Reflections on the Caps: How Should We Feel Going Into the 2nd Half?

With the 2nd half of the Washington Capitals season kicking off, I thought it would be a good time to get a little DCLS survey of thoughts on the team. The Caps entered the break as the #5 seed in the East, aligned for a first round playoff matchup against the Penguins - yikes. Here are the initial thoughts of DCLS Caps Correspondent Iafrate's Baldspot.

Here's what's good: It literally does not matter one ounce of shit where the Caps finish in the standings, and ironically, I actually feel better about their odds against the Penguins than I do about some of the other teams in the conference. It's almost as if this team has been indoctrinated with the singular purpose to compete with Pittsburgh, ignoring the fact that there are 28 other teams they have to face. Maybe the two best games this team has played since Thanksgiving have both come against them, with a whole bunch of shutouts and stinkers the rest of the way. We looked hapless against Tampa when we played them down there, and not being able to muster an effort against your division rivals speaks to the motivation issue that has plagued this team since, well.......forever.

IF the power play ever comes back to operating at some semblance of respectability -- a big IF considering we're not verging on a full calendar year where it just hasn't clicked properly -- this team can still compete. 

We need to make a move, but Jason Arnott isn't the guy, and I'm not sure the guy is out there. Dallas not sucking is a huge blow to our roster. Stephen Weiss is another guy being floated as trade bait but he'd cost a fortune since he's under contract at a reasonable number for the next 3 seasons. Say goodbye to one of the kid goalies (assuming they move Vokoun) plus a roster/advanced AHL forward.

(Image courtesy of www.offwingphoto.com)