Courtesy: Zimbio.com
The Washington Capitals are looking to bounce back from a tough 5-2 loss at the hands of the Calgary Flames as they try to steal one in Vancouver against the Canucks Monday night.
The Caps find themselves at 5-6-0 through 11 games of the 2013-14 NHL season and are looking to end their four-game road trip in Canada with a victory in British Colombia, before they trek back to the States to face the much maligned Philadelphia Flyers Friday night. Washington has yet to face the Canucks this season and they are one of the tougher opponents the boys in red will have to face before the schedule starts to heat up as Vancouver enters this contest 8-4-1.
Whenever a team faces the Canucks, the Sedin twins always come to the forefront of the discussion. Henrik is once again leading the NHL in assists with 13 at this point of the regular season and Daniel is second on the team with 12 total points behind his brother who has 16. Not only are the twins playing their way to solid campaigns once again, but second-line center Ryan Kesler leads the Canucks in goals with seven.
2013-14 has also seen the reemergence of goalie Roberto Luongo after almost being ran out of town by his fanbase. Maybe, it’s John Tortorella instilling a new voice and confidence about this team or it could be the fact that he is looking to prove his naysayers wrong that he is still a great goalie in this league. Washington will have to create opportunities all over the ice once again and stay aggressive with scoring chances because when Luongo is on, much like New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lunqvist, it is hard to get anything by him.
If the Capitals need to improve on one thing it is effort. Being outskated and forechecked to death by opponents is what builds up frustrations for the team’s goaltender as they constantly have to be on alert of an odd-man rush or crazy bounce. Outside of captain Alexander Ovechkin, even he is guilty sometimes, there hasn’t been a great display of will by the Caps in that if they lose a 50-50 puck, they let it go and skate backwards or head for the bench as their shift is over.
Head coach Adam Oates knows his team is offensively gifted, but defensively challenged. Given that he was an offensive player during his playing days and the fact that he was an offensive coordinator for the New Jersey Devils during their Stanley Cup run in 2012, he has to rely on his coaching staff a little more to coach these guys up and hope they learn on the fly. After all, guys don’t just get better by doing everything right all the time because that simply doesn’t happen. It’s whether or not the defenseman can learn from their mistakes and if the forwards are willing to provide some aid every now and then to spur victories for Washington.
