Caps Have A "Learning" Issue.

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Capitals put playoff disappointments in rearview mirror

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So.. since about 2009, the Capitals have learned nothing about playoff hockey. That's closing in on 7 years of post season experience. In that time span they have won games they shouldn't have, lost games they should have won, and yada, yada, yada. But did they really "learn" anything.

What is really going on here? Are the Capitals a "bad" team (no, I don't think so)? 

I think the core of the problem lies in the Capitals' demeanor. When comments are said to the effect that they have to put this behind them, it's all in the rearview mirror, we need to move on.

That is good I guess, but what are they learning? About a dozen times in February and March on my twitter account I saw the post similar to, "If the Caps play this way, they are not going to do well in the playoffs", or some facsimile of that. The shocker is, a good portion of those games the Capitals won! A frustrating revelation.

Okay, for a guy that has never played NHL hockey, or been associated with a competitive sport at that kind of level, it is easy for me to be discounted and chastised for criticizing this team in this way. But for a guy who has played the sport since I was five, watched practically every Stanley Cup Playoff series since I was 9 (I just aged myself, that's over 30 years of observation), I can see when the Capitals are not pin point when they needed to be. If I can see it, why can't they?

The playoffs are all about exploiting the other team's weaknesses to give yourself a better shot of winning 4 games. When you see the same mistakes happening time after time in games that the Capitals won but should have lost in the regular season, and then see the same mistakes again in the playoffs and the team loses, should we really be surprised at the lack of success?

It's the mental game that has the Caps chasing their own tail. If I had the answer to break that monotony, I would be a rich man. My opinion (which are like assholes, everyone's got one and they all stink) would be to rewire the mental portion for the Capitals. This is a learning moment more that a putting it in the past moment. This is about learning who you are in the next 82 games, shoring up the mistakes, and playing more cohesively as a team. 

How do you do that? Look at every team that has won the Stanley Cup in the last 10 seasons. All of them were not even guaranteed a playoff spot half way through the season. They all had to play to win, not play to "not lose". Mentally forgetting what you have built and play to the underdog card. When the Caps play "not to lose", they are flat, unaggressive, and a pain to watch (because you know they are better than that).

The Capitals also have to find real adversity to overcome before it happens post season. When you play the kind of hockey and have the kind of season the Capitals had over the last two years, you don't see them overcoming a lot of huge obstacles. Winning seemed to come easy night in, night out. Even when two teams in their division went on long winning streaks (and neither won the division!!), the Caps seemed to overcome it with not much fanfare.

The lack of true adversity hampered this team. They took their power play for granted, their star power for granted, and relied on "sticking to the plan" as a means to get them out of tough times. It's an issue they have failed to address even in the last two seasons. When things go wrong, the Caps seem to break down and play flat, or worse, start to have that attitude of "Oh no, here we go again". 

We will see. We have another 82 games of "Did they learn their lesson?" to watch again. Just like the previous 7 years. Joy.

Rusty Caps Eek A Win

Capitals 5, Devils 3
Game Summary - Event Summary

It may have been a bit rocky, but the Capitals managed a win in dramatic fashion as they start their 2015-2016 season against the New Jersey Devils. Braden Holtby stopped 22 shots to earn his first victory of the season. Alex Ovechkin scored yet another highlight reel goal that started a three goal third period that solidified the win for the home team.

The Devils, who lost the night before at home to the Winnipeg Jets, pushed the pace of the game early as they tested the Caps legs early. It proved a good strategy for them as the home team seemed to struggle after a week off from their previous pre-season game. Despite being on their heels, they did manage a shorthanded goal by Jason Chimera who banked it off a defenders stick on a give and go with Justin Williams.

Washington then took a 2-0 lead after a break down by the Devils on the transition. It led to Brooks Orpik scoring his first goal as a Capital. After that, the Devils seemed to wake up. Bad coverage led to Adam Henrique goal after he got a spectacular feed from Jiri Tlusty. Then add a Devil power play goal and New Jersey made it a new game after one period of play.

