The Washington Capitals have consistently been among the best teams in the NHL over the past couple of seasons. The one problem has been the constant failures in the postseason, never getting past the second round in the past four trips. So if you're a Caps fan you should be excited but its a long season and a lot more to be decided. So for right now I'll give some things I like and some things that might need some tweaking as the season moves along.The most important part for me is the goal tending. The Caps have had young, talented but unproven goaltenders the last couple seasons. Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth both showed glimpses of being really good but they are still too young to carry a team, and of course Varlamov is no longer in Washington. So in the off season the Caps picked up veteran net minder Tomas Vokoun. Of course in typical Caps fashion Vokoun's first start in the red sweater was an offensive shootout in which he allowed 5 goals on just 28 shots. Since then Vokoun has allowed 5 goals in 4 games including a shutout against his former squad Florida. It is extremely early in the season but in the recent run of success the Caps have yet to have a dependable goalkeeper. Its unrealistic to expect Vokoun to keep up this kind of pace, especially when facing 40 shots a night. However hes the kind of goalie when hot can shut down the best teams in hockey and when you have the offensive power of Washington, advantage Capitals.
This second point ill bring up is what at least for me tempers my enthusiasm for now. In the Caps 6-0 start 13 different Capitals have put the puck in the net. Which means that Ovechkin is getting the support he needs. However getting production from his supporting cast in the regular season has never been the problem, its the postseason. In 37 career postseason games Ovechkin has 25 goals and 50 points, pretty damn good for your star player. Lets take a look at the other two members of the big three, first Nicklas Backstrom. In the same 37 games Backstrom has just 12 goals, none is last years run and 32 points. As for Alexander Semin he also has 12 goals and 30 points, and in the 2010 playoffs he went goal-less. At the very least the Caps need production from all members of their big three to make a deep postseason run.
Last thing ill mention which again has always been a problem in the Nations Capital, the defense. In two of their games they have allowed over 40 shots, now granted it was to two of the best teams in the east (Pittsburgh & Philadelphia) but those kind of nights have to be few and far between. Just watching as a fan in some games, not all, there seem to stretches of the game where the Caps are playing a large chunk of the period in their end of the ice. Vokoun has been good but he needs more games like the Panthers when he only faces 20 shots.
I and others can nitpick about certain things but the bottom line is the Caps haven't played their best hockey yet and they are 6-0. This Saturday will be yet another test as Detroit comes into DC. Win that game and the Caps become the early favorite to win the cup. Which is nice but we all know they don't decide the cup in October, the Caps have to translate their regular season dominance into a Stanley Cup Championship, another postseason failure is not an option for this team.
follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/AndySnakovsky
This second point ill bring up is what at least for me tempers my enthusiasm for now. In the Caps 6-0 start 13 different Capitals have put the puck in the net. Which means that Ovechkin is getting the support he needs. However getting production from his supporting cast in the regular season has never been the problem, its the postseason. In 37 career postseason games Ovechkin has 25 goals and 50 points, pretty damn good for your star player. Lets take a look at the other two members of the big three, first Nicklas Backstrom. In the same 37 games Backstrom has just 12 goals, none is last years run and 32 points. As for Alexander Semin he also has 12 goals and 30 points, and in the 2010 playoffs he went goal-less. At the very least the Caps need production from all members of their big three to make a deep postseason run.
Last thing ill mention which again has always been a problem in the Nations Capital, the defense. In two of their games they have allowed over 40 shots, now granted it was to two of the best teams in the east (Pittsburgh & Philadelphia) but those kind of nights have to be few and far between. Just watching as a fan in some games, not all, there seem to stretches of the game where the Caps are playing a large chunk of the period in their end of the ice. Vokoun has been good but he needs more games like the Panthers when he only faces 20 shots.
I and others can nitpick about certain things but the bottom line is the Caps haven't played their best hockey yet and they are 6-0. This Saturday will be yet another test as Detroit comes into DC. Win that game and the Caps become the early favorite to win the cup. Which is nice but we all know they don't decide the cup in October, the Caps have to translate their regular season dominance into a Stanley Cup Championship, another postseason failure is not an option for this team.
follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/AndySnakovsky
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