What's Next for the Capitals?

Many expected the Capitals, with their Shock And Awe offense led by Alexander The Great, to pulverize playoff opponents on their way to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

But as we know in hockey, expectations and reality have a way of going sideways.

It can now be revealed...that a number of Caps players--including GR8--were less than at their fittest.

From Yahoo! Sports today:
Some notes from Capitals breakdown day: Alexander Ovechkin played through a groin injury suffered in Game 4 against the Rangers, and also had a bum wrist. Alexander Semin played with a badly sprained thumb. Mike Green had a shoulder injury that GM George McPhee said he didn't believe would require surgery.

Greg 'Puck Daddy' Wyshynski digs a little deeper:

Eulogy: Remembering the 2008-09 Washington Capitals

By Greg Wyshynski/Yahoo! Sports, May 15 2009

The Pittsburgh Penguins did what one misguided message boarder wanted to do: kill Alexander Ovechkin. Luckily, they just killed his Stanley Cup hopes for this season. And we stand here today to eulogize those hopes. We shall Rock the Red one last time, before it gets buried in the back of the closet and the brown and yellow of the Redskins is revived yet again for another fruitless NFL campaign.

But we digress.

Alexander the Great has been conquered. There will be no elephant march through the mountains. No Segway ride to victory. The almighty rascal of the red, white and blue was forced to submit, as his words came back to haunt him: "Two teams are playing, and not just two players." If it was, then Washington would win: Ovechkin put up one more point than the Cole Harbour Crybaby, 14-13.

Instead, the all-encompassing series to end all series was finished with one glove save on one shot. And that was almost all Washington was able to muster through two periods, as the foul flightless birds waddled all over the Phone Booth ice and made it their own.

When needed most, Ovechkin's brethren disappeared. Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, Mike Green... nowhere to be found. Backstrom had eight points in seven games but came up goalless in the last two. Semin was goalless in all seven.

Green also was kept off the scoresheet, only because they don't record goals against. Four assists and a minus-5 rating does not a Norris make. Injury is no excuse as a real man knows his limitations; and if you can't keep up with the Kid, what good are you?

Simeon Varlamov proved he was no Godzilla. Too many folks handed the (Hershey) Bear-cub the crown of Tretiak, and he discovered it to be too heavy to handle alone. Green and his fellow defenders were certainly little help for him, just as they were little help for Ovechkin. Seven games, one goal from the blueline -- well, two if you count Tom Poti's Game 5 game-winner for Pittsburgh.

Oh Tom, you old friend, glad to see you keep up that good work. Somehow it was sweet justice seeing you put that in the net, a bit of consolation after the stake to my heart that was you skating off the Garden ice with your hand to your ear.

Glad to see that while all dogs have their days, when it's all over, they're still just dogs.

The junkyard dog of the defense, John Erskine, was too battered and bruised to be much of a help. Shaone Morrisonn? Nothing; well, nothing good anyway. That left Brian Pothier and Milan Jurcina to pick up the Langway mantle and stave off Crosby, Kunitz, Guerin, Malkin, Fedotenko, et. al. and they proved that they can't hold a candle to the Korean-born Cap legend.

Even though the odds of Sergei Fedorov making the Hall of Fame are better than those facing Guerin, it was the elder statesman of Pittsburgh who found new life among the younger legs. Perhaps it was because Fedorov was bounced from back to front and up and down around the lineup, perhaps it was because his career successes haven't left him as hungry as the stint in hockey hell (Long Island) left Guerin.

And that hunger, this time of the year, means everything.

Apparently the complacent politicians have rubbed off on the hockey team, because even coach Mickey Rooney Bruce Boudreau didn't have a clue why his team couldn't get up for the big game.

And yeah, yeah, not all politicians are fat cats but the new ones were too smart to jump on the bandwagon. President Obama turned down Ted and kept his option open to Commit To The Indian and root for his hometown Chicago Blackhawks -- you know, a team that actually made the conference finals.

For all of the talk of a John Druce emerging, the closest thing the Caps found was Dave Steckel.

Yeah, him. You are right to ask who the hell is that.

Believe it or not, he is an oversized former first rounder who had eight goals in 76 regular season games, none in the seven against the Rangers but a big three against the Pens. Two started Washington rallies and the third was an overtime game-winner.

Meanwhile, the man many fans wanted to anoint as Drucian -- Brooks Laich --- had two goals and two assists. A point more impressive than Steckel but he still went pointless in four games, three of which were losses.

Flash Fleischmann did better than expectations but the Caps ended up just like the Rangers in round one: when just one of the top players produce, the result isn't pleasant.

