Washington...Crapitals?

Ok so the title is a little harsh, but compared to the dominance of the 09-10 Washington Capitals there is definitely something wrong in our nation's capital. So let us look at what we've got and what we're missing for the defending southeast division champions.

The Capitals of 09-10 went 54-15-13 last year for 121 points, which led the league. They were also the only team to score more than 300 goals, and had a remarkable +82 goal differential. By no means are these paltry numbers, however when the playoffs arrived the Caps inability to play shutdown defense was exposed and they were beaten by a much more defensively minded Montreal Canadiens squad, led by the other worldly play of Jaroslav Halak. With nothing but Stanley Cup champions as their goal, they were left with a long off season and a lot of questions. Cut to the 2010-2011 season where the caps are now currently seeded 5th in the conference with a surging Atlanta Thrashers (yes, you read that correctly) moving up looking to put the Capitals on the outside looking in. So what the puck is wrong with the Caps? Well there's only one way to find out, so let's begin.

As previously stated, Washington scored 318 goals last season and were hands down the most dynamic team offensively. Ovechkin lead the way with another 50 goal campaign and 109 total points. This season he is on pace for his worst professional season ever, which by the way is still a point per game pace. Nicklas Backstrom is also on pace for a 29 point reduction in points from last season. Alexander Semin as well is having a sub par performance with a projected 16 point drop in production over last season. Even offensive defenseman Mike Green is on pace for a 34 point drop in production from last season. These are the star offensive weapons bringing to the team a drop in points totally 106 points. Washington needs these players producing at higher levels in order for them to compete for the division and conference lead.

The lack of depth at center is also a cause for concern. Nicklas Backstrom is a definitive top center in the league, but after that "elite" talent is essentially non existent. The only other center with a positive rating in +/- is Mathieu Perreault who is a plus 5. Everyone else is negative or even, and the even players have played in a dozen or fewer games. While plus-minus isn't the best indication of a player's abilities it is a telling sign overall defensive woes, which is something the Capitals definitely have.

Speaking of the defense, I'm still not impressed with Washington's defense. As I wrote in my preseason analysis of the Caps (do your homework, read the older blogs), I still think that the Caps aren't really addressing their back end issues, although remarkably their goals per game are down slightly (.20) compared to last season. Add a similar defensive prowess compared to a drop in goals-per-game (my highly official math puts them on pace for approximately 240-250) for and you're looking at a team with some issues all over. We cannot talk about defense without talking about the most important defender on the team, the goaltender.

Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth have been solid, but they're both young and could deal with a helpful veteran presence to help with the growing pains. Watching both of these young kids play, you can see the promising future for both of them. My biggest concern is that they have any issues, they don't have anyone to turn to to talk about the growing pains. I also understand the not wanting to re-sign Theodore, as it was painfully obvious that the coaching staff had no confidence in him come playoff time. However, it wouldn't hurt to have another verteran presence to aid Varlamov and give Neuvirth a bit more seasoning in the AHL. It would seem that Neuvirth would disagree with that statement, given his numbers, but having two young goaltenders can be a double edged sword.

George McPhee will have some tough choices to make in the coming weeks. With the deadline approaching, will he keep all his eggs in one goaltending basket, or will he make a deal? These are two promising young goalies who could each fetch a decent return on the market. Or will he deal Alexander Semin and his 6 million cap hit? A Semin for top D-man could be a shrewd move. McPhee has shown great patience with his club, and that's a good thing, but something is going to have to change in order to get this team out of the rut it currently finds itself. If not a roster shake up, will Bruce Boudreau find himself out of a job? I won't even begin to speculate on that, but it does seem like a fair question.

At the end of the day, the Capitals are far too talented a club to think that this is something that will derail their season, but given their performance this year it is cause for concern. Everyone will expect Ovechkin to break out and go on a tear, but that's not the only problem they have. With the southeast division being far more competitive, maybe it's not even a question of are the Capitals on the down turn as it is more of a statement to the improvement of the other teams in the division. Last season Washington was the only division team to make the playoffs, and at the time of this writing three of the five teams in the division are in the playoffs, with another sitting three points out of the final spot. Whatever the case may be the final half of the season in the southeast will be an exciting one to watch.