Shadows of Their Former Selves
I'm not sure about you guys, but watching the Canadiens man-handle the Capitals in the second period of last night's contest, it just seemed like this wasn't at all the team we've come to know over the last 6 seasons.
With no wins to show for 180 minutes of "effort" thus far this year, and with a measly 6 goals for and a whopping 14 goals against, there isn't even a hint of the dangerous squad which used to bring the Verizon Center to their feet.
As a matter of fact, the Caps did bring fans to their feet last night. Sadly, it was only to have them walk out of the game midway through the second frame.
Ok, quick sanity checklist:
- It's still early.
- Adam Oates has yet to make a true connection with the team.
- Ovechkin's head isn't back in North America.
- Brooks Laich is still absent.
- Dmitri Orlov continues his rehab.
Seriously, though, this isn't much of a list to keep you sane.
Truth be told, other than it being early on in the season and Oates needing to get the team to play the way his new system should have them playing, this has been a travesty.
Laich's absence is becoming more apparent with each passing game and, though I am personally very happy to see Tom Poti finally achieve his long sought-after comeback, he is not the answer to the hole in the Caps top 4.
Orlov, though many might not believe he makes a difference, is a big step up from Poti. And once he makes a return to DC, it should help the blueline.
But that doesn't explain why Mike Green, John Carlson and Karl Alzner have failed to make an impact.
Nor does the mention of Laich satiate the need for answers as to why Backstrom and Ovechkin are still out to lunch.
It's been a long time since the Caps gave fans a reason to walk out midway through a game, yet last night's performance justified the boo's and the plentiful early departures.
There remains a hint of hope that things can turn themselves around, but with fans verging on impatient-to-no longer caring, the level of desperation in the Caps dressing room should be creeping higher by the minute.
But it makes you wonder if this lockout didn't take a serious mental toll on the Caps stars and their once unwavering desire to win a Cup.
Ovechkin and Backstrom got a taste of a different hockey world during the lockout and Ovi even locked himself up a future wife, so you just have to ask if their minds aren't still stuck in Moscow?
There is also the question of whether or not this team and locker room are anywhere near as cohesive as we've seen in the past?
It's no joke that Adam Oates has his work cut out for him.
Include the fact that last year's answers between the pipes have turned into this year's question marks and it's all eggshells in DC these days.
The Caps have no choice but to turn it on tonight as they are back at it against the New Jersey Devils and, as I asked last night when I noticed how Ovechkin's desire to take a needless penalty on Andrei Markov unleashed a beast as the Habs defender responded to the challenge by making all the difference in the game, what will it take to wake the beast in Ovechkin?
Concerns are ripe and there is the scent of fear in the air as the Caps wade further into this shortened season. It won't take long before this bad start turns this year into a lost cause.
Can the Caps wake up in time, or is this year turning into a write-off?
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