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(photo by John Woods)

Well, at least the Washington Capitals like to keep things interesting.

Most reasonable hockey fans knew this would be a season of transition as the Capitals essentially had to learn first-time coach Adam Oates’ system on the fly. Considering they didn’t have the benefit of a standard offseason thanks to the lockout, it wasn’t a stretch to envision these players needing some time and in-game experience to learn how to embrace offense once again after the Dale Hunter era.

Some nights, the players on the Capitals roster look as though they’re playing together for the first time. Other nights, they seem as if they’ve been playing in this system for years as they make smart decisions with the puck and play positionally-sound hockey.

In short, they absolutely look like a team going through the necessary growing pains as they work towards some much-needed stability after turning to their third coach in less than three seasons.

That is why it’s absolutely pointless to dwell too much on the outcome of one single game — good or bad. Sure, it’s tempting to overreact after one outing (like, say, a lackluster showing against the Philadelphia Flyers), but anyone watching this season with an eye towards the bigger picture understands that games like that are necessary during the evolution process.

Whether you’re talking about an 82-game season or an abbreviated 48-game slate, it’s safe to say all teams* are going to have nights when they’re both mentally and physically outmatched.

*Except the Chicago Blackhawks. They may never lose again.

The most important trait a team — regardless of sport — can have is how it responds to adversity. Okay, you got beat up and had your lunch money stolen by the Broad Street Bullies. Are you going to shut down and feel sorry about yourself or are you going to use that game as motivation to ensure it doesn’t happen again?

While these players still struggle with consistency period to period and game to game, Caps fans should still feel encouraged that the team is still putting up a fight even though the first half of the 2013 season has been far from ideal.

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(photo by Tom Mihalek)

Some nights you’ve got it and some nights you don’t.

Well, it took all of 23 seconds Wednesday night to see that the Washington Capitals didn’t have it against the Philadelphia Flyers, who cruised to an emphatic 4-1 victory at Wells Fargo Center.

During the course of an 82-game season, games like this are bound to happen. Sometimes the energy level isn’t there thanks to back-to-back games. Or maybe the players find themselves emotionally drained after getting up for a meaningful game against a former teammate.

Whatever the case, it’s not uncommon for a team to fall flat from time to time during the course of the regular season. That being said, games like that are much tougher to write off when you’re only playing a 48-game schedule and when you’re attempting to shed the title of worst record in the entire league.

“When you give up the first goal on the first shift, that’s disappointing,” said forward Joel Ward. “I don’t know. You just have to have the will to get in there and make things happen, and it’s just a disappointing start that we got off to.”

Unfortunately for the Capitals, once they dug themselves into such a gaping hole, each and every game remaining on the books takes on a heightened importance.

“We didn’t play good at all,” said Caps defenseman Karl Alzner. “Just got outworked. It definitely seemed like we played the night before, mentally and physically just weren’t going. It looked like at least mentally, in my opinion, we weren’t executing on the plays that we have been in the past few games and that wasn’t a good effort by us.”

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(photo by Clyde Caplan)

One of the reasons the Washington Capitals hold such a special place in my heart is because, growing up, it was a family tradition to spend my birthday at the rink watching the Caps in action.

Even now, all these years later, I still can’t help but scan the schedule when it’s released to see which home game is closest to my birthday.

Some seasons it’s an otherwise mundane Wednesday night game against a doormat like the New York Islanders. Other years, it’s a highly-anticipated contest involving a former player’s return to D.C.

Obviously, the return of forward Alexander Semin, who scored 197 goals during his seven seasons in Washington, made Tuesday night’s affair must-see TV for any and all Caps fans.

Whether you loved him for his lethal wrist shot or you hated him for his penchant for taking mind-numbing penalties in the offensive zone at the worst-possible time, it’s clear — possibly for the first-time ever — people cared about the Carolina Hurricanes coming to town.

So naturally, because the hockey gods have a wicked sense of humor, the most polarizing player on the ice found himself with a one-on-one breakaway in the early stages of the game.

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(photo by Clyde Caplan)

The Washington Capitals snapped a five-game losing streak to the New Jersey Devils in impressive fashion — cruising to a 5-1 victory at the Verizon Center Saturday.

