So the Caps are 2-1-1 so far in this young season. I have caught at least parts of all four games and here are a couple of general thoughts.
1. Ovie is awesome and starting off where he left off last season as the league MVP. Despite everyone knowing how good he is and game planning against him, he continues to shine. He just seems to be getting better each year.
2. Semin got off to a hot start last year and was that complement to Ovie last year before getting injured and then he really cooled off. He too is off to a hot start and is tied with Ovie as the league leader in goals scored. Hopefully Semin will continue his hot start and be that complement to Ovie all year.
3. I really like the Ovie, Semin, Backstrom line. That is a very young and potent line that should create opportunities left and right.
4. Defense is a big concern. We have not had much issue scoring goals so far this year but our defense is keeping us down. That has to change. We have veteran defenders so not sure what the issue is but it will definitely need to be addressed.
5. Goalies are still a question mark. Varly has been less than spectacular. I know he is the darling of the Caps for his meteoric rise and play in last season's playoffs but so far he has not been great. I expect that to change. Also, Theo has been erratic as well. He is starting off better than last year and last night against the Rangers he had a couple of tremendous saves but he also let in 1 or 2 suspect goals. It's the inconsistency that is bothersome. Right now I feel like we do not have a true #1 goalie. That is a problem as you look at some of the contenders and those teams having a solid #1 (Lundqvist, Emery, Fleury, etc.).
6. Mike Green where are you? Green has been horrendous in the playoffs the last two years. The scary part is he has been pretty poor so far this year. It looks like we are allowing him more flexibility to make offensive runs as he appears in the offensive zone quite a bit but to me, he just isn't looking that great so far. He is a young star but he needs to loosen up and play his game.
It's a young season and we have a very good team but I almost feel like this team is buying into the hype a little bit and thinks that they are an elite team. Maybe these losses will be good for them to take a step back and realize they need to get back to some basics. I still look forward to them having a great year.
LETS GO CAPS!!!
6 comments:
Green needs to find a stick that works - apparently his magic Easton sticks are no longer being made. That, and he probably needs to get off of the crack he must be on.
Get rid of Theo and hire a Russian shrink for Varly. Varly give us goals in bunches and I heard Boudreau saying that he is concerned about Varly getting down on himself too much.
Frankly, the Caps should bring up Michal Neuvirth from Hershey. Then, use the season to let Varly and Neuvirth get experience so they are ready for the playoffs. Let them fight it out to see who the number 1 guy is. The regular season is meaningless except to get into the playoffs and I have no confidence in Theo leading the Caps to the Cup.
Varly does get down a lot. He was very upset after the Toronto win because he gave up 4 goals and that was all he was focusing on.
Neuvirth was up for a while last year and got good experience leading Hershey to the championship. Still, not sure I like having two such young guys with neither one being the decisive #1 as our goalies.
Theo has been pretty good so far but I too don't feel like he will lead us to the Cup. McPhee is a great GM so we might end up pulling the trigger on a deal during the season.
I think the D will improve in a few weeks, but goaltending has got to be better. Obviously if they can get a very good vet then pull the trigger, but it seems to me they should just take Theo out of the mix.
That said, it is only 4 games into the season so there is no need to rush or panic - but I would like to see change in the next few weeks.
Now I really wish we had held on to Huet. He was tremendous with the Caps and is a #1 goalie. He and Khabibulan created a formidable tandem for the Blackhawks because they are essentially both #1 goalies. They are actually one of the bigger reasons that the Hawks have been able to turn things around.
The other thing is it seemed like the team really gelled around Huet. It's too bad we let him go.
I watched most of the last two losses. It's a little troubling that the issues that were obvious last year still seem to be issues despite the moves we made in the off season. Our forwards are excellent. We obviously don't have problems scoring. The D still needs some work. Other teams are getting too many easy chances and we still don't know what to do with a good fore-checking team. Also as you've mentioned, the goalie play is not up to par. Varly is probably the long term answer, but if he's getting down on himself so much, then he may not be able to deal with the ups and downs of a full season.
Too many soft goals (goaltending) is an issue, but just as much of an issue is that against the good teams there are too many odd man rushes coming back.
I'm not well versed enough in hockey to pinpoint the problem. Some of it may be the forwards not picking up their assignments on D. Some of it may be defensemen (i.e. Mike Green) pinching up too far and getting out of position. Most certainly some of it is poor passes out of the defensive end.
Boudreau needs to whip some arses and get the D straightened out. The season is still young, so I'm not worried yet. If we get 20 games into the season and see the same mistakes then they are going to have to think about making some trades.
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