Hmmm.who are these Caps, really?

And that's a good question.  Since I last wrote (and my new job precludes me from writing as often as I'd like to, but, hey I have a new avocation instead of spending too much time reading about the Washington Capitals so that's a good thing), the Caps have gotten smacked down by the Atlanta Thrashers, beaten up by the Carolina Hurricanes and Cam Ward but they also shut out Florida 3-0 and beat up on Tampa Bay 5-2.  On a nightly basis it's impossible to know which Washington Capital team will show up.  

The fans are losing it, as evidenced by the message boards, and are in varying degrees of mass hysteria but there's a history there.  Caps fans are long suffering fans when it comes to playoff success. The Caps haven't won a round in the playoffs in ten years.  If they win one playoff round this year, that, to me, would constitute a successful season.

The Caps, like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green, may disagree with my seeming willingness to give up further playoff success so easily.  But I don't see it yet.  The Caps haven't yet realized that to be an elite team you have to stop playing down to bad teams and up for just the good teams. Elite teams play to win, always.  The Caps don't.  They sit back when they should be putting away teams.

The Caps defense will not get them very far in the playoffs.   They still can't play worth  a damn against gritty teams (see the Philadelphia Flyers games) and they get pushed around too easily. That is a recipe for playing golf in April.  

I love this team, but I don't see them going far in the playoffs yet.   Hopefully, they'll prove me wrong. I'd gleefully admit to being wrong since I'd be happier if the Caps were advancing in the playoffs than if they were out of it.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are up next for the Caps.

Let's go Caps!