For the Caps, It's 'Bring on the Playoffs'
by David Getz on Mar 30, 2010 2:00 PM EDT
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PrintThe Capitals area having a phenomenal regular season, just about any way you want to look at it: they have the top spot in the Eastern Conference locked up, they're more than thirty points ahead of anyone in their division, on the cusp of fifty wins, carrying a better than a goal-per-game goal differential, and scoring more than 19% more often than any other NHL team. To top it off, a number of guys have either hit career highs in production, or could in the remaining handful of games. All that said, the team's recent play, especially against Carolina and Calgary, has been, um, lacking, to put it politely, which can cause a little anxiety even for the most level-headed fan.
With that in mind - and with reference to the same Empty Netters post that led to Red Birdie's Fan Post - we thought we'd take a look at how the Capitals have fared against potential playoff competition, both in the Eastern and Western Conference. Naturally, it makes sense to turn our attention first to the East. Here's what we get:
| Team | Record | Points | GF/G | GA/G |
| Penguins | 3-0-0 | 6 (1.000) | 5.0 | 3.33 |
| Sabres | 3-1-0 | 6 (.750) | 2.5 | 1.5 |
| Devils | 1-2-1 | 3 (.375) | 2.5 | 2.75 |
| Senators | 1-1-1 | 3 (.500) | 4.33 | 4.0 |
| Flyers | 3-0-1 | 7 (.875) | 5.5 | 3.0 |
| Canadiens | 2-1-1 | 5 (.625) | 3.5 | 3.25 |
| Bruins | 2-0-0 | 4 (1.000) | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| Thrashers | 4-0-0 | 8 (1.000) | 5.5 | 2.5 |
| East |
19-5-4 |
42 (.750) |
4.07 |
2.71 |
This table can summarized in one very telling word: dominance. The numbers are simply astonishing: the Caps have won 19 of 28 games, taken three-quarters of the possible standings points, and outscored their opponents by well over a goal per game. And while you have to be careful when you're looking at the numbers, it's not as if the Capitals are getting fat off weak opposition or gimmicky rules: the Capitals have a losing record against only one of their potential Eastern Conference foes, and only two of the team's 17 wins have come via the shootout. Like we said: dominance.
As for how the Caps have fared against the West?
| Team | Record | Points | GF/G | GA/G |
| Sharks | 1-1-0 | 2 (.500) | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Blackhawks | 1-0-0 | 2 (1.000) | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Canucks | 0-1-0 | 0 (.000) | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| Coyotes | 1-0-0 | 2 (1.000) | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| Predators | 1-0-0 | 2 (1.000) | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Red Wings | 1-1-0 | 2 (.500) | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Kings | 0-1-0 | 0 (.000) | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Avalanche | 1-0-0 | 2 (1.000) | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Flames | 0-1-0 | 0 (.000) | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| West | 6-5-0 | 12 (.545) | 3.09 | 2.73 |
We've heard about how much better the Western Conference is than it's Eastern counterpart, and these numbers back that up. Still, the numbers look pretty good for the Capitals; as a whole they're outscoring their opponents, and don't have a losing record against anyone they're played more than once. Given the relatively small sample size and the oftentimes bizarre scheduling that comes with playing a team based on another coast, that's all about we can ascertain. Nonetheless, there's not any reason to worry here if you're a Capitals fan; if anything, there's cause to be optimistic.
Simply put, the next couple of weeks are likely to be somewhat cumbersome for Caps fans, since there's very little left to achieve in the regular season and our team's playoff potential is limitless. The important thing is to remember that it's not any easier for the players. Like the rest of us they're human, like the rest of us they have a lot less interest meaningless regular season game, and like the rest of us they're ready to go out and prove how good they are in the postseason.
Right now, there's not any reason to think they won't be able to do just that.
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This is just further solidifying my wish for Buffalo to lose its first-round series so that the Pens and Devils face each other in round 2 (barring upsets there). I really don’t want to have to face NJD in the second round.
Eat, drink, and be merry! And then drink some more.
As long as the Caps don’t have to see Marty Brodeur and Ryan Miller in the same playoff year, I’ll be happy. Those two guys are tough. If the Devils and Sabres win their divisions, then that becomes statistically impossible, and the earlies the Caps see either one is in the conference championship.
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Mar 30, 2010 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Because I’m bored, 6 of the last 7 are against 4 of the teams on that list. We’ll see what the next couple weeks shake out.
