This is clearly a do or die season for the Capitals, win the Stanley Cup or bust. Last season was a prime opportunity to make a real run for the championship, but they proved in the playoffs they were not worthy, just yet. The Capitals were down 3-1 in the opening round of the playoffs but battled back to beat the New York Rangers. So that showed poise and guts. In the second round versus Pittsburgh, that should’ve been the Capitals’. The series went the distance; with game seven in Washington, but the Capitals got smacked and were done. The rise of the Capitals has been so quick, that they have seen players develop very quickly right before their eyes. With Alexander Ovechkin on board and with last season’s loss still in his mind, he will do whatever it takes to win this year.
The offense was high powered last year, charged up by Ovechkin. His 56 goals led the league, and his 110 points were second only to fellow countryman Evgeni Malkin. Just like the past four seasons where Ovechkin has averaged 55 goals, he will most definitely score another fifty and tally another one hundred points. If Ovechkin plays like last season the whole team will pick up their game and try to keep pace with him. If that happens, the Capitals will be destined for a deep playoff drive. The potential is also there for another Washington versus Pittsburgh showdown, but hopefully for the fans in the East Finals this time around.
The Capitals have three solid players that form the offensive nucleus of this team. None of them disappointed last season. First of course, is Alexander Ovechkin and we all know what he could do. Following up with there own high powered games are Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Backstrom finished second in team scoring with 88 points, and most of those points were assists, 66 of them. Luckily for Backstrom he was dishing all those passes to Ovechkin. Semin is no slouch in goal scoring either as he scored 34 times, and was third in team scoring with 79 points. Backstrom and Ovechkin are both locks to repeat last season’s success, and if this Capitals team wants to get even better, then Semin will need to tally at least 85 points.
The offense doesn’t just stop there as the Capitals have Brooks Laich, Tomas Fleischmann and Michael Nylander. To add, the loss of Sergei Fedorov was huge to the Capitals because Fedorov was a calming presence and was a solid veteran to have in the locker room and on the ice. The Capitals have added other veterans that should fill in for him though. Back to the offense, and Brooks Laich had a monster season for the Capitals. He really broke out last season, in his third full season with the Capitals and had 23 goals and 53 points. With him in the mix and if he can reproduce last season’s success, the Capitals will once again have two solid scoring lines.
If Tomas Fleischmann can also raise the level of his game with experience, then the Capitals will have three solid lines. Fleischmann has developed into a nice player for the Capitals the last two season’s, where he has scored 30 and 37 points, with the latter coming last season. For Michael Nylander he is a veteran player on the decline in producing points, but if he can score somewhere between 10-12 goals and tally thirty plus points, the Capitals will take it.
Two more veteran players were added in the off-season, as Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison were signed. In Knuble the Capitals are getting an offensive player that can create his own space down low with his body, and play on the top two lines. As for points, he should score 45+ this season. Morrison he just needs a healthy season because they have hurt him the last two season’s, and if he his healthy he can also score 40+ points and add to an already well balanced offensive attack.
On defense the Capitals just need to improve defensively because they were weak in that category. As for scoring they had one of the best units, led by Mike Green and his 31 goals and 73 points. Playing defense was somewhat of an afterthought for him, and that showed more than ever in the playoffs. Green is still a young player at 23 and still has room for improvement. The Capitals wouldn’t a mind a trade off of less points and better defense.
The not playing defense trickled down to the rest of the defense. The Capitals have a pretty heavy defense, meaning that they have some heavy hitters in John Erskine, Shaone Morrisonn, Milan Jurcina, Brian Pothier and Tom Poti. The only drawback and negative with that is the defense won’t be as mobile, passing abilities aren’t the greatest and little to no speed. The one player that can do all those things is mentioned above, Mike Green. If Green can pick up on his defense, then maybe the Capitals will have a better defense, because that looks to be a problem, and will prevent them from advancing in the playoffs.
One area that needed to be fixed was goaltending, because the Capitals don’t have a stable number one and that was their Achilles heel last season and most likely will be now. Unless rookie Semyon Varlamov can repeat his playoff magic and translate that into a solid season. It will be tough to do because he is just 21 years old, hasn’t even played a full season professionally anywhere, and is just a rookie. We all know that Jose Theodore cannot play at a high level, cannot be counted on and is not a bonafide number one goalie anymore.
OVERALL--> THE CAPITALS HAVE A GOOD ENOUGH TEAM TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, AND WILL GET A HUGE BOOST DURING HOME GAMES WITH THEIR RACOUS CROWDS.
POSITIVE--> ALEX OVECHKIN AND THE HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE. MIKE GREEN WITH A GREAT SHOT FROM THE POINT.
NEGATIVE--> DEFENSE COULD BE WAY BETTER AND GOALTENDING IS A SERIOUS ISSUE WHICH WAS NOT ADDRESSED IN THE OFF-SEASON.
X-FACTOR--> ALEX OVECHKIN, THIS IS HIS TEAM AND THE CAPITALS WILL ONLY GO AS FAR AS HE CAN TAKE THEM.
SLEEPER PICK--> DAVID STECKEL WILL ONCE AGAIN BE A REGUALR ON THIS SQUAD, AND SHOULD PRODUCE A CAREER SEASON, SCORING AT LEAST 30 POINTS.
PREDICTION--> THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AND WIN THE SOUTHEAST DIVISION TITLE.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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