While things seemed to settle in the second period, it was in the third when the fireworks started for the Capitals. The captain, Ovechkin, took a outlet dump out on the half boards in his own zone from Matt Niskanen. In his classic way, Ovi streaked down the left side, pulled the puck through his own legs and away from Devils defender John Moore. Ovi then bear downed on net on the back hand before last minute going forehand to chip it over Keith Kinkaid who covered the lower net expecting a back hand shot.

The goal sent the phone booth into a tizzy and chant of "O-vi" rang down as the captain celebrated his first of the season and 476th goal of his career. It also ignited the Caps play and they were able to take a strong hold on the game with a power play goal by Marcus Johansson and a Niskanen empty netter.

Niskanen's goal did come from a strange strategy by the Devils to pull goaltender Kinkaid on the PK with three minutes to play in the game. Caps took advantage and scored to make it 5-2. New Jersey didn't give up their strategy and got a last minute goal from Mike Cammalleri.

Caps Notes:

• Ovi 500 goal watch: Scored a goal to reach 476 career goals in the NHL. He has 12 points (6g, 6a) in 11 home openers.
• Ovechkin (1g, 1a), Chimera (1g, 1a), Niskanen (1g, 1a), Williams (2a) and John Carlson (2a) all had a two point night. 
• Chimera's first period short handed goal was a first for the franchise. It was the first time in Caps history for the first goal of the season be a shorty. (per Elias Sports Bureau)

RST: Random Sunday Thoughts

Holtby's Home, Semin Signs

It has been hard for me of late to find time to keep PHT up. Thanks to my lovely bride, we have come up with the solution of hitting all the high points of the week with "Random Sunday Thoughts". Fun for you, I know. The following are just some thoughts of mine on the Capitals week in the news and my opinion (for what it is worth) on those stories. Let's just see if I can keep up with this.

Semin is a Hab

After being bought out of his five year, $35 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, former Cap Alex Semin signed a one year $1.1 million with the Montreal Canadiens. While we all knew Semin would find work somewhere, I was surprised it was still in North America.

With the KHL matching some expanding salaries of players from the NHL, I would have figured Semin would chase the money back in Russia. But that was not the case. He stays in the western hemisphere playing for a pretty good Canadien team who could use some natural goal scoring talent in their line up. He takes a pretty significant pay cut to do so. I just hope he is a less poisonous manner in which the 'Canes saw him with in their locker room.

Back in Net

Braden Holtby signs a 5 year $30.5 million contract to back stop the Capitals. It is the first contract the Capitals have offered over three years since they signed Olaf Kolzig to a five year $31 million. If that doesn't tell you how important Holtby is to this organization, I am sure the heavy work load and stellar numbers both in the regular season and in the post season should.

Barry Trotz called Holtby part of the Capitals' DNA in the post season. Certainly the 25 year old netminder has endeared himself to the Caps' fandom with his spectacular saves and his calm demeanor has boost the confidence of his teammates in front of him. Everyone is pretty excited to have him locked up for another 5 years.

Holtby's cap hit is at $6.1 million, breaking down to $3.5 million the first year then consecutively $7, $7, $5, and $5 million. The Caps could have done better to get that cap hit below 6, but MacLellan wanted to match as close to Holtby's desired numbers which were reported to be near $8 million a year. It remains to be seen now what is left for Marcus Johansson, the last Caps' free agent to be signed.

Other Caps' Notes:

• The NHL changed the start times of 3 Caps games at the Verizon center from the 7 pm start to a 7:30 pm puck drop. The dates and times can be found here, and with the national broadcasts I am sure these are not the last changes for games this season. 
• Caps did make some minor signings with the addition of Zach Sill. One thing the Washington squad is getting under the management of MacLellan is bigger through the ranks. Sill at six foot, 202 lbs, Sill spent time with the Penguins and Maple Leafs acquiring 84 PIMs in 63 NHL games played. 