The win was vital for several reasons — first and foremost, it marked the first time this season the Caps actually defeated a team in one of the top eight seeds in the Eastern Conference (they were 0-7-1). After all, it kind of goes without saying you can’t really make up any ground if you can’t actually beat any of the teams ahead of you in the standings.

It was also nice to see Washington put together a solid outing against the Devils because that’s where first-time coach Adam Oates came from and the Devils represent the blueprint Oates believes will help get the Capitals back on track. Beating the team you’re quietly trying to emulate can obviously do wonders for a team trying to establish a new brand of hockey.

But most importantly, this game was easily the best performance of captain Alex Ovechkin, who recorded the 11th hat trick of his career (and his first since Jan. 22, 2011, against Toronto). The Great 8 added assist for good measure, which equaled the most points by Ovechkin since Feb. 4, 2011 (and was the 14th time in his career that he has tallied four or more points in a game).

It took 17 games, but Ovechkin finally registered more than one goal in a game this season. And anyone who watched the first game against New Jersey two days earlier knew it was only a matter of time before Ovechkin found the back of the net.

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(photo by Patrick McDermott)

Whether fans want to admit it or not, realistically speaking, the competitive portion of the Washington Capitals’ season is over.

Sure, this year’s squad still has plenty of games left on the schedule, but their horrid start (winning just twice in the first 11 games) has all but ensured the Caps will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.

While their level of play is significantly better than it was during the first quarter of the season, the Capitals are still struggling to put together a full 60-minute effort on a consistent basis.

They can look great for one or two periods of play, but at some point during a game they begin to face adversity and these players still seem incapable of working through whatever obstacles come their way when the going gets tough.

Heading into the final frame Thursday night, Washington held a 2-1 lead over the New Jersey Devils at the Verizon Center. During an eight-minute span in the third period though, the Caps completely came unglued and as they were whistled for five penalties.

The Devils scored twice and that’s all she wrote. What’s worse is the deciding goal came on a 5-on-3 powerplay for New Jersey — with defensemen John Erskine and Tom Poti both sitting in the penalty box.

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(photo by Eliot J. Schechter)

Don’t look now, but the Washington Capitals have doubled their win total thanks to back-to-back victories over the Florida Panthers. Whether or not that’s a product of the Caps finally starting to resemble a unit that has actually played hockey before or if they’re simply benefiting from playing a mediocre Panthers squad in consecutive outings is up for debate.

Rather than kick a team in one of the rare moments when it’s not down though, I’d prefer to simply share 10 random thoughts after Washington’s 6-5 come-from-behind overtime victory.

• Without a doubt, center Mike Ribeiro has been the team’s best player in 2013. Even though the Caps have struggled to score goals consistently this season, Ribeiro has been the most reliable weapon on offense. Not only that, but the 33-year-old has saved his best work for Washington’s powerplay (four goals and six assists). Best of all, after starting the season with just one goal in his first eight games, Ribeiro has found his scoring touch as well — collecting goals in four of the last five games.
• It should be noted that Ribeiro is in the final season of a five-year, $25-million contract. If I could offer one piece of advice to general manager George McPhee, it would be the pay the 12-year veteran now, because chances are, he’s only going to get more expensive the longer the season goes.Read more →

(photo by Clyde Caplan)

Sure, it took one quarter of the 2013 season, but the Washington Capitals finally put together a 60-minute effort to be proud of — cruising to a much-needed 5-0 victory over the Florida Panthers over the weekend.

Overlooking, for a moment, that the last-place Capitals needed 12 games to put together one respectable performance, this game could easily be the confidence-building effort this franchise has desperately needed.

For starters, the Caps scored a season-high five goals and recorded their first shutout of the season. Just as importantly though, four different players scored goals for Washington and 10 players picked up at least one point against Florida.

Forward Troy Brouwer scored twice and goalie Braden Holtby stopped all 27 shots he faced as the Capitals improved to 3-8-1.

“I thought tonight that we had a really good rhythm for the whole game,” said coach Adam Oates. “We’ve had it at times, but tonight I felt comfortable just rolling [all four lines].”

After the game, the mood in the Capitals’ locker room was much lighter than it’s been for much of the season. It’s amazing what one respectable outing can do for for a franchise.

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