John Wall may be the most hyped athlete playing in D.C., but Alexander Ovechkin is the most talented.
Over the last couple of season the Capitals have distinguished themselves not only as an elite teams in the Eastern Conference, but also the entire NHL. Since Bruce Bourdeau took over as head coach three seasons ago, the Capitals have won the Southeastern Division each year. In addition, last season the Caps won the Presidents’ Trophy for most team points in the league.
While the Caps are a talented team, all eyes will be focused on Ovechkin. He is a speedy winger who uses his elite puck-handling skills along with a great slap and wrist shot to be one of the NHL’s top scorers. He has already won Rookie of the Year, MVP in back-to-back years and the Art Ross trophy for being the player with the most points. What separates Ovechkin from other elite scorers is his edge. He isn’t afraid to be hit and even fight other players. Ovechkin also isn’t shy about showing off how good he is even after he has scored, prompting some to disapprove.
Ovechkin is not alone on offense. The Capitals finished with a league leading 3.82 goals per game and a 25 percent Power Play success rate. Besides having Ovechkin, the Capitals also have scoring threats Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Semin. Backstrom really came into his own last season with an outstanding 33 goals, 68 assists, and 101 points, good for fourth in points behind Ovechkin who was third in the league with 109 points. Semin is similar to Ovechkin in that he is a great puck handler and has a nose for getting the puck in the net. He also finished the year with a career best 40 goals.
The goaltending last season was far from elite. Jose Theodore, who started most of Washington’s games, posted a bad 2.81 goals against average. It appears that the new starter is youngster Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov has posted solid numbers in a handful of games. In 26 games last season he had 15 wins with 2.55 GAA. He is expected to be backed by Michal Neuvirth who saw a little action last year as a backup. Neither Varlamov nor Neuvirth come into the season with a particularly strong resume. Varlamov figures to be the starter but he hasn’t won over the coaching staff as shown by the fact he was unable to replace the struggling Theodore.
The best way to help weak goaltending is a good defense. The Caps have received mixed reviews in this department. The Capitals possess one of the best offensive defensemen in Mike Green. Green led all defensemen with 76 points. However, his defensive skills have really fallen off since his breakout season two years ago. The Capitals have the benefit of two solid defensemen in Tom Poti and Jeff Schultz. Schultz doesn’t have any special skills but he does use his size and reach to compliment a good understanding of the game. Poti is the veteran, 33, of a young group. He has good size and speed yet he often does not use his physical tools to the best of his ability.
Even though the Capitals have a talented roster, a nice arena, and an enthusiastic fan base, they have yet to take the next step and make a deep playoff run. The Capitals have had major problems making it out of the first round. In the last three years, Washington has only made it out of the first round once.
The Capitals have all the talent in the world and they are in a prime position to excel in the Eastern Conference. It comes down to getting over the playoff hump. Fans of the Capitals have a good team to look forward to. Even though the Caps do have holes, they have enough talent to overcome their flaws. If all else fails, they still have “The Great Eight,” Alex Ovechkin.
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