Washington Capitals Hockey
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Scoreboard Watching and a Long, Long Roadie
The Washington Capitals, along with at least two other
Eastern Conference teams, have done all they can do over the past few
games to give themselves reasonable playoff aspirations. Tonight
they're facing a Western Conference club that is similarly positioned
but headed the opposite direction.
The Nashville Predators, like Washington, lie just off
the eighth seed out West, but unlike Washington they are on a bit of a
slide. The Preds have won only once in their last four
overall and are winless in their last four at home. The Capitals,
meanwhile, have won three in a row and two of their last three on the
road. Washington's goaltending and defense has been the hallmark of
their recent success.
Since the trade deadline, Olie Kolzig has stepped his
play up a couple notches (which is impressive considering his play
improved over the previous few weeks.) In six appearances, Kolzig has a
1.53 GAA with a .938 save percentage. Not to be outdone, Cristobal Huet
has a 1.71 GAA and .940 save percentage in five games since joining
Washington three weeks ago.
The offense, on the other hand, has struggled just a bit
of late scoring more than three goals just twice in their last eight
games, though their recent ten goal outburst skews
their offensive statistics. If guys like Alexander Semin (who
has just one goal in eight games,) Viktor Kozlov (one goal in seven
games,) and Mike Green (scoreless in eight) can help fill up the
scoresheet, the Capitals might be looking at a road trip that could
help springboard them into the postseason.
But how long would it take for them to see themselves in
a playoff spot in the standings? Answer: Tonight.
Eighth seed Philly plays host to Atlanta, who hopefully
puts forth a bit more effort than they did against the Caps the other
night. If the Flyers lose in regulation and the Capitals win, both
teams will have 80 points after 74 games. The Capitals win the first
tiebreaker having an advantage in wins over the Broad Street Boobies,
36 to 35.
However, the idle Buffalo Sabres must not be overlooked.
If the above scenario were to unfold, the Sabres remain a
point off the pace with a game in hand. But the point to hang your hat
on is how soon the Capitals could sit above the horizontal line in
tomorrow morning's paper.
After tonight's mashup in Nashville, the Capitals head
north to Chicago then fly right back over Nashville to play Atlanta
before returning to D.C. to spend a couple off days. The combined
record of these three teams in their last ten games is 10-15-5 while
the Caps are 7-3-0. So if momentum is the only factor in winning, the
Caps should win at least two of these three games. But of course it's
not, and if the Caps expect to win, they better play the way they did
against Atlanta. Not Boston.
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