Puck 'N Hockey

What do you get when coming off a media hyped win streak, start a goalie who has not seen NHL action in more than 2 months, and play a white hot Ottawa team in their building?  Another stinker and hopefully, forgettable performance by the Washington Capitals.

Semyon Varlamov did not look ready to face the hottest team in the Eastern Conference.  His positioning was just a little off.  His reaction time, especially in the first period, was a little slow.  Shots like Kovalev’s game tying power play marker, cleanly beat Varly five hole.  I thought the Caps’ netminder had pushed across with enough time to get set for the shot.  However, you could see that Varlamov’s left pad was just a little deep in his crease and he did not position his stick to angle the puck safely away.  Under different circumstances, Coach Boudreau would have started Varly against a lesser opponent.  However, the compressed schedule going into the Olympic break, player movement rules, and the injury to Micheal Neuvirth meant that Varlamov was the only option.

The streak and the hype that surrounded it have definitely drawn some attention to the Capitals.  The good part about it was the rest of the league had to chase Washington heading into the break.  Now that the streak is over, we are starting to see the Capital’s weaknesses exposed and exploited.

I actually thought the Caps’ first period against the Ottawa Senators was much better than previous games.  They seemed to be controlling the puck and flow of the game in the early minutes.  Then, the entire team returned to its typical cross ice passing, weak defense style after Alexander Semin was turned around by Jason Spezza, who simply burned Varlamov for the first goal of the game.  After that first goal, the defensive zone play was really embarassing.

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On Chris Neil’s goal in the second period, John Erskine and Tyler Sloan were literally waving their sticks at the Sens’ tough guy as he put the puck past Varlamov.  There is no excuse for not marking Neil and taking the body in front of the net.  Sloan often looked lost in this game.  On the Spezza goal, he looked like he was taking a spin around the zone during a public skate.  The Capitals’ forwards also reverted to trying to make cute stretch and cross ice passes through the neutral zone.  Over probably the last seven games, teams have started leaving a forward high to clog up the neutral zone and intercept these long distance passes creating scoring chances in the Caps’ end.

Add up the poor goaltending and irresponsible team play and you get a very frustrated head coach.  Bruce Boudreau was very upset saying, “It was an ugly display…I thought our defense was horrible and our goaltending was horrible.”  That about sums it up.

Against the the St. Louis Blues tonight, the Caps must tighten up their defensive play.  Regardless of who is is net, Blues’ players cannot be allowed to skate free and have room to shoot the puck.  Offensively, the Capitals will need to simplify their game, dump the puck, and work the St. Louis defensemen along the boards.  The Blues boast the fourth best penalty killing unit in the league.  It will be imperative for the Capitals to score goals at even strength.

Psychologically, this contest against the Blues is a must win situation.  Heading into the Olympic break, it is very important for this Caps team to cure its post-streak hangover with a solid performance.  End on the high note.