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I'll just tell it like it is.
The Washington Capitals are a bona fide dumpster fire right now. Seriously.
The Caps cannot score goals and they cannot keep pucks out of their own net.
Michal Neuvirth blew three leads in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night and lost the game in the final minute of regulation. On Friday night, rookie Phillip Grubauer was torched for three quick goals in Columbus to which Adam Oates yanked the kid and put in the ice cold and dusty Braden Holtby who gave up two goals of his own. The Blue Jackets won it in convincing fashion 5-1. Holtby has started just three games in the past month and each time yielded 5 goals against. Friday night's 2 spot was a moral victory for the downtrodden former #1 tender.
Thanks, Capitals TV
Quick. Name me Washington's starting goalie. Quickly...
Time's up.
The correct answer is that when you have three goalies, you have no goalies.
No wonder GM George McPhee was scouting Ryan Miller live and in person in Toronto on Wednesday night. GM GM better make a bold move to shake up his listless, disengaged squad otherwise, he'll be on the unemployment line with Darcy Regier. McPhee owes it to his fans, his owner, his head coach and his club to once and for all stabilize his team's goaltending, which has been the Achilles Heel of the Caps for the past two months.
The arteries of the Eastern Conference standings have thickened and hardened with seven so-so teams trudging along through mediocre seasons.
Eastern standings as of Saturday morning:
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6. NY Rangers 53 points 7. Toronto 53 points 8. Washington 52 points 9. Ottawa 51 points 10. New Jersey 51 points 11. Columbus points 12. Detroit 50 points
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Not quite Murderer's Row, is it?
The Caps are not guaranteed a playoff berth this season. If they do qualify for the postseason, they will have to earn it.
Adam Oates is safe in his coaching role. McPhee? Not so much. Its time to make a trade to shake up the Caps' core which is the ultimate NHL tease.
Who are the Washington Capitals? What defines them as a hockey club? No-shows by key contributors on a nightly basis. Soft D-zone play. Relying too much on Ovechkin to put on his Superman cape and save the day.
Veteran leader Brooks Laich said after the 5-1 defeat to the Blue Jax that his team has to stick to its identity. Isn't that what the Caps are doing right now?
Thanks, Caps TV
Look at this garbage goaltending.
This is a playoff team?
Caps head coach Adam Oates said that his team was not mentally ready to play in Columbus on Friday night. How can that be? His team choked up three leads to a superior Penguins team in its previous game. How can it be that a team clinging to its playoff life could be so nonchalant against a vastly underrated Blue Jax club? How?
Holtby has zero confidence left in himself. Neuvirth wants to be traded, and Grubauer appears to have hit the proverbial wall that all NHL rookies slam headlong into in the early stages of their careers. The Caps are a paper tiger. They will never be taken seriously in the playoffs until and unless they upgrade their goaltending position.
I bet that the Caps will have a scout in Buffalo on Saturday when the Sabres host the Blue Jax. Maybe McPhee will be there in person himself.
Don't be surprised if/when McPhee makes a trade to shakeup the lethargy and complacency. Perhaps stabilizing his goalie position will fix his team's problems.
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You can't buy an NHL 30-goal scorer at Canadian Tire or at Pure Hockey.
They are as rare in today as a four leaf clover.
There's an elite group of finishers who will score 30 goals this season among them are Ovechkin, Crosby, Perry, Sharp, Kunitz, Steen, Kane, Getzlaf, Tavares, Kessel, Pavelski, and St. Louis. Buffalo's Matt Moulson is a perennial 30 goal scorer and he has earned his way into the discussion of elite NHL snipers He has 15 goals at the midway point this season and if he stays healthy, he'll achieve the 30 goal plateau once again.
Moulson's been money for the offensively-malnourished Buffalo Sabres.
The UFA-to-be is a hot commodity around he NHL right now. He's being scouted by a dozen or so NHL teams and the time will come in the near future that Moulson will have to make up his mind as to whether he will stay and sign a long term contract extension in Buffalo rather than opting to hit the open market. Should he hit the UFA market, expect a biding war for his services. I've asked Moulson about his time in Buffalo. He likes it here. He loves the proximity to his family in nearby Toronto. He vibes well with his linies Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons. He loves playing for Ted Nolan. He's become a veteran leader in the room and he stands in the pocket and speaks after the losses as well as the few and far between wins. He's a thoughtful guy with a great attitude which makes it easy to understand why teams like Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Nashville, Detroit, Phoenix, and others are curious about where his head is at right now. Moulson can stay in Buffalo and sign a long term deal in the $5.5-$6 million per year AAV range. Tim Murray will have to spend $25 million to get to the cap upwards of $40 million to scrape the cap ceiling. Money will not be an object for the Sabres with regard to Moulson. The Sabres want him to stay to play a huge role in the re-build, however, if a team(s) calls the Sabres trade him for a first rounder and a top six forward, a second round and a prospect. Moulson will be on his way to greener pastures. Jason Pominville fetched four quality pieces. Moulson will too.
Lets be clear, if he leaves Buffalo, Moulson is headed to a contending team, likely in the West. He's not going to sign with a losing team. He's on a losing team and tasted playoff hockey on Long Island only once. Moulson's a 30 year old man not a 23 year old kid. He has a wife, a four month old baby, and a three year old to look out for. His next 5-6 year contract may be the last one that he will sign. He has to select the best situation that will allow him to achieve his personal and family goal. He wants to win a Stanley Cup. The Sabres won't be winning the Cup in the next year or two. They are more focused earning the first overall pick in the June entry draft so that the can draft Bennett, Reinhart or Ekblad first overall this season.
The Sabres traded Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek who right now account for 36 goals combined. The Sabres have scored only 70 goals this season. They'll need a natural born scorer in future years when they are not sitting in 30th place overall in the NHL standings. Moulson may or may not be a long term solution for the Sabres. He's a pending UFA and he's going to have options. He's a client of Newport Sports, the agency of the NHL stars. He's going to get paid by Buffalo or whichever team he ends up playing for.
My gut keeps telling me that Moulson will be traded. Tim Murray's phone has likely been vibrating and beeping with messages from NHL GMs looking to add scoring of their playoff runs. Moulson is in hot demand right now. Murray can acquire three or four premium building blocks in exchange for Moulson. The offers will be tempting to be certain. For weeks, my front runner in the Moulson sweepstakes has been Los Angeles. Who are have a tough time scoring more than two goals per game. They need Moulson for their playoff run when scoring chances diminish in the blink of an eye due to the lack of time and space on the ice.
Sportsnet's Hockey Central panel debated the Moulson situation on Friday night.
Thanks, Sportsnet