It seems like only yesterday that the Caps were executing keg stands out of the Cup and rolling around in Georgetown fountains… alas, here we are ten games deep into the 2018-19 season.
So what do we know about this year’s Capitals?
First and foremost we know that it’s only been ten games – i.e. roughly an eighth of a very long season – and therefore any observations, good or bad, should be taken with a grain of salt and a note about small sample sizes. Problems that are apparent in October can be fixed by April, and red-hot success can cool by the time spring rolls around.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t begin to identify areas of promise and areas of concern. With one month down and at least six (and hopefully more) months to go, here are some stray observations about the reigning champs:
The rest is evident in the team’s ongoing search for another winger to play alongside Ovechkin and Kuznetsov; the latest incarnation with Vrana seems to be working out, but that line – and the team in general – is lacking that big-body presence disturbing play along the boards and in front of the net. The fact remains that when he plays smart and controlled, Wilson is an extremely effective member of this Caps’ squad – and November 21 can’t come soon enough.
Beagle’s replacements have made an impact. No one is looking at the void left by Beagle and bemoaning the loss of one of the game’s great talents (no offense, Jay). Coming into this season, however, we knew that someone would need to step in to fill some of the elements Beagle provided – the hard work, the faceoff skill, the penalty-killing, etc. So far the team hasn’t really missed a step when it comes to the fourth line – neither Dmitrij Jaskin nor Nic Dowd has Beagle’s adeptness on draws, but they’ve put their own stamp on the Caps’ bottom six and there have been times when the fourth line has been one of the better trios in a game (granted, not ideal from a team perspective but still).
And finally…
There are few things more beautiful than this: