All good things must come to an end eventually, and the Washington Capitals franchise record 14-game win streak ended in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night.
The loss may be a tough pill to swallow, seeing as the team was only three wins short of tying the NHL record of 17-straight victories. Even though they did not break the record, what this team did cannot be overlooked. It is one of the longest win streaks in recent history and is tied for the third longest in history.
Perhaps more important than the team's feat were the individual performances. Tom Poti, Jose Theodore, Michal Neuvirth, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin all turned in magnificent stats over the last 15 games. All of them not only helped the team over the whole streak, but each one of them stepped up when their team needed them most.
It is no secret that the Capitals are an offense-oriented team, but they certainly wouldn't be as good as they are without the efforts of Neuvirth and Theodore in goal. While Neuvirth had been a stud through most of December, he ended up getting pulled in the first win of the streak in a 5-4 shootout win over Florida on Jan. 13. He set the stage for a bruised hero to make a valiant return to the battlefield.
Theodore stepped in, got the team a win and went on perhaps one of the greatest hot streaks of his life. After Theodore stopped 44 of 46 shots against the Detroit Red Wings, Boudreau said the net-minder looked like the goalie that won the Vezina Trophy so many years ago.
Though Theodore turned in 10 of the teams 14 straight wins, Neuvirth’s appearances were still spectacular. In fact, in all but one of those four starts, he was the team's top performer. His spectacular play was capped off by a 48-save effort against the Anaheim Ducks Jan. 27. Despite the fact that he was not the horse the Caps rode for the entire streak, when he was called upon he stepped up. The young rookie was able to take the bad start against Florida and forget about it, something the best in the game struggle to do.
Tom Poti may be one of the most overlooked heroes of the win streak. He was one of Washington's best defender, with the exception of the last night’s game, Sunday's game against Pittsburgh and the game against Detroit. Those were the only three games where Poti ended up negative in +/-. His best game was a +4 night against the Boston Bruins where he set up two of the team’s four goals. Not only did Poti get hot offensively, but he made several key defensive plays. There was question about whether or not he was nearing the end of his career, but after his last month of play he seems far from it.
Last night's loss may have ended the Caps streak but Backstrom's point streak is alive and well. Over those eight games he totaled four goals, 13 assists and a +/- rating of +12. The Swedish Olympian dominated the play in certain games and often looked like he was the team’s best player. In fact, in the Capitals 6-5 victory over the New York Rangers, he had a hand in all but one of the goals. Backstrom has emerged into one of the premiere centers for the simple fact that he is able to quarterback the first line. It is not easy to sit between Ovechkin and Knuble on a line, but he makes it easy as he chooses the player to set up for a goal. Backstrom helps his line live literally by the phrase, “pass, shoot, score.”
The final pieces of Washington's success are the two men named Alex. Semin and Ovechkin are the heart and soul of this team's offense. Semin would probably be fighting Ovechkin for MVP honors if they were not on the same team.
Their offensive contributions are not entirely what has helped the team. Sure, Ovechkin's hat trick that spurred the Capitals to an OT win over Pittsburgh on Sunday was impressive, but it is his leadership abilities that are important. It is no coincidence that the team has only lost two games since he was named captain on Jan. 5. He clearly took the reins as team leader and was able to keep the team focused and on the winning track. Not only that though, he was able to get his best friend Semin, back on the track.
Semin is a frustrating player to watch sometimes; he has tremendous talent but tends to fall in to ruts he cannot get out of. Through most of December, he was unable to score. Five games after Ovie was given the “C,” Semin went on a 10-game point streak, where he often carried the team. No one will know if Ovechkin said anything to Semin, but it cannot be looked at as merely a coincidence. If in fact Ovechkin did help get Semin going, then Washington will have one of the game's best captains for years to come.
Washington will not go down in the record books for what they just accomplished, but in reality it is unimportant. What is more important is what the team learned about itself on the ice and inside the locker room. It was a great run, but in the end the only run the Caps want to make is a run to the Stanley Cup in April. As of right now, it looks as if they will be able to sprint through the marathon that is the playoffs.
You can reach this writer at atomlinson@theeagleonline.com.
Updated 2/11/10 12:00 pm
