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Caps one and done review


yave1964

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PRESEASON OUTLOOK What was not to like? After winning the organizations first ever Stanley Cup Final, Ovie and the Caps spent the summer with hard living letting the Hockey world buy them a drink in the worlds most famous trophy, returning most of the same team that won it all and looked poised to make another run.

 

FINAL RECORD 48-26-8 104 points first place in Metro. Lost in a stunner in first round to the upstart Hurricanes.

 

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR Well they raised the banner to the rafters on opening day, that was a biggie, they started slow then caught absolute fire on November 16th they were 8-7-3 but after beating the 'Lanche on that day they went on a tear, from then thru Dec 29th they went 16-3 to announce the hangover was done. Then they pulled away from the pack down the stretch, from Feb 24th on they went 14-5-1 to win the Division and set yp what appeared to be a relative easy tuneup series against the Canes.

 

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR After winning two straight in Washington they appeared to have the series in hand but the wheels fell off, Oshie went down, the Caps went with him and lost 4 of 5 including a game seven heartbreaker in overtime. Their defense of the title was over before it began.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT Ovechkin AGAIN won the Richard trophy leading the league in goals with 51 and followed it up with a damn fine playoff series. Talk is becoming serious of him becoming a true contender to capture Gretzky's career goal scoring record. Backstrom and Kuznetsov were nearly a point a game players down the middle, Carlson has become a dominate offensive blueliner. the duo in net of Holtby and Copley were shaky at times but picked each other up nicely when one was down. Tom Wilson between suspensions had a career year in scoring. Vrana, Oshie and Connolly were significant offensive players in supporting roles. Eller chiped in timely goals and was a P/K killer extraordinaire. Kempny had a fine season on the back end, losing him along with Oshie in the postseason canot be overstated.

 

WHAT WENT WRONG A trade for Jensen was poorly thought out, he was a non factor on the back end. Smith=Pelly had a poor year and spent part of it in Hershey. Orpik looks old and slow, Orlov was meh. The fourth line ran a constant cast of miscreants, has beens and never will be's and never found fluidity. Andre Burakovsky continues to frustrate and will be trade bait all offseason.

 

FREE AGENTS  Hagelin and Orpik almost certainly will not be back and wont be missed, Brett Connolly has established himself as a legit middle six scoring winger and they want him back if they can find a way. Burakovsky and Vrana are arbitration cases and especially Vrana must be signed as he has shown he is here to stay. Perhaps most important is looking ahead a year you have Backstrom and Holtby who are UFA's at the end of 2020 a situation which must be addressed.

 

OFFSEASON QUESTION MARKS Are they up for another run? They lost in the first round, they appear a bit long in the tooth, can they make one more run before one or both of Backstrom/Holtby leave after next season? Can Ovechkin continue his assault on the goal scoring record books after winning his 8th over the past 12 years? 

  There really are few question marks with this team, they finally won their cup then reverted to a playoff collapse which they are known for. They are getting a bit long in the tooth in a division that is improving everywhere so the question would appear not if they are going to slip back into the pack but when.

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13 minutes ago, notfondajane said:

Does anyone think the Pens will bring Hagelin back? 

lol you can have him. Toast. Nothing left. Lost his scoring touch, not physical enough for a bottom six role. He bounced through three organizations last year and never found a role, he will have a hard time finding work.

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21 minutes ago, yave1964 said:

lol you can have him. Toast. Nothing left. Lost his scoring touch, not physical enough for a bottom six role. He bounced through three organizations last year and never found a role, he will have a hard time finding work.

Wings need help? Jk

Edited by notfondajane
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