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The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

New Look Washington Capitals

Some call it the “Washington Capitals 2.0.” Others have predicted the new and improved defensive system will solidify the team’s chances of winning a Stanley Cup.  Whether or not the Caps will bring a championship home to D.C. remains to be seen, but with a nine-game win streak and the top spot in the eastern conference on the horizon, the playoffs look promising.

To me, as I watched the team win the East last year by 18 points and claim the President’s trophy by eight points, it was bittersweet. Sure, putting winning streaks together was nice, but the offense was forced to score four to five goals every game, putting more pressure on guys like superstar Alex Ovechkin, among others. I watched the high powered team with ambivalence, disappointed by the fact that other teams could score with ease. As the end of the regular season winded down, it was increasingly obvious that when the Caps ran into a hot goaltender in the playoffs, they would not be able to overcome with a defensive response.

In the opening round of the playoffs, of course that hot goalie came in the form of Jaroslav Halak of the Montreal Canadians. A one-seed versus an eight-seed wasn’t supposed to give a Stanley Cup hopeful a hard time. But for the third year in a row, the first round went to seven games. Despite the great play from Halak, it looked like the Caps would be on their way to the second round as they were up 3-1 in the series.  A loss at home put the series 3-2 as fans grumbled, “Here we go again,” hinting at a sense of worry.

It has always been said offense wins games while defense wins championships. Last year’s disappointing finish to a great regular season was the epitome of that.  If the Caps were ever going to win the Cup, something needed to change.

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Fast forward to this season; December to be exact. At this point, we’re not exactly sure what to make of the Caps yet; they seem steady but have some questions again surrounding defense and goaltending. Then, like a slap in the face, the team goes through an eight-game losing streak, and this, I believe, is the turning point of the season. The winless drought was the longest since 2007. 

Despite falling to seventh in the eastern conference, there was a sense of change. Something was different about the team. It seemed like they worked tirelessly, but just came up short. Rock bottom came in a 0-7 whitewashing at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. The glimmer of optimism was that things could not get any worse.

A chunk of this losing streak was put under a microscope by HBO in their preview: “24/7 Road to the Winter Classic.” Cameras caught vice president and general manager George McPhee burying his head as he helplessly watched the team he loves falter. But instead of pointing fingers and calling for drastic measures, fans, followers and players realized it was simply a growing pain.

Of course, having cameras following the team around didn’t help, especially as it projected the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Caps’ archrival and soon opponent in the Winter Classic, having a streak of their own. While Sidney Crosby’s star power shined brighter as he continued his consecutive point streak, so did the Penguins’ winning percentage. The two clubs were seemingly going in opposite directions, uneasing caps fans.

But after hitting rock bottom, the team tightened up defensively and didn’t allow more than three goals. Hard work and persistence eventually led the Caps to emerge from those growing pains and won their first game in Ottawa. The cameras caught the team in jubiliation after the game, and, for the first time in a while, the team as a whole breathed a sign of a relief.

Then came the Winter Classic. In the much hyped game, the team showed their resilience to the public by beating the Pens 3-1. Finally, things started looking up.

If you hit the fast forward button again to now, you’ll find the Washington Capitals tied for first in the Eastern Conference with a steady hold on the Southeast division, and with only two losses in the month of March. While they have been mediocre offensively, their defensive play of late has been the real story. No longer do they have to score more than three goals per game. Sure, the young guns (Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green) don’t have nearly as many points this year compared to last, but their attention to defense has checked out. All three goaltenders in the system (Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby) have earned at least one shutout and the team holds the third-fewest goals allowed in the conference.

Again, as history has shown, the regular season can mean absolutely nothing come April. While the Caps are on the verge of clinching their fourth straight playoff appearance, much work is to be done and many players have to recover from injury. But don’t count on the Capitals’ postseason story to be the same this year. Their recent peak has come at the right time as they should cruise into the post season. Whomever the Caps play in the first round, watch out, because this Caps team isn’t the same and will not stop short for anything besides bringing Lord Stanley to D.C.

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