Not to take anything away from Jonas Enroth in Saturdays 2-1 loss to his Buffalo Sabres, but Enroth didn't really have to do too much.
He stopped 43 of 44 Capitals shots on net, some of which were fantastic saves, but the majority of which were very routine.
The Caps had 76 shot attempts on the Sabres. 21 shots were blocked. 11 shots were wide. Most of the shots that were fired on Enroth came from outside, with the rebounds pushed into the corner, covered up or controlled by Buffalo.
While that is a testament to the Sabres ability to keep the Caps out of the slot and protect their goaltender, it also shows how little urgency Washington showed in getting to the net and creating better chances to score.
Alex Ovechkin, who lead the way with 8 shots, also had 9 other shot attempts that were either blocked or were shot wide. However, of all his shot attempts at Enroth, the best chance he had was when he rung the post.
While Washington controlled most of the game, they didn't do it very well. Their puck possession was sloppy and amateurish, and they seemed, as we have seen most of the season, to be trying too hard to be pretty.
The Buffalo Sabres are the worst team in the league, and the Caps looked like a high school team about to prey on a lowly JV squad.
The Sabres came into the game, however, outscoring their opponents 12-4 in their last 3 games, and the Caps did not respect the fact that Buffalo is a team that can steal games with their surprising tenacity.
Washington is a much better team than what we've been seeing. 20 games in with a 9-8-3 record (10th in the East, tied for 4th in the Metro with New Jersey), they just aren't getting it done consistently with the players that they have.
Is it time for a change? Well it certainly isn't the coach's problem.
Trotz is a great coach, and his style is much different than what the Caps have been used to. However, I'm not sure about Trotz's use of certain players and the chemistry he's trying to create. The players look confused at times, and having someone like Jay Beagle playing with Ovechkin and Backstrom while Kuznetsov festers on the 4th line may not work for this team.
The use of Wilson on the top line hasn't been much of a success either, although watching Wilson get under the skin of opponents is fun, he may fair better on the second or third line.
The d-pairing of Carlson and Orpik might be the most frustrating thing to watch. Carlson makes too many mistakes, including the two goals the Sabres scored. Orpik is sometimes too physical, and gets outplayed on the puck.
This was supposed to be a transition year for the Caps, and if they make the playoffs then this year is a success. New management and another new coaching staff have to fix the mistakes made by the George McPhee-era and bring this team to another level.
The question is, can McPhee's protege, GM Brian MacLellan, make the right moves based on what he's seen so far.
There will be changes, and they will reflect what Trotz feels he's missing and who he thinks will gel with the team, but we'll have to wait a few more months for that.
At the start of the month I told you it wasn't time to panic yet, and I stand by that.
It's still early enough for the Caps to figure it out, but they have to want to win. The team that we're seeing now looks lost again. They are, again, without an identity, and it's going to take some time to figure that out under Trotz.
More to come...
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