So the Washington Capitals did in fact hustle their way into the playoffs as the number seven seed, and their reward for doing so is a first round match up with the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.
I would absolutely love to get excited about the Caps’ getting into the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year but I’m having serious difficulty doing just that. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this team has played some of the most uninspiring hockey for good chunks of the regular season, all the while maintaining one of the more talented rosters currently constructed in the NHL.
Or maybe it has to do with the fact that this is a team that underperformed so much this season that a perfectly good coach (one of the better ones in my opinion) had to get fired because the star player (you know who I’m talking about) simply couldn’t bring himself to help his head coach pull the team together when a large part of the reason the team wasn’t playing well together is because you, sir, were not playing with your soul on fire like you’ve done every single game before this season began.
Then again, maybe it has something to do with the fact that they’ve been the most talented team in the playoffs for four straight seasons before this season, after winning four straight division titles, and got ousted by the lower seed each and every time.
Do I believe that this team can beat the defending Stanley Cup champions (something they themselves should have been twice over by now)?
Absolutely.
Do I believe that it is likely to happen?
I don’t know because I see the Washington Capitals under Dale Hunter as being a defensively tough team, which is exactly how you have to play during the playoffs, and doing the little things (even if it’s more conservative than you like) to capitalize on what few mistakes your opponent is going to make – and they won’t make very many so you have to be ready for them when they happen.
Unfortunately, the Capitals are not a very good defensive team. Regardless of how tough you are on the ice, if you can’t so much as do the bare minimum on defense to NOT give up easy shots than it doesn’t really matter how ‘good’ you are because you won’t win.
If the Capitals really expect to prove that they can win the games that actually matter, and not embarrass themselves and their fans in the process, then I’m sure more fans would be more open to having a positive outlook towards the team and these playoffs they snuck into.
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