Washington struggles early against NHL elite
No one in the Capitals’ locker room will make excuses. During the first two weeks of the season they have shown a propensity for dumb penalties, shaky defending and an inability to close out games in the third period.
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One factor overlooked in the early going, however, is the schedule. Washington has already played road games at Boston and Philadelphia. Both of those teams are considered strong contenders in the Eastern Conference. Add in another road game at Stanley Cup runner-up Detroit and a home game against the red-hot New York Rangers (5-1-0) and you can see why opponents are taking advantage of the Caps’ mistakes. Only five teams have taken more minor penalties than Washington (31) so far.
“With the opponents we’ve had in these first six games it’s just not something you can do and get away with it,” said Caps forward Matt Bradley. “[But] I like playing all the top teams early in the season. It’s a great way to gauge where you’re at and to see the holes in our team’s game that we need to fix.”
Include the New Jersey Devils in that scheduling mix and Washington has faced five playoff teams from last season. And things don’t get any easier tonight when the Caps host the San Jose Sharks at Verizon Center. A perennial power in the Western Conference — at least during the regular season — the Sharks finished with the most points in the entire NHL last year (117) and shelled Washington, 7-2, on Nov. 22 in the only game the two teams played.
San Jose is also one of the few teams that has taken more minor penalties than the Caps, with 32 so things could get out of hand for both goalies if the power plays are allowed free reign. Sharks left wing Dany Heatley forced a trade from Ottawa late in the summer and has already produced for his new team with five goals and five assists in just six games. The line of Heatley, star center Joe Thornton (1 G, 9 A) and winger Devin Setoguchi (4 G, 1 A) compares favorably with the Caps’ top line. Alex Ovechkin (5 G, 7 A), Nicklas Backstrom (2 G, 8 A) and Alexander Semin (5 G, 4 A) have been dominant despite being split up by coach Bruce Boudreau during Monday’s 3-2 shootout loss to New Jersey.