"I know I was the best CIA agent the CIA ever had, but I thought I told you honkies from the CIA that Black Dynamite was out of the game!"
and just a reminder, I plan to update the spreadsheet so we can see how the Caps stack up against every team come end of the season.
Kung-fu Rink Rabbit
Donate to the Rink Pledge Drive for SAVES FOR KIDS! Ain’t nothing [wrong] about giving $5 so a stranger’s premature baby can have the time on a respirator they need.~Gould Old Days
All that said, the team’s recent play, especially against Carolina and Calgary, has been, um, lacking, to put it politely, which can cause a little anxiety even for the most level-headed fan.
Speak for yourself!
The important thing is to remember that it’s not any easier for the players. Like the rest of us they’re human, like the rest of us they have a lot less interest meaningless regular season game, and like the rest of us they’re ready to go out and prove how good they are in the postseason.
Rec’d for that.
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Mar 30, 2010 2:11 PM EDT reply actions
He speaks for me. I don’t think I’m overly pessimistic, but I feel like the absolute worst thing is to stagger down the stretch and into the playoffs. Especially if the staggering is injury related.
I’m certainly hoping for a more complete effort tonight. Some indication that the GAS level is bumped a little.
"You want to start being part of the Rink? Fine, but more’s expected of you than John/Jane Cap Fan. Carry the cause of informed discussion to the unwashed masses and don’t crap in the yards of other SBN sites if you decide to go over there. They’re passionate about their teams too, no need to troll elsewhere and/or be a sore winner." --BP
I’m willing to bet that at least some of the injured players would be in there if these games mattered. I do hope, though, that by the time there are 4-5 games remaining that whoever is only marginally healthy returns to the lineup for the sake of chemistry development.
Yup, that’s what I’m thinking. No reason to push people now who would benefit from a game or two of rest. Let’s go into the playoffs with as health a team as possible.
Every time the Swedish Swashbuckler scores a goal, an angel gets its wings.
by SeattleCapsFan on Mar 30, 2010 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m less worried considering that some of the staggering may be injury related. At least in the case of the Caps, these are relatively minor ones and those players will most likely be there come playoff time.
Knuble said something recently about wanting Ovi to turn it down a notch sometimes because not every game is Game 7 of the SCF. I tend to agree.
by Gin and Tonic on Mar 30, 2010 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
For all of the reasons I talked about yesterday, the CGY game doesn’t worry me at all. That was a pitbull of a team playing like their balls were on the bandsaw, which they were/are. For us to have matched that intensity in the first period would’ve been shocking.
As it turned out, not surprisingly, they mellowed out in the second period, the game settled into a more normal pace, and we took over. I fail to see how this game is indicative of anything other than a team with everything to lose has a edge out of the gate over a team with nothing to lose.
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Mar 30, 2010 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd...
For this quote:
“that was a pitbull of a team playing like their balls were on the bandsaw”
Blog: I Rock the Red
Twitter: @IRockTheRed
E-mail: irockthered {at} gmail {dot} com
Mobile rec.
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
by gotsparkly on Mar 30, 2010 2:48 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
For the Fans too
The playoffs couldn’t start soon enough. I don’t feel like this team has been interested enough since the last national game against Pittsburgh. No – it shouldn’t be that way, but it always is.
I just can’t imagine how I’m going to feel if we don’t win the Cup, which I acknowledge is still a distinct possibility. The journey is no longer the most enjoyable part. It’s time to be a part of history.
Russian Machine very rarely breaks. Oh and f**k Brooks Orpik.
I’ve been driving my husband crazy, bitching about how the regular season can’t come to an end fast enough. And asking him if this is how he’s felt as a Wings fan for the past 18 years. Commence with the playoffs and some meaningful games already!
Kung-fu Rink Rabbit
Donate to the Rink Pledge Drive for SAVES FOR KIDS! Ain’t nothing [wrong] about giving $5 so a stranger’s premature baby can have the time on a respirator they need.~Gould Old Days
Sounds awfully similar to what we said last year. /justsayin
That said – I think there’s one more thing in play here: No Brooks Laich, no win. Know Brooks Laich, know win. I haven’t been around that much lately – being bitten by life – but I think the team is missing Brooksie more than a little.
(And Ping cries a little.)
I’m looking for a better effort tonight, if the guys want the President’s Trophy. SJS holds that magic number and they’ve won four in a row.
