The Best Offense is a Great Defense
The Caps have had a rough go over their last 4 games. Despite still collecting 2 points in two overtime losses, the Capitals are currently mired in a 4 game losing streak, a trend that has become rare during Bruce Boudreau’s time behind Washington’s bench.
Although it is not time to panic, the Capitals are certainly in need of getting back in the win column. They have not played terrible hockey during their recent losing stretch, but have somehow wound up on the losing end of 3 extremely close and competitive 1 goal games against the Flyers, Red Wings and Devils.
A key element that has cost the Capitals during their recent losing stretch has been their inability to play with the lead. Having given up the lead against the Wings, Devils and Rangers, the Caps need to settle down their play once they have the upper hand.
Overdoing it has cost the team and has brought to light an issue that has been pressing this team’s psyche since their 2nd round ousting from the playoffs last Spring.
Defense.
The Caps defense receives constant criticism that they are too weak as a unit. This criticism is slowly proving to be true as the middle portion of Washington’s defensive corps seems to be lacking as of late.
Outside of an elite puck-moving defenseman like Mike Green, the Caps need more support on D. With capable veteran players like Tom Poti and Brian Pothier settled as the lead D-men on the 2nd and 3rd pairings, the Capitals have 3 strong capable leaders, but outside of the All-Star, Green, and the two veterans, the remainder of Washington’s blue line remains rather unproven, if not suspect at times.
Although Shaone Morrisonn, Milan Jurcina and John Erskine are all viable options for a teams defense, they do not offer much more than solid support as a 5th, 6th or 7th defender.
The Capitals are a strong team that will definitely have a strong season, yet for the team to hope to excel beyond the 2nd round of the playoffs, they are going to need to solidify their core.
The simplest solution to the Capitals woes on defense are readily available in Hershey in the form of 1st round picks, Karl Alzner and John Carlson. Alzner, a capable shutdown defender with a year of AHL/NHL experience under his belt, and Carlson, an offensive phenom who is in his first year of pro action, would both add elements to Washington’s defense that are not currently there. Of course, in order for the team to make room for either of the blue-chippers they would have to make a trade involving at least one or more of their defenders. Time will tell, but with a need to improve the group entrusted with protecting Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov, George McPhee is going to have to get very creative.
Caps Vs Sharks
Could this be a preview of a possible Stanley Cup Final matchup?
With the top 4 scorers in the NHL facing off tonight at the Verizon Center, there are a lot of people surmising that this matchup could be the one we see in June. While I find it hard to disagree with the idea that the Sharks and Caps could very well end up fighting it out for the Cup in the summer of 2010, I still think it is too early to start getting into predicting who will be taking home the Cup.
With 76 games to go for the Capitals, let’s not get too carried away.
If anything, tonight’s game will be the biggest challenge that either teams netminder has faced as of yet.
Evgeni Nabokov is faced with the task of shutting down the Eastern Conference’s most dynamic scorers in Alex Ovechkin(1st overall), Nicklas Backstrom(t-2nd) and Alex Semin(T-3rd).
Jose Theodore, on the other hand, is in an extremely similar situation as he will have to shutdown the Sharks leading scorers in Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton, both of whom are tied for 2nd in scoring with 10 points each.
Considering that both goalies are currently play very strong hockey, Theo coming off a very close 3-2 shootout loss in which he made numerous key saves, and Nabokov, who was on the losing end of a shutout-shooutout loss, 1-0, to the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday, it should be interesting to debate which goalie will crack first under the pressure of facing the two most dangerous offensive teams in the league.
Of course there is much more to both clubs as they both boast excellent secondary scoring. The Caps have been graced with a hot start from unsung hero Brooks Laich as well as consistent contributions from newcomers Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison.
In almost a mirror like fashion, the Sharks have an extremely dangerous secondary corps of scorers as well. Despite being stripped of the “C” during this past summer, Patrick Marleau remains the best “2nd” line center in all of the NHL. Playing alongside power forward Ryan Clowe and rookie Jamie McGinn, the Sharks 2nd line will definitely keep the Caps D-men on their toes.
Measuring up on defense, the Sharks certainly seem to boast the advantage as they have current prospects as well as veterans leading the way.
Dan Boyle and Mike Green are very similar in style, yet Mike may have more of a physical side whereas Dan possesses better defensive zone prowess. Either way, they are both the most dangerous weapons on defense for both of their respective teams, yet the Sharks seem to have a better support system.
Following Boyle on the depth chart, the Sharks have future Hall of Famer Rob Blake leading the team as Captain as well as Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Rounding out their defense, San Jose has shutdown D-men like Murray and Huskins, not to mention that the Sharks are giving their outstanding rookie, Jason Demers, a full-time role.
The Caps, on the other hand, do not seem to possess the same kind of depth, although that is not what Bruce Boudreau or George McPhee would lead you to believe. Both the coach and GM of the Caps have a lot of faith in their defensive corps and, despite questions from myself and many others as to the quality of Washington’s blue line, management will continue to rely on who they’ve got.
