Blown third-period leads. Bad penalties. Four overtime losses. Occasional shaky goaltending. Sometimes after games it seems like we’re talking to a team that just lost – even when it didn’t. It’s fair to say the bar has been set high for the Caps this year. Some fans believe they not only have to win, but also must put on a performance that would plausibly have beaten the Penguins in the playoffs. So it’s almost gone unnoticed that if Washington wins tonight against the Islanders – or even loses again in overtime or a shootout – it will have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 11-3-4 with 26 points.
“That is positive. We get to talking as if we’re in the 12th spot and thinking about all our faults. But I think whatever it is we’re doing we’re getting a little bit of success out of it,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “And we want to grow with it. I thought Friday’s game [against Florida] – take away the first five minutes where we gave them a couple of good chances – and I don’t think we gave up a lot after that. And then Saturday’s game [against the Panthers] I thought both goalies were a little soft, or a little weak. But it shows that we’ve still got enough guys to score when we have to score.”
The Caps are currently tied with the Penguins (12-6, 24 points), who have played one more game so far. And it’s not like Washington is feasting on an easy schedule. They beat San Jose at Verizon Center and the Sharks have the NHL’s best record. They’ve played Philadelphia twice, New Jersey twice, at Detroit, at Boston on opening night. Alex Ovechkin will miss his fourth game in a row tonight. There’s been at least a bit of adversity – though admittedly there are other NHL teams who have it worse right now.
“We talk about that a lot. We’ve raised the expectations for ourselves to that point,” said Caps captain Chris Clark. “But I think we’d all rather have it that way than for people to think we weren’t a good team. It’s not a bad thing at all.”