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
by gotsparkly on Mar 30, 2010 2:29 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Sounds awfully similar to what we said last year. /justsayin
by David Getz on Mar 30, 2010 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Let’s hope the result’s different. I think we got lucky in this year’s stretch run – most of our opponents to close out the year are desperate. This is good for us, if a bit of a nail-biter to watch.
Here’s hoping that’s the difference.
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
by gotsparkly on Mar 30, 2010 2:38 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Let’s be honest though – last year’s team finished right about where it should have. They were never as good as the Penguins.
I dunno. With a shorter series against the Rangers, the outcome might have been different. We’ll never know.
Admittedly, I wouldn’t trade the end of Game 7 against the Rags for much – the only thing I want to find out now is whether the VC can top it.
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
by gotsparkly on Mar 30, 2010 2:57 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Sure. I’m just not convinced that the correlation between the Caps struggling towards the end of the regular season last year and them losing to Pittsburgh is all that strong.
I agree completely. Correlation between the Caps struggling towards the end of the regular season last year and them getting off to a slow start in the Rangers series? That I buy. But they clearly righted the ship from there and other issues cost them the second round series.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
You can’t discount the effect of injuries in that round 2 series, either.
I mean, I only just this last few days found out that Laich was skating with a broken ankle. Who else was hurt that we didn’t know about? Jeez!
Blog: I Rock the Red
Twitter: @IRockTheRed
E-mail: irockthered {at} gmail {dot} com
That’s part of the “other issues” (and Laich had a broken ankle? Wha?)
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
yep, in Corey’s article. Laich also mentioned it in that radio series he did last season.
Kung-fu Rink Rabbit
Donate to the Rink Pledge Drive for SAVES FOR KIDS! Ain’t nothing [wrong] about giving $5 so a stranger’s premature baby can have the time on a respirator they need.~Gould Old Days
Yep.
Laich has, along with Nicklas Backstrom, been an iron man for the Capitals. He had appeared in 257 consecutive games before the injury and even played through a broken ankle during the postseason last year.
Blog: I Rock the Red
Twitter: @IRockTheRed
E-mail: irockthered {at} gmail {dot} com
WTF?!? That’s completely insane. Ironman indeed!
Every time the Swedish Swashbuckler scores a goal, an angel gets its wings.
by SeattleCapsFan on Mar 30, 2010 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions
set aside an hour to listen to the excellent Hockey Diaries radio documentary. Brooks talks a little about the injury at the end, but it really is an excellent piece of radio work that deserves a wider audience.
They’re doing a second documentary with Tyler Sloan and someone else (carlson?) this season. I can’t wait for it.
Kung-fu Rink Rabbit
Donate to the Rink Pledge Drive for SAVES FOR KIDS! Ain’t nothing [wrong] about giving $5 so a stranger’s premature baby can have the time on a respirator they need.~Gould Old Days
by RedBirdie on Mar 30, 2010 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Radio Diaries is great. It’s filled with great tidbits such as Laich’s broken ankle and Alzner’s many quirky pregame rituals. I loved the parallel of two guys at different stages in their NHL careers.
by capsyoungguns on Mar 30, 2010 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks!
This is great! I am laughing out loud. I love Matt Bradley.
by MR Laughlin18 on Mar 30, 2010 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Here’s the one thing I wish. I wish Bruce would just settle on the lines and ride them into the playoffs. We don’t need to win every game here, so the effectiveness lost to the adjustment period would be manageable. But you get everyone developing a chemistry, and that sticks when it comes playoff time.
Preferably, I’d go with the winning streak lines, (I know I’m overruled by the Rink on Flash at center) but whatever they’re going to be, let’s get them together and head into the playoffs with some certainty and cohesiveness.
And I’d leave out Belanger, I can’t figure out what he brings to this team at all.
He brings veteran injury replacement for B-Mo, which is what we’re seeing now.
My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.
Are you sure he’s the replacement for BMo? Or is BMo the replacement for Belanger?
Killer_Carlson and Steckel Me Elmo are like brothers to me. And when I say brothers I don't mean like actual brothers. I mean it like how black people use it, which is more meaningful, I think.
i think BB would like to settle on his lines as well, but with hockey hero out with the whole face thing, gordon in hershey and scotty walker red on ice, well, on ice, it makes it difficult to put ’em all together. i tend to think walker will be enjoyed his namesake beverage in the press box to start. gordon was playing well at the time of his injury so that makes that last center position in flux. as you note, perhaps gordon coming back means belanger in the press box as well.
