Rough Year Demands Focus Remain Positive
It hasn't been anything near the storybook regular seasons fans have enjoyed over the past few years, but this is certainly far from a wash for these Washington Capitals.
Tormented by intense scrutiny which has clearly caused havoc with team chemistry, the changes the Caps have gone through over the past year have yielded more questions than answers, but with an eye on the remaining 34 games on the 2011-12 calendar, there's little time to dwell on what has been.
Instead, Washington will be best served by directing all their efforts to building on the success they constantly find at the Verizon Center.
Boasting a record of 18-6-1 through 25 games at home this season, the Caps have outscored the opposition 77-60, good enough for the 4th best record on home ice in the NHL.
Par for the course over the past 4 seasons at the Verizon Center, the Capitals still seem to be "themselves" when on home turf, begging the question as to why their road persona has fallen off so drastically?
Beyond all of the extended analysis, the truth behind the Caps difficulties lies in their inability to take that winning attitude with them on the road. With only 8 wins in 23 games outside of those comfy confines of the VC, it's evident that their troubles are not the result of individual performances but of their performance as a whole.
True, there are plenty of individuals ripe for criticism. And I'm not even talking about the injured or underachieving All Stars but of players of which much more was expected.
Namely guys like Brooks Laich, Mike Knuble and Joel Ward.
But there's no point in calling out individuals when we see how large the problem is.
If individual players were at the root of the team's struggles, how can you explain the disconnect between their play at home and on the road?
Truly there's no greater issue than team identity. And while that begets an entirely different set of issues, and for that matter, articles, it is also as simple as discovering how to play with the confidence and conviction they find at home when they're on the road.
Washington has captured, at minimum, 20 wins in each of the last 4 seasons on the road, boasting positive records each year. With only 8 wins thus far, and more games away from the Verizon Center rather than at it, the Caps are going to have their work cut out for them.
Sitting tied with the Panthers for top spot in the Southeast, the Caps are well within their means to regain control over their season and while it may be difficult for them to hit the 20 win mark on the road again (would take 12 wins in their remaining 18 road contests), if Washington can overcome that lack of effort which has plagued them on the road thus far, the regular season and playoffs may not be in jeopardy as many believe.
Like the Caps, the Blues, Blackhawks and Red Wings who sit ahead of them in the standings also boast meager if not losing road records. The only difference is that they have kept their records closer to .500 than the Caps. While only one or two games under .500, the Blues, Hawks and Wings haven't been nearly as Jekyll & Hyde as the Capitals.
Though it is not a wide gap which separates the Caps from these Central division stalwarts, it's large enough to call attention to the fact that with only 58 goals for and 75 goals against in 23 games away from home, Washington seems all but a shred of the team they are at the VC.
Beginning this evening with back-to-back road tilts versus the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, the Caps will have the opportunity to start clawing their way back to respectability away from VC with a couple wins.
Though difficult games against divisional rivals, it's something the Caps will need to get used to as 13 of their remaining 34 games are against the Southeast division, including 7 of those 18 road contests.
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Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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