Woes in Washington For the Best??

For the Washington Capitals, this is another test for this team-- trying to get the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and hope that they have enough steam to make a respectable first round showing should they get in. However, there's really one thing that is needed for the Caps in order for them to learn from this season.

Not make the playoffs.

There's really no way around it, the Caps need to not make the playoffs for them to actually get a wake-up call. Firing Bruce Boudreau and hiring Caps' legend Dale Hunter wasn't enough of a wake-up call. Losing their top center didn't do much in order for them to step-up and become the cohesive team unit to be able to win games with just a gritty performance. Heck, they can't even show up for games that they have against the team they're fighting with for that last spot (losing 5-1 to the Sabres last week) and then keeping a non-playoff team into a game, allowing them to win in the last minute (4-2 loss to Tampa).

If the Caps were to make the playoffs, it would be a bad reinforcement for the team, as they would be rewarded for putting up a "good enough" effort and basically back-door their way into the playoffs, which is great on one side of things-- but it will not give the team the motivation at all to actually put forth an effort because they got by enough to make the playoffs-- so if that's good enough, that's what they'll stick by.

Maybe what Matt Bradley said over the summer was correct, as the performance of the Caps this year hasn't really dismissed his comments about the culture of the team being very nonchalant and the team not being prepared for practices in the right way. While many would say Bradley was just a scorned player not asked to be back-- this year is something that is proving his comments to be plausible--as if many didn't see that during the Caps/Pens 24/7 Series on HBO.

To miss the playoffs may force the hand of owner Ted Leonsis to change the landscape of the team-- maybe resulting in the man who built this team, George McPhee, and overhauling the whole team logic. When push comes to shove-- the high hopes being dashed without a playoff appearance could be the straw that breaks the camel's back and would be a wake-up call for the entire organization.

As a Caps fan for a long time, it's hard to want your team to not make the playoffs when they're this close and this deep into the battle for the last spot; but after the quick start, there really hasn't been much to call home about in terms of the season. Alex Ovechkin hasn't been himself, Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth have been very streaky, and the team itself doesn't have the swagger it once had just a few seasons ago.

For a team that was in the discussion for the Stanley Cup Finals, for a team that was supposed to have their core of players ready to create some kind of dynasty, for all the hype and all the publicity that the superstars have gotten-- it has crash and burned in a Hindenburg-esque fashion. While they can still make the playoffs by the skin of their teeth and face the only team they've beaten in the playoffs since the 2006-07; they could have the motivation to be the underdogs and shock the world.....but with the way things are going, it won't happen any time soon.

Capital Punished

While it may be throwing the baby out with the bath water after another loss against a top tier team and their back-up (Thomas Greiss' Sharks won 5-3), you have to wonder how much time the Capitals have with Dale Hunter behind the bench and George McPhee as the GM. Sure, it's not been a good year all around and you could blame injuries, but it's proving that the Caps are not adjusting as well as many thought they would.

The Dale Hunter ideal is an interesting one because you have to wonder if owner Ted Leonsis will give him a full off-season to work with in order to get his schemes down and to pass along to the players. He acquired Bruce Boudreau's team and really hasn't had that much time to adjust the players to his system. If he gets a full off-season, he could be able to turn the team around.

With GMGM, you have to think that he's out unless it shows that Leonsis is too loyal and too proud to actually let him go. GMGM has been through the rough times and built a winner-- even though in the playoffs-- not much came from it. He was able to get the Caps relevant again, but in an off-season where many thought McPhee stole Tomas Vokoun away from everyone-- he hasn't has much to show from it. If the Caps fail to make the playoffs, he'd be the first to go.

One also has to wonder why they would throw Braden Holtby to the wolves, calling him up in the morning, waiting until he gets to Washington in the afternoon to tell him he's starting. Vokoun being sick is one thing to call him up, but is Michal Neuvirth not good enough to start back-to-back games?? That should speak volumes in confidence of the goalies right now.

That said, the Caps still have about one-third of a season to go and do have a history of making late-season runs to the playoffs-- most notably the run in 2006-07, winning down the stretch to knock off the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Southeast and get into the playoffs. We'll have to see if this team has something left in them and if they get the confidence and awareness to actually show and play the last 20+ games in the season.