Courtesy: Evan Habeeb- USA TODAY Sports
WASHINGTON — The month of October is upon us and with that comes the start of the 2013-14 NHL season as the Washington Capitals open the regular season in Chicago to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks.
This season shouldn’t be entirely different for the boys in red as expectations remain high for a team that has made the postseason six years in a row, yet left each year without Lord Stanley’s trophy.
Obviously, the Capitals no longer have the benefit of playing in one of the worst divisions in hockey in what was the Southeast Division. NHL realignment has ridden us the days of the Carolina Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers fighting for a division title with Washington. Now, Washington finds themselves in the Metropolitan Division that consists of the Caps, Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and the Columbus Blue Jackets. While this division seems like it may be tougher, a division title is not out of the realm of possibility — I think the Penguins will ultimately take the division.
Washington didn’t do much during the offseason, but the roster does look somewhat different. Here are the 23 players taking the ice for the Capitals tonight against the Blackhawks:
Forwards: Alex Ovechkin (Captain), Nicklas Backstrom (Assistant Captain), Marcus Johansson, Mikhail Grabovski, Brooks Laich (Assistant Captain), Troy Brouwer, Martin Erat, Tom Wilson, Eric Fehr, Joel Ward, Jay Beagle, Jason Chimera, Aaron Volpatti, and Michael Latta
Defensemen: Mike Green (Assistant Captain), Karl Alzner, John Carlson, John Erskine, Jack Hillen, Steve Oleksy, and Connor Carrick
Goalies: Braden Holtby, Michal Neuvirth
Looking at the roster, you will not see second-line center Mike Riberio as he has departed for the Phoenix Coyotes, but it isn’t going to be too devastating loss for the Capitals. While Riberio was a nice playmaker who could set up goals, he wasn’t aggressive and struggled at times on the power play to generate offense consistently.
Brooks Laich is the air apparent to the No. 2 center spot and he is an X-factor for the Capitals this season. Staying healthy has been Laich’s biggest issue in recent years and they wil need him not only to try and fill the void of Riberio, but his efforts on the backcheck and special teams are second to none on the roster. Brooks is a quality penalty killer and one of the more underrated two-way centers in the league. If he can stay healthy and contribute 60-70 points this season, the Capitals may be going places.
In addition to Laich, one of their new acquisitions forward Mikhail Grabovski is expected to make a splash in his first year in our nation’s capital. The 29-year-old looks like a guy who can provide the Caps with roughly a 25-25 split in terms of goals and assists, potentially filling the void that was made last season with the departure of winger Alex Semin to the Carolina Hurricanes. Establishing chemistry with Laich and fellow winger Troy Brouwer will be key to see just how much of an impact he can have. As much as the offense can excite people, it still comes down to the defense for the Capitals.
I’m not going to sit here and talk about Mike Green and criticize him because I think he had a stellar season. John Carlson and Karl Alzner didn’tplay up to their potential last season and they know it. That must change with Braden Holtby in the net for what will be his first full campaign as the starting goaltender in an 82-game schedule.
Holtby has been a guy who at times can make you forget the name Olaf Kolzig and at other times make you wonder what the hell he was thinking — just watch some of the losses to the New York Rangers in the postseason last year. Staying healthy and making smarter plays when playing the puck are two things that fringe on the overall success of Braden. Having a reliable backup in Michael Neuvirth will help his game too, but Holtby has shown in the past that even if the defense in front of him fails to block shots and he is constantly peppered, he has the reflexes and abilities to carry this team in close contests.
While Holtby can carry this team, one man still stands above the rest. I’m not talking about second-year head coach Adam Oates, but the GR8, Alexander Ovechkin. Yes, Oates will have a tremendous influence on this team as he is the big cheese that makes this operation work and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts line combinations on the fly and throughout the season. However, even he knows it’s Ovechkin’s squad and always will be.
We saw throughout the strike-shortened season last year that Ovechkin clearly still has the makeup of a true superstar in the NHL. His biggest problems have been consistency as well as being able to get it done in the big moments with the bright lights. Alex is still a guy who relishes the limelight and at times wants to do the dirty work and other times, this happens.
Courtesy: blogsohardsports.com
We know what Ovechkin is able to do on the offensive end of the ice, but defensively he still leaves more to be desired. And maybe that’s just who he is. But maybe it isn’t. This is also the same 6-foot-3, 230-pound 28-year-old forward who usually looks for the big open-ice hit. This is the same guy that has backchecked in the past and it’s made a significant difference. This is the same guy who can forecheck a team and pin them in their own end… when he wants to or isn’t tired.
For me, if the Capitals can get Ovechkin to be the all-around player that he truly is, a Metropolitan Division title is not out of the question, let alone a playoff spot. Still, I think it will come down to this team’s ability to minimize mistakes in their own end, ability to pressure opponents in theirs by using at least two forecheckers and the health of Brooks Laich for special teams purposes.
Get ready to rock the red everyone and follow me on Twitter @Jeff_Kryglik as I will be covering the Capitals for The Sports Column this season.
