Hockey Thoughts: Rock the Red

When the Caps were inexplicably eliminated from the playoffs last year I comforted myself by saying, "Well, despite all signs to the contrary, this year wasn't the year.  But next year..."

And here we are in "next year," and it looks like last year quite possibly was the year (that never was).  Confused yet?  I certainly am.  Same team, different results.  With the exception of the goalie, nothing is different in Washington except the production of Alexander Ovechkin and the team in general.  They sit in 2nd place in the Conference, but only by virtue of being 1st in their Division...a whopping five points behind PITtsburgh (gag) and only one point ahead of the sorry-ass Canadiens.  The 4th place team (Flyers) have more points, and the 5th place team is only one point behind them.

Let's start with that goalie.  I'm not Neuvirth's biggest fan.  He's clumsy and inconsistent and I'm a much bigger fan of Varly.  Always have been, always will be.  I understand why Varly's not the starter, but I think it is possibly time to rethink that decision now that he's back and seems to be healthy.  The last couple years Washington's goaltending has been weak, on the whole, but the stellar offense (average of 4+ goals per game) has more than compensated for any weakness between the pipes.  Now that the offense has stalled that weakness is glaring.

Now onto that lack of offensive production.  When you have a team where more than five players are major scoring threats it's no surprise when you do score 4+ goals per game.  When you are struggling to score two you need to start looking for answers.  The first finger is being pointed at Ovechkin, as the team's scoring leader and Captain, because he isn't producing on par with any of his previous seasons.  Despite his lack of goal scoring (20th in the league) he's 4th in overall points as he's hit an assist groove, most often helping out Semin who has replaced Ovi as the team's scoring tour-de-force.  He's had 3 (I think?) hat tricks so far this season alone and is ranked 3rd in the league in goals, and 8th in overall points.  But Ovi is doing what Ovi is supposed to do, and doing it well.  He's never been the type of player that lets his star power eclipse his on-ice play.  the fact that he's getting so many assists proves he's committed to his teammates' scoring as much as his own, and he's still dishing out the big hits and making amazing plays that elevate the play of the entire team.  And his lack of goals isn't for a lack of trying--he again leads the league in shots.  Say what you will about the man but he's not afraid to take a shot when he has it.

Besides goaltending, the Caps have suffered from a defense that's weaker than their record would indicate in the last few seasons.  Again, their ability to outscore almost any opponent is what allowed them to continually win games even after being scored on 3, 4 and 5 times a game.  Most teams are in deep doo-doo if they've taken 3 goals in a game, let alone 4 or 5 but the Caps have always managed to score at least one more than the opposing team and eek out a win.  It appears that their defensive play has improved somewhat, but their offensive production is another consequence of the improved defensive play.  Their defense hasn't been strong because it was very offense-forward, and their D-Core is a scoring threat almost equal to the offense.  Since the D has been taking a more active roll doing what they are intended to do, the scoring has suffered as a result.  It's too early to tell if that's going to be a good thing or a bad thing.  When you have a formula that works you probably should stick with it, but it does get hard to drown out the chorus from the critics when what you were doing gets blamed for your playoff exit.

Last night constituted loss #5 in a row for the Caps, the longest losing streak under Coach B.  Will they turn it around tonight?  All I can say is they better...we're just two weeks from the first meeting with the Pens (December 23), who have now won 12 in a row.  And we all know what game is the week after THAT...and I really don't want to be embarrassed after making the trek to PITtsburgh and sitting outside in the freezing ass cold!

Overall, they just need to find a style of play that works for them and stick to it.  Consistency is going to be the key, like always, coming down the stretch.  I'd really like for the Caps to have another good shot at The Cup this season, but maybe a difficult season will be just the onus they need to be pushed a little harder.  Sometimes it is all too easy to get cocky, and that is possibly what happened last season.  In hockey, more so than other sports, your play in the regular season doesn't make you deserving of anything in the playoffs.  It's a whole new season at that point.  The best teams in the regular season are rarely the ones who hoist Lord Stanley's Cup in June.  Having all the pressure of being the ones who "should" win never helps, either.  So, hopefully, the Pens and the Wings crack under that pressure and the Caps will fly under the radar into the Finals.  One can always hope, right?  Besides, who really wants to see the Pens play the Wings in the Finals again...3rd time in 4 years?  BO-ring!!!

So...rock the red?  I think it's time to!!!