By Saam Bozorgmehr
Special Contributor to Ball Hogs Radio
If you guys follow my posts you should know that there are two sides of me. One side is the extremely passionate and raging fan that expects the Washington Capitals to score 4-5 goals a game and Ovechkin to put up 2-3 points a night (Like i’m used to seeing), and there’s the other side who understands that other teams adapt to your style. I’m trying to stay positive but it’s extremely tough to talk about the improved play of the defense in last night’s loss when your team is sitting in 9th place.
Frankly, I think I speak for all Caps fans when I say, I’m at a loss for words. I want to be sensible and say that everything’s going to be alright, but with only 27 games left and a 9th place seeding in the east, I’m lead to believe otherwise. I want to think that great regular season success in previous years has lead to playoff disappointment so maybe a lack-luster regular season will lead to greater post season success, but at the same time, the reality is that this team may not even qualify for the post season. I want to think that the alien that kidnapped Alex Ovechkin and swapped him with Marion Gaborik will return him to my team ASAP, but the reality tells me that the rest of the league has caught on to Alex Ovechkin and his patented “coming-down-the-left-side-and-shooting-between-the-defenseman” move. Above all else, I want to think that the front office of this team knows what they’re doing, but in reality, it looks like they don’t. Scratching a guy like Mike Knuble, benching Michael Neuvirth and bringing up Braden Holtby is Dale Hunter’s way of sparking this team?
Sorry Dale, this isn’t the OHL.
It looks like what I “want” and what I’m seeing are two totally different realities. A lot of people have asked me about what I think the biggest problem is with this team as they continue to struggle and limp towards the post season. The answer is easy:
Lack of Confidence and not enough production on the road.
For starters, this is basically the same Caps team we’ve always seen. I’m not talking about Ovechkin and the stats that he put up, but rather the way this team tends to play at times. They still get behind 2-3 goals a game, they don’t play a full 60 minutes and they continue to turn the puck over in crucial moments. The difference between this season and the previous 5 is their inability to come back from behind.
I can recall plenty of instances when this team has faced huge deficits and somehow never quit. We all remember that regular season game against Pittsburgh in Feb of 2010 during the blizzard when the team trailed 4-1 entering the 3rd and came back to win at Verizon. There was Chimera’s goal last year in game 4 of the playoffs against the Rangers when the team fell behind 3-0 to come back and win in OT. Not to mention a regular season game against the very same Rangers team in 2009 when they were down 4-0 and came back to win. The team’s recent history is full of instances like this and as a result, they were given the nick names, “The Cardiac Caps”, and “The Comeback Caps”.
As fans, we came to expect this team to mount comebacks and play with the urgency and simply put, we haven’t seen that this year, especially on the road. The Washington Capitals went from being one of the best road teams in the NHL to potentially being the playoff team in the east with the worst road record amongst the top 8 IF they were to make the post season. The last 4 seasons the Caps averaged 22 road wins and this season they are on pace for 14 which would be their worst season total since the 06-07 season when they finished with 11.
YIKES! Ironically, that was the last time the team missed the playoffs.
The lack of confidence on this team is also extremely evident and has become much more noticeable throughout the woes and struggles of this season. The Caps went from leading the league the last few years in come from behind wins to being towards the bottom of the league in that department. They went from being an offensive juggernaut and leading the league in goals per game, to being 13th in that department. This team went from being a squad that was always in the top of the league in shots on goal, to being an abysmal 25th in the league.
Those were the good ole’ days.
History and the rest of the young talent in the league has caught up and have exposed the weaknesses of this season’s Caps squad. Not only do the Caps fail to mount comebacks and play with any sense of urgency, but it seems like they don’t even realize that they’re in 9th place and fighting for a playoff spot. It’s almost like they expect the other teams ahead of them to stop playing hockey and let them catch up. Washington is in unchartered territory and they don’t know how to respond. There are 27 games left in the season and this team is sitting 4 points behind the Florida Panthers for the top spot in their division!!! Let me repeat what I just said, THE FLORIDA PANTHERS ARE ON THE VERGE OF WINNING THEIR FIRST SOUTHEAST DIVISION TITLE IN FRANCHISE HISTORY. Since the 97-98 season every other team in the division has won it except the Panthers. I mean for goodness sake, the Thrashers even won a division title.
It’s easy for me to sit here and say the reason for the team’s struggles is the absence of Mike Green and Nick Backstrom, but even when they were in the line up, the team was underachieving. It’s easy for me to sit here and blame Alex Ovechkin but the more I watch him, the more I think he’s actually the only one not named Jason Chimera that actually cares to win. It’s also extremely easy for me to sit here and blame Dale Hunter for not motivating his guys, but the real problems start up top. The team, coaches, and front office all take on the personality of the guy who puts them in that position and that’s general manager George Mcphee.
I don’t know what’s going to happen and by no means is the post season or even a Stanley Cup out of the question for this team, but George, you’re on the clock. With the trade deadline quickly approaching and the Capitals on the outside looking in, I fully expect Mcphee to do everything he has to do to not only get this team in the post season, but to save his own job.
Go Caps! Please make the playoffs.
