Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Capitals Begin Home-and-Home Against Toronto

The Washington Capitals are finally set to play a team that is BELOW them in the standings, something they have not done since November 6th when they played an Atlanta team that was trying to recover from an 0-6 start that saw the dismissal of head coach Bob Hartley.

Now that the Capitals are expected to win, will they? The way they have been playing...probably. But they may have to do so without Shaone Morrisonn yet again. He'll likely be a gametime decision.  

Perhaps the most unsettling news out of the Washington camp, however, relates to Nicklas Backstrom. The 20 year old who has racked up eight assists in his last two games did not play the overtime session against Pittsburgh, nor did he practice yesterday. The reason, we're told, is because of headaches -- not a good sign. 

The coaching staff has assured us that the headaches are not concussion-related, but they sure did a good job of playing down the severity of Michael Nylander's shoulder injury, didn't they? Everyday headaches should not last two days and a couple of aspirin should do the trick. This does not appear to be the case, but I'm working on assumptions here...so hopefully I'm getting carried away over nothing.

Another question many of us have relates to how long Bruce Boudreau will stick with Olie Kolzig. He has been given WAY more than enough of an opportunity to improve his game, but at 37 he's past his prime and his ineffectiveness is seeming less and less like a slump. 

Brent Johnson meanwhile has been up to the task as of late but his stay in Washington has showcased his inability to string good performances together. Under Boudreau he has yet to start back to back games, so if given the chance how well will he do? A better question: Will we ever know? For gosh sakes, it's about time we find out.

The Maple Leafs, whom Washington will face again tomorrow night at Verizon, are showing signs of improvement lately. After a horrendous stretch in which they won only twice in 13 games, the Leafs have gone 3-1-0 since. And don't think they forgot what happened the last time the Caps were in town -- a 7-1 loss to a Capitals team that was in the midst of a run in which they won only three times in 18 games. Seems so long ago...yet it also feels like yesterday. Very odd.

With this being the only Eastern Conference matchup of the day, and following losses by Carolina and Atlanta last night, the Capitals can overtake Atlanta for sole possesion of 2nd in the Southeast with just one point. A win will move them to within one point of 1st place Carolina -- with three games in hand. 

First place by the All-Star Break? It could happen.

Read More From The Archive Or Head To The Home Page