The Washington Capitals haven't wasted any time coming out of the gate strongly in the 2011-12 season. They're 7-0 (just the fifth team to do so, but neither of the previous four have won the Stanley Cup). Of course, it still matters more what they do in April, May (and maybe June) than October, but that shouldn't take away from the performance of new goalie Tomas Vokoun.
"He was great," Coach Bruce Boudreau said of the goalie's play in last night's 7-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. "He's been great ever since the 15-minute mark of the second game. He's been outstanding."
In six games so far, Vokoun is undefeated with a 1.80 goals-against average and .944 save percentage. Both would be career bests for the Czech goaltender.
"Vokoun made saves and gave their guys an opportunity and our guy [had] a tough time," Wings Coach Mike Babcock said last night.
How often has Boudreau come up with a quote similar to Babcock's during his tenure? The bottom line is that Vokoun gives the Caps a player who can steal a game, and that's something that's essentially to winning a Stanley Cup.
Meanwhile, the Caps' offense is leading the league with 4.14 goals per game and giving up just two (good for seventh). The power play is back on top of the league at 29.6 percent, while the penalty kill has been pedestrian at 81.8 (18th). This is certainly the balance Boudreau is seeking, although the PK needs some TLC -- and the power play will come back to earth.
All in all, the Caps are doing a lot right, but still have room for improvement. There still are lulls during games and their PK must improve. But, that being said, you can't ask more than winning ever game -- even if it's only October.
October 23, 2011
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2 stormer(s) wrote:
Yes, there's some room for improvement and yes when you look back at the 7 games there's been some elements of luck or Vokoun stealing the game. It's unrealistic to expect that that can continue indefinitely. What's encouraging me a lot however, and something you don't mantion, is the overall depth of the team and how they're playing as a team with less reliance upon any one or even a set of big guns. Ovetchkin is looking more like a captain out there than I've ever seen. He's pulling up on rushes and making the strong pass and he's working harder on defense than I've ever seen. His stats may not be as stellar as they were in the past but it looks to me like he's doing the things that will lead to a long run in the playoffs if it continues.
While I can't help but agree that their perfect record through seven games is impressive, like you, I also agree that a couple of things need to be cleaned up before I'd be inclined to give them my stamp of approval as the eventual Stanley Cup champions. The penalty kill is still loose, and there are still stretches in all of their games where the defensemen and forwards look rudderless and have trouble clearing pucks out of their own end.
As for their 7-1 trouncing of the Red Wings this past Saturday night, I don't read as much into it as everyone else does. Remember, Detroit was playing in Washington after working their asses off in a victory the night before and were playing their backup goalie (Conklin) instead of Jimmy Howard. Let's see the Capitals approximate their performance against the Wings when both teams are rested and the the Caps are in Detroit with Jimmy Howard tending goal...
That said, this team is so deep--especially now that Bruce Boudreau has finally come to his senses and has begun to play Matthieu Perrault and Marcus Johansson significant minutes--that opposing teams figure to have a hard time against them over the course of a season even with their defensive shortcomings. Also, Wideman is renowned for his puck carrying prowess and his ability to man the point on the power play. Accordingly, I don't think it's a coincidence that the Caps' power play suddenly looks as potent as it used to when they scored 313 goals the season before last. I know it's still early but I have a feeling that the trend will continue. Above and beyond all of the foregoing, Washington finally has a goal tender who can compensate for the defensive lapses they still make in their own end and I'd venture to say that this causes them to play with a degree of confidence and abandon that wouldn't be possible with either Neuvirth or Varlamov.
Well, it looks like this little comment has grown into an epic so I'll end here.
Clifford
Santa Monica
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