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(photo by Brian Murphy)

Yesterday we addressed the many positives of the 2008-09 Washington Capitals. Today, we’ll focus on some of the areas that should be of concern to Bruce Boudreau and the coaching staff.

The Capitals are currently 30-15-3, which is good enough for fourth best in the league. But what’s troubling is that eight losses have come against teams who wouldn’t qualify if the playoffs started today. Teams like the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets who aren’t going anywhere this season have multiple victories over the Caps this season (with Columbus shutting out Washington twice).

It’s great that the Caps can compete with the league’s elite teams like the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, but until they can get the same level of intensity and effort night in and night out, this team is setting itself up for failure down the road. Beating Boston twice only to turn around and lose twice to Ottawa doesn’t help your cause. It shows that some folks in that locker room think they can just show up and the league’s doormats will automatically roll over. But that’s not the way it works.

If anything, lesser teams look at the schedule and circle matchups against teams like Washington. They might not have a great record, but if a squad like Columbus can show they can not only compete with, but defeat the mighty Capitals, it can help get them back on track. Every team has talent. Underestimating any opponent is naïve and foolish.

In addition to playing down to the level of their opponents, the Caps also have a tendency to, stop us if you’ve heard this before, get too cutesy with the puck and don’t crash the net. Instead of making a higher-percentage pass, guys like Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green all try to earn a spot on the highlight reel with high-risk passes through heavy traffic. When they work, it’s a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, the odds aren’t usually in their favor. Instead of forcing the puck, especially on the powerplay, they should simply regroup by passing back to the point and setting up the play again.

Crashing the net may not be glamorous, but it’s effective. Screening the goalie and increasing the traffic in front of the net always improves your scoring chances. Plus, if the goalie makes the initial save but can’t haul in the puck, then someone is on the doorstep to bang home the juicy rebound. Other than maybe Brooks Laich, who else on the Capitals shows a willingness to stand there and take the abuse from a defenseman trying to clear the zone? The answer is no one.

The Capitals have not given up an even-strength goal in their last three games. While that is impressive, the fact that they’ve given up five powerplay goals over that span is troubling. For the season, the Caps are the fourth-most penalized team and their penalty-killing percentage is 78.9, 24th in the league. So to recap, they take a lot of penalties and don’t do a very good job of killing them. That’s never good.

If we’re going to take this team seriously, guys like Ovechkin and Semin (who are second and fourth on the team in penalty minutes) need to learn to stop taking foolish penalties, especially with the game on the line (like Semin’s terrible penalty against Ottawa with just over three minutes left in regulation).

While the Capitals have been automatic at home this season, they are just 11-12-2 away from the Verizon Center (the 14th best road record in hockey). As previously mentioned, teams are going to get fired up to play the Capitals, especially out on the West Coast where it might be the only time all season Alex Ovechkin and friends come to town. With the Caps’ average road attendance nearly 97 percent, it’s safe to say that the team is playing in front of a packed house night in and night out. Bringing that same level of intensity each and every game helps to prevent trap games against those teams who will be watching the Stanley Cup playoffs on TV come April.

The last concern is the amount of minutes the team’s biggest guns are playing. Green is averaging more than 25 minutes of ice time per game. Ovechkin is over 23. Backstrom, Semin, Alzner, Schultz and Poti (before his injury) are all above 19 minutes. It’d be nice if the coaching staff could lean a little less on the marquee players in the regular season, so they still feel fresh come playoff time. Seven Capitals players have scored at least 10 goals this season, so let’s spread around the ice time a little more evenly and save the major minutes for guys like Green and Ovechkin for the postseason.

While this post focuses on the negatives, please understand where we’re coming from. The Capitals, unlike any other team in town, has heightened expectations. Unlike the Redskins or Wizards, simply going .500 for the year is unacceptable. They have a deep roster with loads of talent and, for the first time in a long, long time, have a legitimate chance to do some damage once the regular season concludes. Addressing some of these concerns simply increases their chances of bringing a championship to D.C. for the first time in franchise history.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

After last night’s 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Washington Capitals now have a week off to get rested and healthy before the second half of the season. With that in mind, this seems as good a time as any to take an in-depth look at what’s been good, what’s been not-so-good and what’s in store for the Caps. In this first installment, we’ll focus on the highlights for the 2008-09 Capitals.