Just trying to capture the spirit of the thing...
by dcsportsfan1 on Mar 30, 2010 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions
just because you can beat a team in the regular season does not mean you can beat them in the playoffs
I will agree with this… to a degree. Like the Bourne quote implies, different skills are valued more in the playoffs than in the regular season. Looking at the Hurricanes and the Ducks as prime examples… it is truly a second, and different, season. Good stuff in this article and by Red Birdie nonetheless. I’ve never met a stat I didn’t like. Except plus/minus. Man, that stat sucks.
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Mar 30, 2010 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions
But the results must be encouraging.
Just on a hunch…the first two or so games of a playoff series for me would logically reflect regular season success. As in, just like in the regular season, few or no adjustments have been made for the specific opponent, so the first game or two seem to me like likely Caps wins.
Cидни Kросби: Александр Oвечкин, он твой папа теперь
Capitals Coming: for Capitals fans no more intelligent than myself
by red army line on Mar 30, 2010 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Especially if those first two games are in DC, which they will be.
My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.
And if we’re playing the Bruins, who have the 26th worst home record in the NHL, anything less than a series win in 5 games should be considered a disappointment. Fortunately, the stars seem to be aligning that way with the Thrashers in dire straights.
I would be careful to take the Bruins too lightly. Any team that can clamp down defensively is one to be weary of in the playoffs. Teams like that can win games when they get a bounce or two, when we don’t happen to get the same bounces. Have that happen for a couple nights and you’ve got a scary situation.
See the Rangers last year. That series never should’ve gone 7 games, but it did because they had a defensive mindset and great f—ing goalie. This year the Bruins are better defensively as a squad than the Rags were last year. I do not want.
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Mar 30, 2010 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry, I just don’t see the Bruins as a threat now that they’re without Savard.
My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.
We’ll see what they do against the Devils, but the Bruins just don’t seem to be able to hang with the best. In a game they really could have used against Pittsburgh, with all the motivation in the world after the Cooke hit, they were outplayed in every facet of the game. They couldn’t beat Buffalo last night, at home, in a game that they really would have needed if Atlanta weren’t pulling their disappearing act.
We’ll see what the Bruins do against us in the final five games of the regular season, but I ain’t exactly quaking in my boots. These aren’t the Rangers.
No Savard is huge, but it doesn’t mean they can’t make us really work for our goals, and if they can even moderately shut us down, and at the same time get some bounces… anything can happen. In the playoffs, I want the least defensively capable team we can get.
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Mar 30, 2010 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m curious to see how the upcoming games between the Caps and Bruins shake out, but the B’s haven’t exactly proved to be defensively capable against the Caps so far.
Kung-fu Rink Rabbit
Donate to the Rink Pledge Drive for SAVES FOR KIDS! Ain’t nothing [wrong] about giving $5 so a stranger’s premature baby can have the time on a respirator they need.~Gould Old Days
Very true, we’ve handled them thus far. But when everyone is turned up to eleven, it’s a different ballgame… or puck… game… you know what I mean.
I will also agree with whoever cited the lackluster performance by the Bruins against the Pens though, in the wake of the Cooke hit… on old-timey Bruins night, no less. That must’ve seriously been embarrassing. Who knows, this team may have no spine and we roll them in 4 or 5, but I am afraid of shut down defenses in the playoffs. That is all.
by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Mar 30, 2010 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions
absolutely true. however, beating a team in the regular season sure doesnt hurt your chances for playoff success. puts more doubt in the mind of the other team. the key is for the caps to not take the regular season success lightly. after two years of tough playoff series, it’s my hope and expectation that this team will not flop out of the gate and go down 3-1 in the first round again.
Just trying to capture the spirit of the thing...
by dcsportsfan1 on Mar 30, 2010 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
getting healthy is all you guys
got to worry about till mid April…hope you guys face the Devils along the way in the playoffs and spank them along with the penguins of course
TULO = 2010 MVP!
Troy Tulowitzki: "When people think of the Rockies, I want them to think of a winning organization."
LETS GO WINGS!
Everything bothers me and makes me nervous.
by Big Boutros on Mar 30, 2010 4:57 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Saving my excitement until the Stanley Cup is won
I won’t get too excited if the Caps win the first two games of any playoff series, no matter who they play. We all remember what happened in the ECSF series with the Pens last year, don’t we? Or maybe not. It’s the stuff that playoff nightmares are made of.
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