There was an all-too familiar
feeling in DC Monday night; that awful, sinking feeling fans have come to
expect every year. The Caps were headed home after another early-postseason
exit.
The script always seems
different, but the ending remains the same for the Caps. With a new coach, the
odds were stacked against them coming out of the lockout. The team struggled
immensely to start the season as they struggled to grasp the new system put in
by Adam Oates, their third coach in two seasons.
Just when it looked like the
Caps had dug themselves a hole too deep to dig out of, the team turned things
around and grew white-hot. Alex Ovechkin became a superstar once again, Braden
Holtby turned back into the star goalie from last year’s playoffs, and the team
rallied to win its fifth Southeast division title in six years.
There was hope that the Caps
would be able to stay hot in the playoffs as they faced the New York Rangers
yet again, but after jumping out to a two game lead, the Caps were unable to
close out the series and lost an embarrassing 5-0 contest in Game 7 in DC.
Yet again we are left to
wonder what went wrong; yet again we ask what is this team missing?
Much has been made about the
refereeing, especially after Ovechkin spoke out against the refs during his
exit interview. The Rangers had 28 power-play opportunities in the series while
the Caps had only 16. The Rangers were the least penalized team in the NHL in
the regular season, so perhaps it is no surprise that there would be a
discrepancy in power-plays, but the numbers hide just how important the
penalties were and how bad some of the calls seemed to be. Too many penalties
derailed the Caps’ offense. Frustration over the lack of calls against New York
boiled over and led to more penalties as the Caps lashed out against their
opponents.
The reffing was undeniably
one-sided, but not for any sinister reason. My theory is that the refs were fed
up with players like Jason Chimera and Mike Ribeiro who have made a habit of
voicing their displeasure to the refs. As a result, whether consciously or
subconsciously, the refs made the Caps pay.
Still, the Caps did this to
themselves. The Rangers agitated the Caps, and they responded by committing stupid
penalties. You cannot blame the refs for the numerous delay of game penalties
or the Caps retaliatory penalties. Teams are going to agitate the Caps as long
as it works. They needed to keep cooler heads on the ice and they were unable
to do so.
The contributions of Henrik
Lundqvist also cannot be over-stated. He is one of the best goalies in the
league and he looked like it. The Caps managed only 12 goals in seven games
against the Rangers and were shutout in the last two. Ovechkin was the league’s
leading scorer but scored only one goal in seven games.
As good as Lundqvist was, the
Rangers exposed a major weakness for the Caps; scoring depth.
Alexander Semin may have been
a scapegoat over the past few years, but his departure left a gaping scoring hole
on the second line. To try and fix this problem, General Manager George McPhee
attempted to address this problem by trading for Martin Erat, but it was not
enough.
Ultimately, the Caps are a
skilled team without enough skill and with little offensive grit. No one wanted
screened Lundqvist and the Caps managed few ‘dirty’ goals. There was not enough
traffic in front of Lundqvist and not enough offensive creativity. The Rangers
forced the puck back to the point and the Caps struggled to distribute, as
demonstrated by the team’s shot totals. Ovechkin led the team in shots, but the
next three highest shot totals came from defensemen. If Ovechkin is struggling
to beat Lundqvist, you can beat Karl Alzner will as well.
Depth was also an issue on
defense, where the John Erskine and Jack Hillen were exposed as major
weaknesses at the blue line.
I have constantly spoken out
against Erskine in the past, but this year he really turned me around. This
season may have been his best as a professional. Hillen also played incredibly
well, but the Ragners were not impressed.
Both Hillen and especially
Erskine were victimized by the Rangers. This is an area the Caps must address
this offseason. This was Erskine’s best season and he was still a step behind
come the playoffs. He simply is not a player you can depend on when it matters
most.
Without question, the biggest
problem for the Caps is in their heads. There are weaknesses in their lineup,
the refereeing could have been better, Lundqvist was hot, but all of these
obstacles could have been overcome. The Caps just flat out did not play well
enough to win this series.
Secondary scoring became a
glaring weakness because their stars were not producing. Ovechkin had zero
points in the last five games, Backstrom had only three points total, and the
team’s leading scorer was Mike Green with two goals. That simply is not good
enough.
The fact that the Caps could
be so easily agitated and pressured into taking dumb penalties shows a lack of
progression and maturity that just boggles the mind. The Caps have a great
roster full of stars in their prime with years of playoff experience. Why are
they still struggling to stay disciplined? Why are their stars struggling to
produce? Why is the pressure still affecting them so blatantly?
Despite everything else, the
biggest problem for this team is the mental hurdle they still have yet to
overcome. That fragile mentality was evident in the 5-0 loss Monday night when
the team collapsed at the first hint of adversity.
That same night, the Bruins
overcame a three goal deficit in their game 7, to defeat Toronto in overtime.
Between the Caps and Bruins, which would you guess is only two years removed
from a Stanley Cup?
Time for the Caps to toughen
up mentally or every year we will be left to ask ourselves, what’s missing?
For the latest in DC sports news, check out csnwashington.com or follow me on Twitter @TheDC_Sportsguy
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