Led by the best player in hockey, left wing Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals are off to their best start in franchise history.

At the All Star break, the Caps stand 30-15-3, which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference. Only Boston, San Jose and Detroit have earned more points than Washington through the first half of the season.

While much of the focus goes to Ovechkin, there are other players who have contributed to the team’s success this season. In fact, the Caps are tied for the league lead with seven different players (Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann, Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich and Viktor Kozlov) having scored at least 10 goals this season.

After his customary slow start, Ovechkin now leads the NHL in goals scored with 31 and is third in the league in points with 59. Top-line center Nicklas Backstrom continues to develop into one of the premiere setup men in hockey and ranks seventh in the league in assists with 36. While we’re on the subject of Backstrom, his eight goals and 16 assists also earn him a spot among the league leaders in powerplay points. He may only have 12 goals this season, but Mike Green leads all defensemen in powerplay goals with 10. And although forward Alexander Semin has only played in 29 games, he ranks sixth in the NHL in plus/minus. So, it’s safe to say the big guns are getting it done for Washington.

The Capitals are great at home (19-3-1) and truly have a home-ice advantage thanks to passionate and knowledgeable fans who routinely pack the Verizon Center. Not only have there been more sellouts (12) at the halfway point this year than all of last season, but general manager George McPhee recently said they’re sold out for most of the second half of the season as well.

Through 23 home games, the Capitals’ average attendance is 17,973 (more than 96 percent capacity). But what folks may not realize is that the average attendance for Caps road games is nearly as good at 17,666 (also more than 96 percent). One year ago, the Caps averaged roughly 82 percent attendance both home and away, so while the economy has taken a turn for the worse, people are still flocking to see this young and exciting team.

Regardless of whether the games are played on home ice or not, this team has been great against the teams that matter. If the playoffs started today, the Capitals are 13-3-2 against teams who would qualify for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. And while some may claim that the Caps are a product of playing in a sub-standard Southeast Division, that’s simply not the case. They are 9-1-2 against the Atlantic Division and 8-3-1 against the Northeast Division. Bottom line, this team can compete with anyone in the East.

But what’s most impressive is that, even though they’ve had a ton of injuries thus far this season, the Capitals have managed to weather the storm and still find a way to consistently win.

Five defensemen – Karl Alzner, Sean Collins, Bryan Helmer, Sami Lepisto and Tyler Sloan – have appeared in games for Washington after starting the season in the minors. If you count the four games center Sergei Federov had to play on defense (just so the team could have six defensemen), then the Caps have used 12 different blueliners this season. Across the board, the Caps have used a total of 33 players this year and yet, they still have the best record in franchise history. Why is that? Because of Bruce Boudreau.

It seems that no matter who suits up for the Caps, they still find a way to win primarily because of the masterful job behind the bench by Boudreau, who took just 85 games to reach 50 wins (a franchise record). Thanks to a talent-laden roster and Boudreau’s attacking style of offense, the Caps have a chance for victory, even on off nights when things just aren’t going their way.

Which leads us to our biggest point, this team just knows how to win. They win high-scoring affairs. They win defensive battles. They just win. And when you factor in the collective records of the local football, basketball and baseball teams, the Caps are the only team around that can say that.

(photo by Nick Wass)

Please forgive center David Steckel for being a healthy scratch when the Washington Capitals traveled to Long Island to face the New York Islanders for a Monday matinee. If anyone on the team deserved a day off, it’s probably Steckel.

When we caught up with the former Ohio State Buckeye Saturday night after the Caps defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 we couldn’t help but notice two things – first, he was carrying the hard hat for his workmanlike effort against the NHL’s best team and second, his face was swollen and bloody as if he’d back-talked Donald Brashear or something. We figured we should pull him aside and get some answers.

Did we see you rocking some new headgear earlier?

“Yep, you get your lip cut apparently you get the hard hat,” Steckel said in the locker room after the game.

Since you brought it up, what happened to your face, man?

“At the end of the first [period] when I was taking that pass up the middle, guys yelled heads up, but I had to take the hit to make the play,” he said. “I’ll take it any time.”

You knew the hit was coming and made the play for the puck anyways?

“It was either that or the puck could end up in the back of our net in the last 30 seconds of the period,” Steckel said. “I’d rather have it the way I did.”

Isn’t there an easier way to earn the hard hat?

