As I mentioned in the earlier post, Caps defenseman Mike Green skated today as he waits out the three-game suspension for Friday’s elbow of Florida forward Michael Frolik. Green was in better spirits today after a rough Saturday. But he looked good on the ice and should be ready to go when the Penguins come to town on Sunday. Washington Post Express reporter Mark Giannotto started an interesting line of questioning when he told Green that NBC hockey analyst Pierre McGuire called Green and partner Jeff Schultz “the most underrated defensive pair in the NHL.”
Now – let’s be honest. McGuire is almost as over the top as Dick Vitale can be on college basketball. He means what his says. But enthusiasm sometimes trumps the facts. Whatever. I enjoy his takes. But it’s still interesting to hear a member of the national media lauding a Caps’ defenseman. That was rare last spring as the Caps made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs – Green was a frequent target for critics – and it hasn’t happened much this year, either. So the compliment brought an interesting response from Green.
“Yeah, I think [the national media] really need to do their research because you just watch the way we play we’re so aggressive offensively that maybe that’s why it seems like we’re not good defensively. But we win games because the object of the game is to outscore the other team…[But that offensive-first reputation] doesn’t go away overnight. It takes about a year to get rid of it it seems like. Now we’re three quarters of the way into the season and now it’s starting to go away. We’re now starting to play the way we can. Yeah it is. Because it was tough to hear that all the time and especially on us defensemen.
Green also said he think Alex Ovechkin has become a better two-way player since he was named captain earlier this month. And that dedication is apparently rubbing off on his teammates. Again, this goes against the national perception of the Caps, who haven’t always been so devoted in their own end. But do they really NEED to trade for a top-four veteran defenseman? Green doesn’t think so. This team, after all, has allowed just 21 goals during the 10-game winning streak and is now 11th overall in the NHL in goals-per-game allowed (2.67)
“I mean, obviously you want to play strong defensively. But that’s not what we rely on. We rely on our offense. And I think it just comes from playing our system proper. I think in the past we kind of played it but really didn’t buy into it. I think now that Alex is our captain he’s really bought into it and Semin’s followed and now we’re a complete team”
Green elaborated when pressed on why Semin has played better at both ends: “I don’t think it’s just Semin, but I think [Ovechkin] has really, really stepped his game up as far as being a complete player. And I think in the past he was one of our leaders. But I know when I became a captain in juniors (with the Saskatoon Blades) you almost take it upon yourself to play that complete game. And I believe that’s what Alex is doing now. And he’s such a good player that he can be just as good defensively as he is offensively.”
