Courtesy: Chris Gordon/RMNB
The Washington Capitals are 2-0-2 so far this season, and with 78 games left the expectations for this year are very high. However, baby steps are needed if the Caps want to succeed and make the playoffs after missing them last year for the first time in 6.
With a record of 38-30-14, the Caps were 5th in the Metro Division, 9th in the Eastern Conference and 17th in the NHL overall.
Just a few short season ago, the Capitals were on top of the league, but disappoint after disappoint in the playoffs proved too much to bear, and Washington has tried desperately to hold on their team ideals – whatever those are – and have seen a carousel of coaches come in and out of the locker room.
This year however, is different. New Head Coach Barry Trotz is bringing something to D.C. that the other 4 coaches before never had – experience.
With 15 years behind the bench in in Nashville, Trotz’s knowledge and coaching ability is something that the Capitals have longed for, and, after his long tenure with the Preds, Trotz is no doubt excited for a team with such an explosive offense as Washington.
Barry Trotz made a name for himself as a stingy, defensive coach, and now that it seems that world is starting to blend with the Ovechkin-era in D.C.
With the summer additions of defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen from Pittsburgh, the
Capitals are also in a position of having very good defensive depth, something they haven’t had in at least 10-12 years. They have always been an offensive team first, and relied on scoring to win games instead of steady, defensive plays to control the game more. Add that to the threat of offense, and the Capitals could, if they gel and obey the Trotz system, make the playoffs this season.
It’s a make-or-break season for the Caps. They have invested a lot of money and sit only about a million under the cap. They have a good lineup of veteran leadership now with players like Brooks Laich, Jason Chimera, Joel Ward and Brooks Orpik, and a slew of young, talented and fiesty kids in Tom Wilson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Andre Burakovsky.
The other night, against Boston, that Capitals team was a team that I have never seen before in D.C. The puck possession and control of the game against a Boston team that is still very good, was exactly the kind of game that Washington wants to and must play if they want to be a contending team in this league.
The big question is: Can they keep up this level of play all season?
The other question is: What if they don’t?
More to come…
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