Great Start, No Finish

Capitals 1, Canadiens 2 SO (2-3)
Game Summary - Event Summary

Well, it started off good. The Washington Capitals could not have scripted a better first period to open their 40th anniversary season. Then the Canadiens had to spoil it. The Caps held the Habs to just two shots in the first period. 19 year old rookie Andre Burakovsky scored his first NHL goal in his first game to put the good guys up through the first intermission.

The Caps took advantage of a lack luster Montreal team who had played last night against the Maple Leafs. They were physical on the puck, forced the defense to turn over pucks, and were out playing/racing/hitting the Habs in almost every battle.

Brooks Orpik made quite the debut in a Caps sweater. He was a wrecking ball all night amassing 6 hits and they weren't little pops in the corner either. At least four of them were "Ah" inspiring, open ice knock downs. Clearly any animosity Caps fans had with him was washed away with every Hab fan that hit the deck.

Burakovsky made the hometown faithful jump to their feet with his first NHL goal. He had a large game drawing an early penalty. He used his speed effectively in the first period and it helped turn over a puck that Troy Brouwer picked up, found Burakovsky in the high slot, and the young centerman slapped one past Dustin Tokarski.

While the first period showed us what is possible, the rest of the game saw that early buzz die as the Caps couldn't seem to keep up with the physical pace. The Canadiens found their second wind and started to push back, forcing the Caps to play in their own end more. After a goal was taken away for goaltending interference, and one take back for not actually going in, the Habs finally found the back of the net half way through the third period as Tomas Plekanec found the back of the net.

Braden Holtby played solid. He would turn aside 24 shots and even come up with a couple of big glove saves in the shoot out. Holtby seemed the calm and aggressive goaltender that we fell in love with a couple of seasons ago. That is a good thing. With a better defensive crew in front of him, he should steal a game or two and nearly did tonight. 

Overtime saw a couple of close chances for the Caps but it would go to a shootout. The Caps could not keep pace with the skilled Habs and eventually Brendan Gallagher would bury the game winning shoot out goal and give the extra points to the visiting squad.

The Capitals, hoping to rekindle the success a season ago, could not get their power play to connect. They would go 0 for 5 with the extra man and it could have been a turning point in the game if they were able to score. The PK would stay perfect, killing off 5 of their own penalties.

There certainly positives to take from this game. Every thing they did in the first period was outstanding. But it needs to translate to goals. The team is still working on getting the system down. The home opener high led to a pretty good crash later as the Caps seemed to miss their scoring opportunities. They have to improve on what they showed in the first period.

To Know One's Enemy

Under the new division format, the league has found a formula to create better rivalries, better competition, and overall a more compelling game to watch come the post season. Simply, if one team wants to reach the post season and go further into the playoffs, they must win against their division. For the Washington Capitals, that means their most important foes of the upcoming campaign will be their division rivals.

The Caps wagered a 12-15-3 record against their own division. That stat needs to improve if they have aspirations of making another postseason run. They would missed out on the playoffs last season by missing the wild card spot by both Detroit and Columbus (both with 93 points, Caps finished with 90). The secret for the Caps this season will to put up better numbers against their divisional foes.

The Metropolitan Division is a tough one to crack. Maybe not as hard nosed as the Pacific Division out west, but to beat teams in the Metro a team has to be both physical and extremely skilled. Let's break down the division by team and go by order of the bottom to top based on last year's standings.

New York Islanders (8th)

'13-'14 Caps vs. Isles: 3-1

Significant additions: Mikhail Grabovski (F), Jaroslav Halak (G), Nikolai Kulemin (F), Johnny Boychuck (D), Nick Leddy (D)

Injuries and a less than stellar defensive squad did the Islanders in last season. But some last minute tinkering and a healthy line up expected, the Islanders seem on the brink of a break out season (although I said the same last year). The Capitals posted a winning record against the Islanders, but two of the three wins where in overtime and via the shoot out. The Isles only win was a 1-0 affair. Tight hockey.

