Washington Capitals 2010 Preview & Predictions

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WASHINGTON CAPITALS

2009-10 record: 54-15-13
Shootout Record: 5-6
Division Finish: 1st, Southeast
Conference Finish: 1st, Eastern
Goals For: 318
Goals Against: 233

Washington Capitals 2010 Preview

Washington won the President’s Trophy, Alexander Ovechkin copped another major award, Mike Green led all defensemen in scoring, coach Bruce Boudreau wrote a book and the Verizon Center became one of the noisiest hockey arenas on the planet.

So why were the Capitals gritting their teeth all summer with a huge sense of disappointment and counting the days to training camp?

Because they watched the Montreal Canadiens celebrate a seven-game opening-round playoff win, a series that many thought would be the first generally uncomplicated step to the Caps’ return to the Cup Final for the first time since 1998.

But after Game 5 at home, Washington never again led in the series against the eighth-seeded Habs.

The curse of finishing first overall, which rises up every few years as a late-season spoiler, hit the Caps hard. No wonder the usually chatty Ovechkin was in a dour mood as he accepted the newly christened Ted Lindsay Award as his peers’ pick as most valuable player.

That could mean on a personal level as well. Ovechkin’s over-enthusiasm to be the Caps’ leader put him in some penalty trouble last season. A 50-goal,100-point player, it’s natural he wants to bring the whole team to the next level after a couple of playoff disappointments, but he has to maintain his poise on the ice.

His 185 hits were at least 50 more than any of the League’s other top 30 scorers, but as captain (minted on Jan. 5) he has to stay in the game and avoid the odd suspension he’s been assessed for crossing the line with questionable checks.

However, it’s also vital for the many stars on the team to realize they can’t sit back and let him do all the heavy lifting such as the talented Alexander Semin, who had 84 points in 73 games, yet was shut down at key moments in the playoffs for a second straight season.

Nicklas Backstrom was effective in both the regular season and playoffs, posting 101 points and matching Ovie’s five playoff tallies. He signed a 10-year contract in the spring.

Green was also kept under wraps by Montreal, but while some critics feel that his 149 points the past two seasons show the defenseman to be too one-dimensional, Green has actually worked very hard on the defensive part of his game.

There will be some changes in goal this season as the team bid farewell to Jose Theodore, after a strong comeback season that saw him win the Bill Masterton Trophy. The starting job will be split between 2009 playoff hero Semyon Varlamov and two-time Calder Cup winner Michael Neuvirth, who played 17 League games last season. Both have excelled in the minors. Washington’s second tier of scoring will need another big year as well. Brooks Laich, Mike Knuble, Tomas Fleischmann and Eric Fehr all had between 20 and 29 goals as the Caps poured 318 pucks past the opposition, more than 45 ahead of Vancouver, the next closest squad.

But as much as Boudreau and general manager George McPhee will want to spread the wealth around, it will be up to Ovechkin to get back near 50-goal territory for a fourth consecutive season. Ovechkin was beaten by Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin for the Hart Trophy as the hockey writers’ choice as MVP, missing a chance to join Wayne Gretzky as a three-time Hart winner. The charismatic Ovechkin helps in other ways, too. McPhee points out that any Russians he drafts from now on won’t be hard to lure here with a chance to play with the great NO. 8.

2010 Washington Capitals Offense:

Ovechkin recorded more big numbers last year in spite of missing a career-high 10 games with injuries and a brief League suspension. It was only in the closing days of the schedule that the scoring race was decided as he was three points back of Sedin for the Art Ross Trophy and a goal behind Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos for Rocket Richard honors. He did lead the League in shots on goal for the fifth straight season with 368. Semin, though getting blanked by the Habs in April, led the team with 44 shots in the series. Backstrom was a plus-seven, but the final playoff log showed an imbalance of 13 goals for Ovechkin, Backstrom and winger Fehr and nine for the rest combined. Heading into playoffs, 12 Caps had at least 10 goals.

2010 Washington Capitals Defense:

As mentioned, Green worked hard on improving his own zone play to augment his gifts as a playmaker and wound up sacrificing nothing on offense. In fact, his 76 points were three more than a year previ0us and put him over 200 in three full seasons here. Jeff Schultz was also in the right place at the right time, as his impressive plus-50 demonstrated. Schultz is not quite a one-year wonder in this column, as the first-rounder from 2004 was a combined plus-30 in his first three seasons in Washington. Joe Corvo, who has signed with Carolina, was just five points behind him and yet was a minus-l0. Tom Poti and Schultz also enjoyed 20-assist seasons.

2010 Washington Capitals Goaltending:

Theodore had a family tragedy to deal with but was resolute in winning his job back from ’09 playoff hero Varlamov. Now it’s the latter’s turn to be tougher mentally on the ice, as Theodore’s departure re-opens the door for the Russian newcomer to assert himself. Varlamov, two inches taller than Theodore, still has only four regular season regulation losses, compared to 19 victories, and had two shutouts last year, though he couldn’t solve the Habs in their series. His challenge will come from fellow sophomore Neuvirth, who matched some of Varlamov’s first-year heroics, nine wins out of 13 decisions.

Washington Capitals 2010 Special Teams

Facing Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin with open ice was a daunting task for the opposition, and Washington made foes pay with the League’s best power play of 25.2%. That’s exactly where it was the year before when ranking second to Detroit. Four Caps broke the 10-goal barrier: Ovechkin, Backstrom, Green and Laich. But the fun stopped in the playoffs when Ovechkin managed their only goal. And in contrast, the Caps were one of the League’s worst teams when down one, hanging below 79% on the penalty kill and weak on the road in particular.

Washington Capitals 2010 Season Predictions

If a great team has to learn to lose before it can win, consider the Caps as having passed the test of hard knocks. Don’t expect them to shy away from going for another regular-season crown and the home ice that goes with it and pity the team they do meet in the first round.

We predict that the Washington Capitals will finish 1st in the NHL Southeast.

Washington Capitals Betting

Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Odds: +500
Washington Capitals Eastern Conference Odds: +180

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