Our weekly temperature-taking of the mainstream media’s opinions on the Washington Capitals.
| Outlet | This Week | Last Week | What They’re Saying |
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14 | 4 | What is going on in Washington? Alexander Semin was a healthy scratch for the first time since his rookie season (2003-04). Alex Ovechkin can’t seem to get it going. Elliotte Friedman has an interesting take on what needs to be done with Ovie on cbcsports.ca. What about the special teams? The Caps are 15th on the PP (Mike Green has missed five straight) and 25th on PK. They did snap a four-game losing streak against Phoenix, and in the process coach Bruce Boudreau picked up career win number 200. |
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14 | 3 | Yeah, so that was not the best week for the Capitals, sputtering on a four-game losing streak. |
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21 | 6 | Since starting the season like a house on fire at 7-0-0, the Caps have gone 3-7-1, punctuated Saturday night by an embarrassing 7-1 loss at Toronto. GM George McPhee is a patient man, but how patient? |
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13 | 4 | The Capitals were outscored 14-3 last week. Neither Tomas Vokoun nor Michal Neuvirth has been able to pull them out of their skid. |
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6 | 3 | If you’ve seen Alex Ovechkin, please report it to Bruce Boudreau, Caps as soon as possible. |
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13 | 5 | The Capitals are playing as poorly as a team can play, but it’s not time to panic. The Caps lost eight straight last season, finished first in the East. They’ll figure it out eventually. |
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14 | 6 | They eked out a win over Phoenix, but it left them only 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. Rumors are starting to swirl about looming changes if things don’t get better fast. Forward Alex Semin, a healthy scratch Monday for the first time since his rookie season of 2003-04 is widely believed to be on the trade block, though getting a team to bite will be tough with his $6.7 million cap hit. What peeves coach Bruce Boudreau isn’t just Semin’s four goals and nine points in 18 games, it’s his 14 minor penalties (tied for second-most in the league). “He was taking penalties seven games in a row. At some point you have to be accountable for your errors,” Boudreau groused to reporters. |
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19 | 4 | Their only win in the last seven games came at New Jersey, when they were outshot 33-20; since then the Caps are winless in four, getting outscored 16-5 while LW Alexander Ovechkin has failed to register a point. Key Injuries: D Mike Green (lower body). |
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