John Tavares is back and healthy after blowing out his knee in last year's Olympics. The Isles also boosted their goaltending by snatching Halak from free agency. They also made a last minute trade to acquire defensemen Boychuk and Leddy to bolster the blue line that lack serious depth in previous seasons. These moves should make the Islanders a much tougher team to compete against. The have some serious speed which they use well to their advantage, especially against the Capitals.

The Caps will have to contend with a team that never seems to fear them. The Islanders seem to bring their "A" game against the Caps every year. The boys in red will have to contain some serious talent in Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and Grabovski. All players that play fast and have a ton of skill. While the Islanders finished last in the Metro last season, I don't expect them to do the same this time around

Carolina Hurricanes (7th)

'13-'14 Caps vs. 'Canes: 2-2-1

Significant additions: Ron Hainsey (D), Tim Gleason (D), J. McClement (F), Bill Peters (Head Coach)

A foe the Capitals know all too well from the Southeast Division days. Carolina plays a pretty rugged fast game, and not much has changed for the most southern team in the division. For the most part, the top three lines of the 'Canes have not changed at all from last season. But they have a new bench boss in Peters who plans on putting some work ethic into his team.

Overall the 'Canes posted a respectable .500 record against the Metro Division including three wins against the Capitals. Carolina never seems daunted by the home crowd at Verizon either as all three of the 'Canes win came amongst the Rockin' Red. If the Caps can keep the big guns in Alex Semin and Eric Staal off the score sheet, they will do well against a long time foe.

Carolina added a little bit of grit on the back end with the addition of Tim Gleason, but they still lack depth if the likes of Jeff Skinner keeps getting injured (took a concussion from a shoulder check in a preseason game against the Caps). Good goaltending and mediocre defense can only get them so far if their offense sputters.

New Jersey Devils (6th)

'13-'14 Caps vs. Devils: 1-2-1

Significant additions: Mike Cammalleri (F), Martin Havlat (F), Scott Clemmensen (G)

The Devils are not a big fan of the Shootout. In fact, New Jersey lost all 13 of their regular season shootouts last season and that kept them from getting a playoff spot. They return with most of their line up intact. But some may need walkers and wheelchairs (I kid).

New Jersey has 6 roster players that were born in the seventies. That is in the nineteen hundreds for you millennials out there. Patrik Elias, Jaromir Jagr, Dainius Zubrus, captain Bryce Salvador, Marek Zidlicky, and back up goaltender Clemmensen are all part of an aging Devil squad that share that distinction (nice to see old guys like me can still play in the NHL being born amongst corduroy an disco). While they are an aging group, they no longer have the anchor in Martin Brodeur in net anymore. They have Cory Schneider. Now that there isn't a question on who the number one goaltender will be this season, the Devils look to be playoff bound this season.

The Capitals played terrible against Adam Oates' old team. Things should change under Barry Trotz as the Caps should play the Devils better at even strength. New Jersey should jump out to a good lead early in the season but look for the those tired old legs to give out as the season comes to the long stretch of January and February. Good thing Prudential center has accessible parking.

Columbus Blue Jackets (4th)

'13-'14 Caps vs. BJs: 2-2

Significant additions: Scott Hartnell (F) S. Hjalmarsson (F)

Coming off the organizations first taste of post season wins (and nearly knocking off the top team Pittsburgh), the Columbus Blue Jackets are brimmed with confidence and a taste for some more. Up and coming young stud Ryan Johansen resigned with the Blue Jackets and looks to again to put up career numbers as a new star center takes the NHL stage for his second season. With the support of Harnell, Bradon Dubinsky and Nathan Horton, the Jackets look poised to do great things with stellar goaltending in Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Caps and BJs split the season series as both won at home, although the Jackets mustered an extra point in an overtime loss at the phone booth. The Caps seem to do okay with Columbus' speed, but when it comes to hard work and some physicality, the Jackets always seem to have the upper hand.

If the Capitals wish to make the post season, I believe that they will have to muscle the points away from their Ohio neighbors. The Caps were three points shy of making the wild card and Columbus took the spot away from them. That should leave a chip on the shoulders of the boys in red when facing this division foe. If it doesn't, then too many people have too short of memories.

