move back to left wing this season as Trotz wants to put him back in a position he is more comfortable in. While his offensive prowess has allowed him to excel all over the ice, beginning a relationship with Ovechkin by putting him in his natural position will help ease any possible tension between the two early on.
While Ovechkin will likely be the centerfold once again, his supporting cast will be somewhat different this season.
Offensively, a few newcomers like Andre Burakovsky are looking to make an impact in the new regime, but eyes will be on Evgeny Kuznetsov and how successful he can be in his first full season with the club after making his NHL debut last March.
It remains to be seen where No. 92 will land in terms of the top four offensive lines, but that depends on chemistry and overall success the young forward possesses. Burakovsky and veteran Brooks Laich appear to be early favorites for the second-line center spot as Kuznetsov could be looking at fourth line duties until he becomes further acclimated to the professional game.
Defensively, Washington addressed it’s most glaring need during the offseason by spending $67.75 million on two former Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen. Matt Niskanen – signed a seven-year, $40.25 million contract — and Brooks Orpik — signed a five-year, $27.5 million deal — provide much needed depth to a unit that has struggled to prevent pressure in the Capitals’ zone. Washington was 21st in the NHL in average goals allowed per game in 2013-14 with 2.79.
Niskanen and Orpik provide two different options that the Capitals aren’t used to having.
Niskanen is more of a balanced defenseman. He can pinch up if needed and contribute offensively like Mike Green, but can revert back to the neutral zone and Washington’s own zone. Additionally, He will provide a boost on an already strong power play that tied for the NHL lead with the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 23.4% conversion rate.
Orpik is more of a savvy veteran who knows how to control his stuck, never misses time and is more physical than most defenseman the Capitals are used to having on their three pairs. While he isn’t the most proficient d-man on the offensive end, offense was never a weakness for this team — despite finishing just 17th in the league in average goals per game with 2.74.
Boosting the defense will also help between the pipes and it appears it will be the Braden Holtby show this season as the top guy with Justin Peters backing up. Philipp Grubauer will play for the Hershey Bears in the AHL, but anything can happen this season.
A better defense should mean better numbers for Holtby, but just because the players are different doesn’t mean success will be guaranteed. For Holtby, it will come down to the chemistry of the defense in front of him, his ability to avoid careless errors with the puck but most importantly his confidence.
When the goalie carousel was in full effect last season, Braden split time with Michal Neuvirth, Grubauer and Jaroslav Halak. Two of those pieces departed for other clubs and Grubauer isn’t pressuring Holtby at this time. It’s No. 70’s job to lose and if he hopes to showcase to Trotz and the franchise that he is in fact a No. 1 goalie in this league, he can’t let losses or quick scores boggle him down.
It also helps if his team possessed the puck more.
The single biggest issue with the Capitals last season was consistently losing the battle of possession night in and night out. It didn’t matter the prowess of the opponent, Washington would give up the puck far too easily with giveaways and would fail to return the favor in their own zone to start momentum.
Part of the fact that the Capitals were 25th in the league in the team puck possession category can be related to the offensive style of play Oates instilled. Washington tended to shy away from sending two forecheckers into the opposing zone to try and press the action on defensive pairings. Rather, one forechecker was sent mostly due to the knowledge of the lines — Oates knew his team would usually lose battles in the neutral zone, so having the extra help would be beneficial.
Unfortunately for Washington, missing the postseason proved that not to be the case.
Making egregious errors defensively also led to the paltry puck possession numbers. Too many times last season Washington was found puck watching instead of pinching opposing forwards along the boards to try and jar the puck loose. Even though the Capitals don’t have the most aggressively built roster, keeping sticks on the ice to check and poke for the puck is a basic fundamental all hockey players learn through pee-wees. That’s coaching.
So, what can be expected of the Capitals this season? It is hard to say this early with an 82-game schedule in front of them.
If Washington plays better on five-on-five and doesn’t just rely on special teams to save the day, a return to the postseason isn’t out of the question. However, in looking at tonight’s roster versus the Canadiens, it may take some time to get these groups to gel as there are a lot of new faces and uncertainty as to whether or not the lines and pairings will look this way in a week, let alone a few months down the road.
Roster vs. Canadiens:
Forwards: Alexander Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom- Eric Fehr; Marcus Johansson-Andre Burakovsky-Troy Brouwer; Jason Chimera-Brooks Laich-Joel Ward; LiamO’Brien-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Chris Brown.
Defensive Pairings: Brooks Orpik-John Carlson; Karl Alzner- Matt Niskanen; Jack Hillen- Nate Schmidt.
Goalie: Braden Holtby (starter), Justin Peters
Scratches: John Erskine, Mike Green, Michael Latta
