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Character Will Play a Big Part in Capitals Transition.

October 4, 2014, 12:02 PM ET [0 Comments]
Eric Mellin
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
After a big 3-2 shootout win against Philadelphia on Thursday night, the Caps are now 4-3 in preseason play. While that doesn't mean a whole heluva lot, the Caps are showing signs of a team on the verge of upward transition.

The penalty kill has been one of the strongest systems so far this preseason, and it came through against the Flyers on Thursday as the Caps killed three straight penalties in the third that lead the way for Eric Fehr's game-tying goal with 61 seconds left in the game.

“When you have guys with the commitment level they had on the penalty kill, that energizes the bench," said Trotz after Thursday's game. "If that’s a regular season game that’s a big two points. We’re building character.”

Character. Something that the Caps have been lacking for a while now. Character to get through each game and battle until the final whistle.

The Capitals have been a team that can explode on the scoresheet and scare opposing teams away, and then buckle under pressure and implode at the drop of a hat. Dealing with their frustration levels after blowing a lead or opening up the stat sheet for other team could be the biggest thing Washington has to learn to overcome this season. The idea that this team can go far is in the backs of all their minds, but they will miss the playoffs if they continue to be overconfident and underachieving as they have in the past.

“It was a hard game mentally,” Trotz said of the game Thursday. “After the second period we talked about how we need to let go of the frustration because frustration is a bad energy."

This is a yet another transition year for the Caps, as they cozy up to another new coach and another new system. This is also a do-or-die year for some players, as the Washington Capitals are now Trotz's team - not the players, and not Ovechkin's.

On Thursday night, going into the shootout, Trotz asked Ovechkin what he was going to do:

“I talked to Ovi and said, ‘If you’re going to go in there and deke, you’re not going to go in. Go in there and shoot. Use your asset. He said he would think about it, so I went for someone else."

And they won.

Ovechkin's dismal 2-16 record in last seasons shootouts are just one more thing that Trotz is out to fix. The leagues premiere goal scorer should be be able to help his team with the game in this kind of outlet, and as long as Ovechkin "thinks about it", the longer he'll watch from the bench.

That's a gutsy move for a coach to do in today's NHL - and the Capitals are proof of that. Whether or not Ovechkin was "sporting-a-tude" as he was when Boudreau sat him (you know what I'm talking about) is anyone's guess, but the fact that Trotz did it in a game that didn't matter speaks volumes about the direction this team wants to go.

As of right now, Washington sits in third in the Metro this preseason. Starting next Thursday, they'll be starting from scratch and all the cards will have to be on the table for this team to succeed this season.

Thanks for reading.

More to come...

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