(Laughs). “There is, but as you can tell from the stats I’m not really the goal scorer,” he said. “I’ve got to get it done off the stat sheet.”

The Boston Bruins have the league’s best record, and yet you guys are now 2-0 against them. What are you able to do that no one else is against them?

“That’s a good question,” Steckel said. “You know, I haven’t seen many games that they’ve played, but for us it’s a matter of being patient. In the past we’ve been really frustrated after the first period when we go out against a team and take 20 shots and don’t score. And Boston, defensively, is the best team in the league, so you’re not going to get chance after chance like other teams. We had to make sure we went in to this game with a good mental toughness and be opportunistic.”

If you look at the Caps’ record against the league’s elite and against the lesser squads (like, say, the New York Islanders) it looks like you guys have a habit of playing to the level of your opponent, right?

“We’d like to think it isn’t, but if you see us play against those teams, obviously we don’t come out with the same intensity,” he said. “Obviously that’s one thing we need to learn. We’ve learned quite a few lessons already, but we need to make sure we don’t keep learning them throughout the year. Come playoff time, we’re not going to be able to pull that kind of stuff.”

While the Caps were able to squeak out a 2-1 overtime victory against the Islanders yesterday, it was clearly a game in which the Capitals thought they could just show up and the lesser teams would happily roll over.

Maybe it was because Steckel was out of the lineup and couldn’t lead by example (and with his face) once again, but getting the same intensity night in and night out against both the best and worst the league has to offer should be priority number one for Bruce Boudreau and the coaching staff for the second half of the season. Or at the very least they should find more ice time for selfless players like Steckel, who do whatever it takes to get the job done. Even if it means eating lunch through a straw for a couple days afterwards.

(photo by Nick Wass)

This was a landmark weekend for our nation’s capital as countless Washingtonians clad in their red, white and blue converged downtown for the chance to be a part of something special.

While nothing was guaranteed, countless locals flocked to D.C. on the off chance that this was the dawn of a new day. After all, no one wanted to look back with regret having missed a chance to be a part of history as the top two teams in the Eastern Conference squared off when the Boston Bruins battled the Washington Capitals.

What did you think we were talking about – some Beyonce performance?

The Bruins rolled into town with the NHL’s best record (33-7-4) and an impressive eight-game road winning streak but knew they’d be in for street fight – especially since one of those seven regulation losses came the last time they visited the Verizon Center. And for the record, there was zero chance Boston was going to overlook their opponent on this night because that 3-1 loss on Dec. 10 was their only loss the entire month (they went 12-1 in December).

That’s why this contest definitely had the look and feel of a playoff game. The first period remained scoreless as both teams seemed, for the most part, content to play it safe and not take too many chances.

Bruins center Marc Savard struck first early in the second period, but defenseman Mike Green and the Caps responded just over a minute later when the talented defenseman scored his 12th goal (his 10th powerplay goal) of the season. Green’s goal was huge because the Caps haven’t fared well when allowing the first goal this season. In fact, they came into the game an impressive 20-4-1 when scoring first, but just 8-10-2 when their opponent scores first.

After those two goals, both teams seemed to step up their intensity. There was even more physical play and both offenses began to take more chances, which translated into more odd-man rushes and quality-scoring chances. This regular-season game suddenly resembled a championship boxing match, with two prize fighters trading blows waiting for the other to blink first. You got the sense that whichever team struck next would leave the building with the victory.

On a roster loaded with as much offensive firepower as any team in the league, the biggest play of the night came from an unlikely source.

Thanks to a Capitals turnover, Martin St. Pierre and the Bruins had a breakaway late in the third period. Just when it looked like an easy goal for Boston, defenseman Milan Jurcina hit the deck to break up the play before St. Pierre could do anything with the puck. Caps forward Alexander Semin gained control of the puck and took off in the other direction, where he blasted a slap shot past Tim Thomas for the eventual game winner with eight minutes remaining in regulation.

Semin’s goal was officially listed as unassisted, but that goal never happens if Jurcina doesn’t make his selfless play on the other end.

“It was a key play in the third period because the guy had a scoring chance and it would be 2-1 for them and we would have to catch them,” said forward Tomas Fleischmann. “I think it was a great play by Juicy and Sasha had a great shot.”

Defenseman John Erskine took it one step further, saying that if it were up to him, Jurcina should have been credited for setting up the play.