That said, this will be an epic game involving many storylines.
- Thornton-Heatley VS Ovechkin-Backstrom(although it appears that OV and Backs have been split up…don’t expect that to last long)
- Mike Green VS Dan Boyle(Team Canada hopefuls likely fighting each other for a spot in Vancouver)
- Jose Theodore VS Evgeni Nabokov(both are playing strong hockey at the moment, but one has to wonder what a Varlamov VS Nabokov matchup would be like…considering how Varly is hoping to upset Nabby for the starting role for Team Russia at the Olympics)
There is no question that tonight’s game will be all about scoring, considering how both clubs have scored over 20 goals in their first 6 games, but given that everyone will be expecting a lot of scoring, it should be worth noting that both clubs are likely going to try and play their best defensive game yet.
The Capitals, who have not won a game since their first two games, are in desperate need of two points.
The Sharks, who suffered a humiliating shutout loss at home at the hands of the Phoenix Coyotes, will seek to avenge their recent defeat.
It is interesting to note that the all 3 of the Sharks losses came at the expense of the LA Kings, the Avalanche and the Coyotes. Apparently the Sharks are having trouble with the middle class of the league, so it should be interesting to see how they play versus a top contender like the Capitals.
Washington, who has only lost to playoff teams thus far, is in no mood to let another home game slip away so expect them to come out flying versus these potential Cup rivals.
Game Notes
Defending at home – The Capitals have only given up one power-play goal in 13 shorthanded situations at home, ranking them second in the NHL with a 92.3% success rate at home. The penalty kill was an area the Caps wanted to improve in from last season when they ranked 17th in the league (80.6%). Overall this season the Caps rank 13th in the league at 81.2% (26-for-32) on the penalty kill.
Solving Nabokov – The Capitals have not beaten the San Jose Sharks since Feb. 20, 1999, and they have never beaten the Sharks while Evgeni Nabokov is the opposing goaltender. Nabokov is a perfect 8-0-0 against Washington in eight career starts and has a 1.98 goals-against average against the Caps. This season Nabokov is 3-1-1 with a 2.68 GAA and a .901 save percentage.
Summit meeting –Thursday night's game, San Jose's first visit to Washington since Feb. 21, 2007, features two of the top four teams from last year's regular season. It also features four of the top five scorers in the league (Alex Ovechkin has 12 points, Nicklas Backstrom, Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton have 10 each) and four of the top eight goal scorers (Heatley, Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Patrick Marleau have five goals each).
Streaking Sharks –San Jose has won 11 in a row against Washington, dating to a 3-1 Caps win at Verizon Center Feb. 20, 1999. Sergei Gonchar had a pair of power-play goals in that game. It's Washington's longest current losing streak against any team in the league and its second-longest losing streak against a team all-time (the Caps lost their first 23 games against Montreal, 10/31/74-3/25/78).
Starting strong– Goaltender Jose Theodore has a .930 save percentage in his four starts this season (107 saves, 8 GA). His .908 save percentage on the season ranks seventh in the league among goalies who have made at least four starts (through Tuesday's games).
Doubled over– Alex Ovechkin has averaged two points per game through the first six games of the season, moving from 11th to eighth place among Capitals' all-time scorers (passing Dennis Maruk last game). He has three times as many points as he did through six games last season and five more points than he has ever had through six games.
Tough road –Tonight is Washington's seventh game of the season, and six of those opponents were playoff teams a year ago. The Capitals' first seven opponents averaged 104 points in the standings last season.
Top of the heap –Alex Ovechkin (432 points) and Joe Thornton (431 points) have the most points in the NHL since the 2004-05 work stoppage by a large margin (Sidney Crosby, 402, is next). Ovechkin leads in goals in that time (224, 30 more than Ilya Kovalchuk), while Thornton leads in assists (325, 53 more than Marc Savard).
Lineups
Washington Capitals
Ovechkin-Morrison-Knuble
Laich-Backstrom-Semin
Fehr-Steckel-Clark
Laing-Gordon/Aucoin-Bradley
*Aucoin will likely play if Gordo is not ready.
*Nylander will be a healthy scratch(again) and Fleischmann is still on IR
Green-Morrisonn
Poti-Jurcina
Pothier-Schultz/Sloan
*Erskine has been placed on the IR, which means that either Schultz or Sloan will skate as the 6th defenseman.
Theodore
Varlamov
*Theodore will likely get the start as he has been playing very strong hockey as of late.
San Jose Sharks
Heatley-Thornton-Setoguchi
Clowe-Marleau-McGinn
Ferriero-Nichol-Ortmeyer
Shelley-Malhotra-Zalewski
*Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell are on the IR
Boyle-Murray
Blake-Vlasic
Huskins-Demers
Nabokov
Greiss
*Nabokov is likely to get the start following his shutout performance versus Phoenix, even though the Sharks ended up losing in a Shootout.
Puck drop is @ 7pm. Enjoy the game!
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Go Caps!!!!!
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