Philadelphia Flyers (3rd)

'13-'14 Caps vs. Flyers: 2-2-1

Significant additions: R.J. Umberger (F), Blair Jones (F), Michael Del Zotto (D), Nick Schultz (D)

It was a weird affair between the Capitals and Flyers in last season's tilt. The Caps seemed to dominate early with impressive wins including a 7-0 shellacking of the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center that saw Ray Emery sucker fight Braden Holtby. There is little love between these teams even in the preseason this September as the two raked in the penalty minutes in a game that didn't really matter.

The Flyers seemed to get their season going late however, and the Caps had a hard time beating them in the later stages of the campaign. This year, it looks that the Flyers defense will sorely miss Kimmo Timonen who was treated this summer in Finland with blood clots in his leg and lungs (ouch, get well soon Kimmo). Philly's D won't improve much besides the acquisitions of Del Zotto and Schultz who really only played marginal hockey with their former teams last year. 

The Caps should open up more offensively against weaker defensive teams and it seems the only way the Flyers could compete is if they open up play and try to make it a shell shocker game. If Trotz's system holds the Flyer offense in check, the Caps have the guns to compete.

New York Rangers (2nd)

'13-'14 Caps vs. Rags: 2-2

Significant additions: Tanner Glass (F), Ryan Malone (F), Lee Stempniak (F), Dan Boyle (D), Matt Hunwick (D)

The Rangers said good-bye to some size when Brian Boyle and Benoit Pouliot left for greener pastures. But they replaced one Boyle for another, Dan Boyle who brings significant experience to a pretty good blue line to begin with. The Rags were able to flourish under the direction of Alain Vigneault that saw the team catapult to the Stanley Cup finals just to come up short of the grand prize.

Henrik Lundqvist again will be a tough challenge for the Capitals this season (as he is every season). The match up between these two teams should lead to some low scoring affairs. Many experts have picked the Rangers to top the Eastern Conference challenging Pittsburgh and Boston for the honors.

New York however has not replaced much of it's outgoing youth with youth. Much like the Devils, the top names of the Rangers are entering the twilight of their careers. If the Rangers look to stay strong all season they will miss that size that kept teams honest. Malone and Glass add grit, but neither one add much by way of offense to offset the toughness factor. For the Capitals, they have to pepper Lundqvist with shots and play a puck possession game against the fast and talented Rangers.

Pittsburgh Penguins (1st)

'13-'14 Caps vs. Pens: 0-4

Significant additions: Blake Comeau (F), Steve Downie (F), Christian Ehrhoff (D)

The Capitals did not muster a single point against their long time rivals. The Penguins had their way with them. Sure the games were competitive but the Penguins didn't seem to have a problem with Washington whether it was on the road or not.

The Penguins start the season a bit injury laden. Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin missed practice and some preseason game time due to injury. With a new GM and coach, the pressure is on the Pens once again to make the playoffs and bring another championship back to Pittsburgh. While they will miss the likes of Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen (Caps have them now), they replaced that hole with Christain Ehrhoff. They added Steve Downie for some toughness (or at least a agitator at very least).

Pittsburgh does lose some grit on the back end that Rob Scuderi will have to fill. They won't be a team that will be very stingy on defense with the crew they have, and offense (much like in Philly) will have to overcome failings on the blue line.

The Division Overall

The Capitals have a tough task in front of them. Win their division, play the Winter Classic, make the playoffs. Pretty full schedule on their hands. New head coach Barry Trotz is looking to toughen the team up a bit and will preach a possession game that should help them in this division.

Under the new format of the playoffs in the NHL, the Capitals have to play better against their division if they will to get anywhere. Sadly last year, they were a dismal .400 in division points and it cost them a valuable spot in the post season.

5 Players To Watch At Camp

It will be anticipated, but when the Capitals start their season camp in the next couple of weeks it will remain to be seen if the new brass got it right this off season. With the additions of Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen on the back end and smaller signings here and there, the Caps hope to become a bigger, stronger more physical team in the upcoming campaign. In the Metropolitan Division the Caps will still need to count on their offensive prowess.

