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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– | 18 | Pending. |
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17 | 16 | The Capitals played three games last week and scored two goals in regulation. Both were in the final four minutes of a come-from-behind overtime win against the Islanders on Tuesday night. They followed that up by getting blanked by the Devils and Flyers in back-to-back home games. |
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24 | 18 | The Caps have been shut out twice in a row after a three-game winning streak seemed to suggest they’d turned some sort of corner. Guess not. |
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21 | 20 | This is exactly when the Capitals need Alex Ovechkin to be at his absolute best, and they’re just not getting it from him. He was held without a point last weekend despite taking seven shots on Ilya Bryzgalov in a 1-0 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday. |
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21 | 20 | It seems the Capitals are doing enough to just stay alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race, when they should be asserting themselves. |
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– | – | NHL.com only ranks the top sixteen teams, which means … yeah. |
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25 | 19 |
It’s been a lost season in Washington. No passion, no chemistry. That describes the Caps, who were blanked at home by Philly and continue to stumble along. Yeah, they’re still close to eighth place, but I see these guys tanking down the stretch. Last week: 1-2-0 |
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25 | 19 | Not sure what the game plan is, but the Capitals have been shut out in back-to-back games and played Alexander Ovechkin only 16:49 in Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia, even though he registered seven shots on goal. Key Injuries: C Nicklas Backstrom (concussion). |
Click on logos for links to full power rankings.