“Juice made an unbelievable play there,” Erskine said. “In my opinion, he should have gotten the assist there because he pretty much set up the goal for Semin and got the win for us.”

While the rest of the league struggles to slow down these powerhouse Bruins, the Caps are now 2-0 on the season against Boston, thanks largely to unselfish plays by lesser known guys like Jurcina. It might not show up in the newspaper the next day, but the guys in the locker room know it and appreciate just how vital that kind of attitude is if this team is going to get past championship contenders like the Bruins come playoff time.

(photo by Gene J. Puskar)

“They’re lucky there’s no practice tomorrow.”

That’s what coach Bruce Boudreau said to the media after the Washington Capitals lackluster performance during a 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at home Tuesday night. Because the Caps played the following night in Pittsburgh, Boudreau couldn’t take out his frustrations on his players with a grueling practice Wednesday morning. So the Capitals coach had to come up with another way to send his players the message.

He did so Wednesday night when, just before game time, it was announced that the Caps’ captain Chris Clark was being benched as a healthy scratch. His message was brutally clear – if the captain can sit, then so can anyone else who isn’t getting it done. Did his players get the hint?

A convincing 6-3 victory over the rival Pittsburgh Penguins seems to indicate the message was received loud and clear. While the Caps got off to a sluggish start, facing a five-on-three penalty just moments into the action, they recovered to win their third-straight game in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1985 (you know, the year Alex Ovechkin was born).

“Today we play hard, better than last night,” Ovechkin said to reporters after the game. “We worked hard, we crashed the net and hit the guy and we have lots of traffic. It was a very emotional game.”

Speaking of Ovechkin, the talented left wing took over when it mattered, scoring two third-period goals and assisting on the game winner in the come-from-behind victory. While fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin got off to a fast start, scoring the game’s first goal, it was Ovechkin who had the last laugh.

“That’s what Alex does,” Boudreau said. “He’s a real emotional guy and he plays on that passion, and when he gets going, he’s pretty hard to stop.”

Just 24 hours after Washington fell to an inferior opponent thanks in large part to a combination of stupid penalties and a general lackadaisical attitude with the puck, the Caps eliminated many of the self-inflicted ills that led to their recent slide. In fact, it was the Penguins who continued to shoot themselves in the foot during the third period, when it seemed their emotions got the best of them after center Sidney Crosby was flattened by Ovechkin.

Former Capital Matt Cooke took a foolish penalty late in the second period because he felt the need to stick up for Crosby, who was simply leveled with a clean check. From that moment on, the Pens seemed more concerned with standing up for themselves then actually winning the game.

Penguins defenseman Hal Gill was penalized in the last minute of the second period for high sticking Caps center Sergei Fedorov. In the first minute of the third period, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik was whistled for tripping Caps forward Tomas Fleischmann. All the while, the Penguins players were chirping – at the referees, at Capitals players, at each other. They were no longer focusing on winning the game. They just wanted to play the role of tough guy.

Meanwhile, the Caps kept their eye on the prize and took the lead at 3-2 on Ovechkin’s first goal of the game, which came via the powerplay. After the Penguins tied the game at 3-3 on a beautiful shot from the blueline by defenseman Ray Whitney, the Caps powerplay struck again when Fleischmann dove to poke the puck past Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for the eventual game winner. Although there was still nearly 12 minutes left in the third period, it was clear momentum had swung in favor of the Capitals.

“I think the focus of the game stayed on the game instead of on the individual,” said Boudreau of the Capitals play. “When you focus on the game, usually good things happen to the individuals, but a lot of times, it doesn’t happen when it’s the other way around.”

In addition to remaining focused on the task at hand and leaving any personal motivations at home, the Caps also avoided some of the same pitfalls that have plagued the team of late. Both of the powerplay goals came because players crashed the net. Ovechkin stood on the doorstep and took a couple swipes at the puck before finally driving the puck into the back of the net and, as previously mentioned, Fleischmann dove from close range to earn his 15th goal of the year.

When Ovechkin picked up his second goal of the night he was simply passing to center Nicklas Backstrom, who had crashed the net. The pass never made it to Backstrom, but that’s only because it deflected off of Whitney’s skate into the net. The goal wasn’t pretty, but it counted just the same as the highlight goals the team’s younger players prefer to score.

