Caps Are Hitting Their Stride

The Caps are hitting their stride as Coach Barry Trotz's system comes into focus in Washington. The players increasingly embrace the system and it's showing up on the score sheet as their 6-1-2 December record demonstrates. His system rewards work ethic, emphasizes shooting first, paying attention to defense at all times and in every zone, and getting offense from the blue line.  The evidence that his system works is starting to accumulate.

Alex Ovechkin is embracing Trotz's system and improving as a two-way player that isn't scoring as much as he used to, but he's making an impact in all three zones of the ice. For those who blasted Ovie for his minus-35 last year, watching him grow under an experienced head coach shows what's possible for him. It's exactly what he's needed for years, please see the Scott Bowman and Steve Yzerman story.

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Let's go Caps!

The Laich Effect for the Caps

Over the past two seasons, Brooks Laich, the oft injured, but versatile player generates points and energy for his teammates. The Laich effect for the Caps includes a 12-8 record this season when he's on the ice and a 1-6 record when he's off the ice. They play a better game when he's on the ice.

Laich has always been a hard working, lunch pail type of Capital, reminiscent of players from the overachieving Caps era, like the ones on their run to the Cup - Olie Kolzig, Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter. He struggled early on in his career, but blossomed even with the coaching merry-go-round in Washington. Laich overachieves because he works hard every night. He's a leader in that respect. If Laich stays healthy, that's a huge bonus for the he Caps.

But, Laich wasn't the only Capital flying around against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The Caps best game of the season showed how they're capable of playing. Alex Ovechkin started the 3rd game of what ended up being a 3-0 road trip, with 3 hits and a goal in the first 40 seconds. When Ovie starts a game that way, the Caps frequently win.

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Caps 5-on-5 Play is Pathetic

Power plays are much rarer in the playoffs versus the regular season so strong 5-on-5 play is a prerequisite to playoff success in today's NHL. The Caps 5-on-5 play is pathetic even in the Coach Barry Trotz era. He is working on this by directing his team to shoot pucks at the net and get dirty in front of the net for deflections because those opportunities turn into 5-on-5 goals. And, those types of goals win playoff games, not perimeter shots. This is an area where the Caps have struggled throughout the Alex Ovechkin era. They've never had enough players willing to sacrifice their body in front of the net night after night. Trotz knows this is a huge problem for this team.

Does Trotz have the players he needs to make a difference in this area? Right now, his second line center is a 19-year old rookie that's hitting a typical wall. Andre Burakovsky is going to be a very good hockey player, but he's learning the NHL game and the center position. Evgeny Kuznetsov is improving and starting to contribute more ,but he's learning the North American game and that adjustment takes time. Tom Wilson is quickly turning into a fan favorite, but he's got to realize he's more useful out of the box. Although it's great that he's willing to stick up for his teammates, he needs to contribute on offense and develop chemistry with Ovie and Nicklas Backstrom. Wilson will probably turn out to be the grittiest of the young guys, but none of them are old enough to realize how much they have to sacrifice to win the shiny silver Cup.

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Let's go Caps!

Can Trotz Instill a Consistent Work Ethic in Caps?

The Caps country club culture issues started the day Coach Bruce Boudreau arrived in Washington on November 22, 2007. That day, he expressed his awe at calling his star player, Alex Ovechkin, off the bench and that is the day he lost control of the locker room. Can Coach Barry Trotz instill a consistent work ethic in the Caps after years of neglect by inexperienced coaches? The Caps inconsistent effort makes it tough to go on a winning roll, especially, against hard working teams like the New Jersey Devils, even if they won their past two games and showed great effort against the Colorado Avalanche.

Make no mistake, goal tending has not helped the Caps this season. Braden Holtby with his 6-4-2 record, .913 SV% and a gaffe behind the net that cost them the New Jersey game is not instilling confidence in fans, although he's been better the past couple of games and stopped Daniel Briere on a game tying goal. Hopefully, Coach Mitch Korn finds a way to elevate Holtby's game and keeps him playing like he did against Colorado.

But, even if the goal tending provided brilliant saves, the Caps lackluster effort during several games cost them standings points. Those lost opportunities count in April as teams vie for playoff positions in a competitive league. 

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Let's go Caps!