This summer's camp will be important for both veterans and rookies alike as the Caps look to win now.  It will be important for these 5 Capitals to make an impression off the bat in this off-season's camp.

Alex Ovechkin - He is the singularly most important Capital that will (and has) define this organization. If this team has any hope to advancing farther than it has will lay on the captain's shoulders. His off-ice personal life saw him end his engagement to Maria Kirilenko it will remain to be seen if that has any effect on the high scoring forward this season. At camp this year, he will have to buy into Barry Trotz's new system and convert his game into a 200 foot game.

"He's a lot more dangerous when he's skating, when he's moving, when he's got a little bit of room to operate," Trotz said to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "I have found him standing still a lot on the film that I'm watching, very easy to cover, and he still got 51 goals."

Ovechkin's leadership will be also paramount. He will have to alter his game and will still have to contribute to scoring on the offensive end.

Braden Holtby - If you ever heard the phrase "You are only as good as your goaltender." before, then you should apply it to Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals. Holtby crashed onto the Caps' scene two years ago with 2.58 GAA and .920 save percentage. Those numbers dropped a bit last season after the coaching staff appeared to alter his playing style.

Known as an aggressive goaltender, Adam Oates and Olaf Kolzig tried to mold Holtby into a more stable goaltender and kept him in check. As a result, Holtby struggled at times through the season just stopping shots from the half boards. He just wasn't playing the style of game that got him the number one job in the first place.

Unsure about his future once regime change happened, Trotz and Brian MacLellen restored their faith upon the goaltender by signing a solid back up in Justin Peters and bringing in goaltending coach Mitch Korn (former coach of the Nashville Predators and players like Tomas Vokoun and Pekka Rinne). Holtby will have to return to form to back up the Capitals to a winning season. It will be interesting to see how Korn and Trotz coach the young goaltender and what adjustments they make to his overall game.

Andre Burakovsky - The rookie is already being put in some big shoes. The Capitals are addressing their lack of depth up the middle by inserting a couple of draft picks. Burakovsky will be battling for the second and third line center positions along with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Jonansson.

Whether Burakovsky can earn a top spot will depend mostly on his efforts at this August's camp. He has an impressive resume to help him thus far, he has amassed 87 points (41 goals, 46 assists) last season in the OHL as well has a strong outing in the 2014 World Junior Championship scoring seven points in seven games.

How will he do with the big boys? Keep your eyes on this kid once camp starts.

Joel Ward - Probably the biggest reason Ward has the contract he has with the Washington Capitals was his performance with the Nashville Predators under then coach Barry Trotz. Now that Trotz is back Ward should become a bigger voice in the locker room for his former coach. At least reason would dictate that.

It seems the line pairing of Ward and Jason Chimera who saw so much success last season isn't going to be broken up anytime soon. It will be interesting to see the progress of Ward under this new coaching regime.

Matt Niskanen - An off-season signing along with Brooks Orpik, Niskanen has to prove his last season's career numbers weren't just a fluke. He, along with John Carlson and Mike Green, will be called upon in this new system to add some offensive punch according to Trotz.

"With the forwards I have in Washington," Trotz was quoted in a NHL.com article. "I hope to keep their offensive production very high and add some more offense from the back end."

The defensemen will be given greater freedom in bring the puck up, join the rush and be apart of the 200 foot game the NHL is quickly becoming. Niskanen had a great year with the Pittsburgh Penguins. His 46 points were impressive for any defensemen and his 36 assists proves the defensemen can make the plays on the back end. His nine points in 13 playoff games is not shabby either.

Sure there will be some other story lines that come out of camp, but this is a good start. One thing is clear, the Caps' new brass is not interested in just surviving a 82 game season and make it to the playoffs to get through a round or two. Their aspirations are to win and bring to Washington a Stanley Cup championship. These five players will have an effect on that outcome and it all starts here.