Our weekly temperature-taking of the mainstream media’s opinions on the Washington Capitals:
| Outlet | This Week | Last Week | What They’re Saying |
 |
NR | NR | CBC ranks only the League’s top six, bottom six and the Canadian teams. Seriously. (10/25) |
 |
5 | 1 | Trying to keep things together along the blue line with Mike Green and Tom Poti nursing injuries. (10/25) |
 |
9 | 1 | One of the eternal mysteries of the Capitals: Why can’t Alexander Semin play every night like he did while scoring a hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win over the Thrashers? (10/26) |
 |
6 | 2 | The Capitals will keep beating up on their divisional opponents, but early on this club looks less dominant than it was a year ago. Injuries to key defensemen like Mike Green and Tom Poti have thrown their youngsters into the fire. (10/26) |
 |
6 | 1 | Rookie defenseman John Carlson is playing nearly 22 minutes a night and putting up good numbers: 1-5-6, plus-3. (10/25) |
 |
9 | 1 | The 5-3-0 Caps bounced back from twin beatings against Boston in the middle of the week to beat Atlanta in overtime, but they’re not quite in a groove offensively. The power play is ranked 19th overall, which is very un-Washington-like. (10/25) |
 |
12 | 4 | (.625) By losing two of three last week, the Caps fell out of the top 10 in the rankings. In Washington’s two losses, the club gave up three power-play goals to the opposition on eight chances, while failing to convert any of its eight man-up opportunities. (10/26) |
 |
10 | 6 | Three-games-in-four-nights road trip starts Wednesday in Carolina |
 |
9 | 3 | Goalie Semyon Varlamov is day to day because of an undisclosed injury. He just returned after missing three weeks because of a groin problem. (10/26) |
 |
4E | 1E | The Caps are having trouble scoring. Yeah, we’ll bet that won’t last. (10/26) |
 |
9 | 4 | Michal Neuvirth is responding well to a heavy workload. |
 |
9 | 1 |
|
 |
11 | 1 | While Alex Ovechkin (no points in three games) continues to spin his wheels, Alexander Semin pops three against Atlanta. (10/25) |
 |
16 | 5 | Not cause for alarm bells or anything (or is it?) but LW Alexander Ovechkin has no points and is minus-3 in the last three games. Key Injuries: G Semyon Varlamov (groin). (10/25) |
 |
5 | 3 | Ovechkin pointless in three straight. (10/25) |
 |
– | 1 | Pending |
Click on logos for links to full power rankings.