Appropriately, none of the losses were as painful as Game 7. After two days of seducing non-hockey fans into tuning in, Ovechkin's red army crumpled. ESPN News doing live hits all day, actual newspaper coverage, buzz on the streets ... all gone to waste.

All of the hopes of us Crosby haters? Tattered. That flag will be forced to fly in Carolina - a locale admittedly not as inviting as the Phone Booth.

But lament not Washington fans as ... hey, wait! Come back! I didn't realize that there was a new bandwagon and it's heading west! Wait for me!!

---

There are other views of why the Caps bottled out, of course.

Like, defense and goaltending, and team play, win Championships...not flashy scorers and superstars trying to do it alone.

So what is to be done?

That's for our wonderful, witty and sometimes wicked GM Hockey members to judge.

Ladies and Gentlemen of The Hockey Jury--YOU rule!

So why did the Caps collapse in Game Seven?

And what do they have to do to go all the way to the Cup next year?

Washington has horrible defense.

shabbs wrote:

davetherave wrote:So why did the Caps collapse in Game Seven?

Didn't score enough goals.

davetherave wrote:And what do they have to do to go all the way to the Cup next year?

Score more goals than the other guy.

C'mon DTR, do I need to spoon feed it to you?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Shabbs, shucks, ya JUST PLAIN outsmarted me...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
cool)

You told me what the Caps didn't do in Game Seven. You didn't offer your unique perspective on why they didn't get it done.

Which was the question.

As for the second quip you tendered...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Washington has horrible defense.

We can always send them Atrain for Alzner. Ya not happening.

davetherave wrote:So why did the Caps collapse in Game Seven?

And what do they have to do to go all the way to the Cup next year?

Revamp their D with or without Alzner (preferably with).

Get two experienced guys pronto.

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Washington has horrible defense.

We can always send them Atrain for Alzner. Ya not happening.

Phoenix30 wrote:

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Washington has horrible defense.

We can always send them Atrain for Alzner. Ya not happening.

No thanks!

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Washington has horrible defense.

Well said, TGWTM.

In your opinion, is that because their defensemen--even with Mike Green--aren't good enough? Or is it a more fundamental issue of team defense?

Would like to know your thoughts--and everyone else's of course...in more detail...

504Heater wrote:

Phoenix30 wrote:

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Washington has horrible defense.

We can always send them Atrain for Alzner. Ya not happening.

No thanks! :)

For discussions sake....Atrain is a UFA after this season and if he rebounds to have a good season he is going to command big bucks. Cab we afford him?

Alzner is projected to be a top 2 in the next few years. With all the others coming along something will have to give on the back end. Phillips and Alzner could form a good top followed by Kuba and take your pick. Alzners size and contract make him a viable option to put into a decent role. Now that I've said that I can't see Wash giving him up unless they were that desperate to push for a SCF which is very possible since they have progressed further in the past 2 post seasons.

I for one would like to see Alzner in a Sens uniform.

Phoenix30 wrote:

504Heater wrote:

Phoenix30 wrote:

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Washington has horrible defense.

We can always send them Atrain for Alzner. Ya not happening.

No thanks!

For discussions sake....Atrain is a UFA after this season and if he rebounds to have a good season he is going to command big bucks. Cab we afford him?

Alzner is projected to be a top 2 in the next few years. With all the others coming along something will have to give on the back end. Phillips and Alzner could form a good top followed by Kuba and take your pick. Alzners size and contract make him a viable option to put into a decent role. Now that I've said that I can't see Wash giving him up unless they were that desperate to push for a SCF which is very possible since they have progressed further in the past 2 post seasons.

I for one would like to see Alzner in a Sens uniform.

If I had any inkling that A-train would take a hometown discount to stay, then that would make the decision harder (and I am pretty sure he would do it, only city he knows), another thing is, does Alzner give the effort that A-Train does night in and night out and even between games? this is a real tough one to call for me, but that is more due to the love of having A-Train in a sens jersey.

davetherave wrote:

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Washington has horrible defense.

Well said, TGWTM.

In your opinion, is that because their defensemen--even with Mike Green--aren't good enough? Or is it a more fundamental issue of team defense?

Would like to know your thoughts--and everyone else's of course...in more detail...

Let's say that Green is okay, Alzner should be good, Poti is steady - but not great, then you fill out the roster with average players.

Pothier, Morrisonn, Jurcina, Shultz and Erskine all got exposed as being average to below average.

Green is a horrible Dman, Alzner is young, everyone else is a pylon, with the only difference being the paycheck.