The Capitals, D.C.’s best professional sports team, are back where they should be, atop the NHL’s Southeast Division. However, the team’s strong play of late does not guarantee success in the upcoming playoffs, should they make it, as the team still has a noticeable flaw.
While the team has won 10 of its last 11 games, the Caps have scored more than three goals in a game just three times in those 11 contests. This is a good sign since it means they are playing great defense, something the Caps have lacked in recent years and why a lot of people believe they have repeatedly been sent home early in the playoffs. But when you have players like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin, goals should not be this hard to come by.
Head Coach Bruce Boudreau has put more emphasis on playing defense in order to succeed in the playoffs. And while the penalty kill has improved dramatically, the team’s power-play unit, which was far and away the best in the NHL last season, has become pedestrian.
It’s hard to point to a reason why the Capitals’ offense has fallen off so much this season. Ovechkin, Semin and Backstrom are all having a down year. Coming into the season Ovechkin had never scored fewer than 46 goals. This year he will need to score about a goal per game the rest of the way just to reach 40. After scoring a career-high 40 goals last year, Semin has only 25 this year. Last season, Backstrom had a career-high 101 points. This year, he has a little more than half that total with 55.
Every player has a down year or two in his career. More than likely this is the case with the Caps’ big offensive guns. Unfortunately for the team, they are all going through it at the same time.
Defenseman Mike Green, who has been the best offensive player at his position in the NHL for a few seasons, was having a bad year before going down with a concussion on Feb. 25. He has not played since.
It’s true that it is very important to have a strong defense in order to win the Stanley Cup, and the Caps will be better off with a defensive mindset instead of the risky offensive game that has let them down in recent playoff history. However, with three young goalies under 24-years-old and relatively limited playoff experience, the Capitals might need offense for these playoffs more than any other in recent memory. The only goalie on the roster with any playoff experience is Semyon Varlamov, who was very shaky in the first round against the Montréal Canadiens last year.
Because of the team’s improved defense, the Capitals should play deep into the playoffs this year. However, they must find a bit of the magic that won them the President’s Trophy a year ago in order to drink from the Cup at playoff’s end.
blasky@theeagleonline.com
