Reflections on the Caps: How Should We Feel Going Into the 2nd Half? - Part 3

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 thoughts of DCLS contributor ResidentOslo.

For starters, GOD F***ING DAMNIT!!! I bother to watch these games a day delayed half way across the world and a little piece of me dies every time I do so. Is Backstrom carrying cinder-blocks in in his pants? Did Ovie get a penis enlargement procedure in the off-season that is now causing his wang to interfere with his stride and acceleration? I don't know, I'm not a doctor. But what I do know is that I'm sick and tired of grasping on to my fading optimism as it gets slowly beaten to death on an almost daily basis. I'm actively embracing the other end of the scale at this point: Despair here we come!

Power play looks to me like paralysis by analysis. Too many offensive guys on the ice at the same time all worrying about whether or not they are hogging the puck or shooting too much, or passing too much, or not shooting enough, etc. Put Ovie on the half-wall, put Green and Carlson on different PP lines, actually run two completely different lines, and just be more decisive and aggressive. This is a coaching failure of the highest magnitude since it is mental, BB has failed to instill the proper mentality in his players. BB does not define the culture and mentality through sheer force of will, as a good coach should, and instead should be delegated to a position concerning tactics, not leading or coaching a team. This extends further into the the overall play and mentality of the team which is best characterized as flaccid. If Laich doesn't think they're coasting then that is simply an indictment of the standards to which they are holding themselves to (Editors note: this refers to an interview this week Brooks Laich gave to WFAN in which he took offense to the idea that the Caps are coasting). No more excuses, you are mediocre and weak willed, accept it and deal with it.

The problems with this team is not something a mid-season trade will fix........let's not turn into the Skins here. BB, as much as I like him and appreciate the success he has been apart of the past 3 years, has got to go (although most likely won't). He is like the Charlie Weiss of hockey, great offensive mind but not head coach material. A good coach would've gotten Ovie to adjust his game now that D-men shut him down with ease and regularity. A good coach would've figured out how to get such a "talented" and "skilled" team to enter the zone more consistently without resorting to just dumping the puck in every time. It is uninspired.

All that being said, I still think we've got a good shot at getting to the cup if nothing else based on the defensive nature of the playoffs and the overall crapshoot that is small sample sizes. As bad as we are, we're still performing better than half the league. Good goalies and PK enough to take us through the playoffs? Luck eventually turning our way? Or maybe we're just the Jim Kelly Bills: destined to fail on the main stage. Time to take my schizophrenia meds.

(Image courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

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

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 Editor Red Rover.

Watching this year's Caps is like being in bizarro netherworld. Last year, I watched games with comfort. I knew no matter what the score or time remaining, the offensive machine would produce more more more goals. I reacted to goals against like an elephant would to a fly hovering over its arse - I barely noticed. Goals came cheap both ways. Just like Crosby's mom.

Now, I watch games with the stress of a thousand game 7s. Every goal is CRITICAL. I jump to my feet in eager anticipation at even the crappiest of 25-foot Eric Fehr wristers. This way of watching games is an awful, horrible shock to the system that shouldn't be happening. I was given no warning and no transition period. I understand now why they have methadone clinics; if there were an equivalent for recovering "spoiled fans of historically dominant offensive juggernaut"-addicts, Caps fans would overflow such a place.

The optimist in me says: this is good preparation for the playoffs! They play defense consistently and reliably! They are getting more reps in close games! They are in the playoff race instead of their own spoiled pressure-free bubble!

The realist in me watches and says: these guys don't give a baker's fuck. Offense - defense isn't a zero sum game. The lack of offense is from lack of effort. They're the NHL's procrastinators: they don't get motivated until the last minute, then the adrenaline rush kicks in and they try - but alas, too little too late. So many games are a microcosm of this mentality.

And when I think about this, it's hard not to conclude that this is a fatal flaw. Though the goals came easy last year, it was the same. The more I watch Ovechkin and Backstrom float around, make predictable moves, circle back (NYLANDER'S CURSE REMAINS), get called offsides, awkwardly fumble the puck on the power play, glide slowly through the neutral zone, stay to the perimeter in the attacking zone, whiff on one-timers and rebounds, the more I worry that these are the guys that I'm staking my emotional well-being in. CARE. CARE LIKE I DO YOU FUCKS. SKATE HARDER. PASS CRISPER. SHOOT WITH A PURPOSE. STOP GOING OFFSIDES FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!

And it all comes back to Boudreau. Was anyone surprised that NHL players think Boudreau is the easiest to play for? You can't fault his hockey smarts, his (recent) willingness to adjust, etc. But it's clear that on a night to night basis, these Caps are as uninspired as the dog days of the Fall 2007 Glen Hanlon Caps.

Are there personnel holes and injury bugs? Of course. Are there positive signs of improvement in key areas? Yes. But when Matt Hendricks and Jay Beagle provide the most consistent efforts on your team, you are fucked, plain and simple. That, more than anything else, is what scares me, and what must change. Unless things turn around in a few weeks, I don't see how you keep Boudreau behind that bench.

(Image courtesy of espn.go.com)

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)

Georgetown Doesn't Need (All Of) Run DMV

This season is not like last year.

Bouncing back from a 1-3 start in the Big East to win 3 consecutive games? Color me as impressed. Remembering those 3 wins were over Rutgers, Seton Hall, and St. John's? Ehhhhh.....moving on......

Going on the road to beat  a #7 ranked Nova team? Intriguing.
Winning that game while getting 0 points and a horrendous contribution from your 2nd best player? Hmmm...


Following that huge road win by defeating #13 Louisville 2 days later? Fully revitalizing.
Winning that game while getting 2 points from your 2nd-leading scorer?  I'm back on the bandwagon!

This should have been a letdown game, a chance for the Hoyas to reveal that the Nova game was a fluke. Not so, and a solid statement against a team that has been playing well. The win puts the Hoyas a measly 0.5 game back of 2nd in the messy Big East standings. Beating Providence on Saturday to cap a perfect week should move Georgetown into about a 4-seed.

Once again, the story was that Run DMV did not need to be firing on all cylinders to beat a top-15 team. This was an ugly contest with turnovers galore, but the fact that the Hoyas can survive a night when Run DMV is just Run DM/DV/MV means that this team will be really dangerous come tourney time. Not only will teams be unable to focus on stopping one of Jason Clark, Chris Wright, and Austin Freeman, but I previously thought a minor injury or even foul trouble for any part of Run DMV could derail this team's season.

Looking ahead, the Hoyas have 8 games left before the Big East tournament, 3 of which are against ranked opponents (twice against Syra****, and once against UConn). The way the Hoyas are playing though, I would actually feel confident in every one of those games, even as tough as C*** is at home.

The fact that I can look ahead with excitement is a dramatic change from just 3 weeks ago when this team was seemingly in a black hole of suck. The Hoyas brought us to the brink, but it have got me fully back on board.

(Image courtesy of usatoday.com)