Here’s hoping this is the sign of things to come for the young Capitals. They were able to stay focused on what truly mattered even after their opponent continually tried to provoke them and eliminated many of the problem areas that keep Boudreau awake at night. If nothing else, Bruce could sleep easy on this night.

[Editor’s note: It took Capitals Kremlin exactly 850 words less than us to summarize last night’s Caps-Pens game.]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

No team may be looking forward to All Star weekend more than the Washington Capitals.

After dropping three in a row for the second time this season, the Caps have begun to show a few chinks in the armor. With only superstar Alex Ovechkin participating in the All Star game, here’s hoping coach Bruce Boudreau uses the time to watch tape of the Caps’ recent play, figures out what’s wrong and makes the necessary adjustments.

While we’ve never claimed to be experts, there are two fairly apparent issues with this offense. The first, and this has been a problem all season long, is that there is very rarely traffic in front of the net. With no one willing to stand in front of the goalie and provide a screen, more times than not what we end up seeing is a shot from the blueline by the Caps that is easily thwarted by the opposing netminder. Because no one is blocking his view, the opposing goalie typically makes an easy save on a low-percentage shot. If the goalie doesn’t make the save cleanly, then there’s no one standing on the doorstep to bang home the rebound.

Don’t believe us? Then how else can you explain how seemingly every night the Caps take the ice of late the opposing goalie ends up with monster numbers. Let’s take a look at the last three home games:

Last night, Edmonton Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson was the game’s number-one star after posting 34 saves (a .944 save percentage) in a 5-2 win.

Last week, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason earned the game’s top star after shutting out the Capitals for the second time this season. For the game, Mason stopped all 45 shots he faced in the 3-0 win over the Capitals.

Even though the Caps won 2-1 via shootout, Philadelphia Flyers goalie Martin Biron made 33 saves (.971 save percentage) and earned the game’s third star for his strong outing Jan. 6.

Have the Caps run into a string of smoking hot goalies? It’s possible. But from where we’re sitting, this has way more to do with the Caps than whoever is lined up on the other side of the rink. Over these last three home games, the Capitals have scored just three goals on 115 shots, meaning opposing goalies have a ridiculous .974 save percentage against the Caps at the Verizon Center during the span.

Until players are consistently willing to roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work, the Caps are going to struggle to put points on the board. Even during a man advantage, the Caps haven’t been able to capitalize on their opportunities. During the same three-game span, the team has just two goals in their last 15 powerplay chances.

While much of it has to do with the lack of players willing to crash the net, there’s also another problem – too many times Caps players pass up the safe, routine play in favor of high-risk, high-reward variety. During powerplay situations, it’s common to see a Capitals forward try to force a puck through a defenseman’s legs or through traffic in hopes of connecting with a teammate on the back side of the play. If it works, then the play ends up on the highlight reel. If not, the opposing team gains control of the puck and clears it out of the zone with ease.

We had a chance to talk with future Hall of Fame center Sergei Fedorov this week and asked a fairly simple question – what is the current mindset of the younger players on this team and what do you guys have to do to take the next step forward to consistently compete for the Stanley Cup? We were surprised by the honesty in the veteran’s response.

“They’re very anxious to score goals,” said Fedorov of the younger players. “Sometimes they want to, a little bit cut corners and get to the net faster instead of just making the extra play and get it 100 percent in. They go for screen shots and dangerous plays, dangerous passes. For example, on a powerplay they always try to make that flashy, dangerous play, which is normal [for player’s their age]. They’re going to get it and understand eventually what they really need to do to win. And they’ll know that maybe that pass isn’t good to make. That’s called experience and paying attention to the details.”

The good news for the Capitals is that, for the most part, this has been a terrific season. The Caps are still among the top teams in the Eastern Conference and hold a comfortable lead over the Carolina Hurricanes for the division. But at the same time, there are a few areas that could continue to haunt the Caps through the rest of the season. Much has been made of the goaltending situation and questions have been raised about the sometimes erratic play from Capitals defensemen, but this might be the first time the offense has been called out.

To become a truly elite team, some changes in philosophy need to be made. Don’t take our word for it, listen to Sergei Fedorov. There’s a reason he’s won multiple Stanley Cup championships and has the most goals ever scored by a Russian player, and it’s not because he cut corners or worried about making some highlight reel.