Is this the year?

Sorry for the delay from first blog to the second, there isn't a whole lot of hockey news right now with the MLB trade deadline having just passed and the NFL finally coming back. I don't want to write what everyone else has but since we are only a few weeks away from the start of training camp I have to ask the ultimate question, is this finally the year? The year that we have been waiting for since the 1998 Stanley Cup Final disaster. I say disaster but I still believe we as fans, players included, were more in a shock and awe of even being there when we clearly weren't expected to be there.

First lets look at what the Caps have to look at. They finished #1 in the Eastern Conference two years running, they have finished #1 in the Southeast division four years running, and they return most of their team from the last two years. Backstrom is most likely 100% healthy, Carlson and Alzner have another year under their belt and the team has seemed to have bought into Coach Boudreau's defense first system.

Now let's look at the overall picture starting with the offense. Alexander Ovechkin had a down year, to his standards, but as the team began to hit their stride in the new defensive system Ovechkin began to get back to his scoring norm. With he, Backstrom and Knuble back on the top line together they should once again be a force. Mike Knuble really began to take to form at the end of last season, by far the best stretch of hockey he has played as a Cap. If Backie can come back to form the top line will score regardless of what type of system they are in. The second line could be the most intriguing line of the team. It seems clear that Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin will be pegged to start there, but the question then lies is Brooks Laich a center or is Marcus Johansson the center. If these three are together you can be guaranteed there's going to be a lot of back checking and a lot of quickness. The other option, in my opinion, is to put a Jason Chimera on this line. He worked really well with the top line in Knuble's absence last year and could put some much needed grit on the same line as Alex Semin. Semin seemed to play with more urgency and alertness when Jason Arnott was put on the second line and the same could work with Chimera. It would add the same type of speed with a Marcus Johansson at center but much less grit which seems to be the goal of this team this year. The third line has several options. Lets stick with a Semin, Laich, Chimera second line, this would put Marcus Johansson at center with the likes of Troy Brouwer and quite possibly a Joel Ward as the wings. I am not familiar with the speed of either Brouwer or Ward but with the style of play that Johansson brings, there will be plenty of chances created for Brouwer and Ward in front of the net. Ward can clearly score in the post season and Brouwer has proven to score when he has the opportunities. If this plays out as a starting third line that would leave four players vying for the 4th line, Jeff Halpern, Jay Beagle, Matt Hendricks and DJ King. King hasn't really worked out in DC so I don't see him getting the nod. This is where I think a Francois Bouchard or a Mathieu Perreault could crack this lineup. It seems as though a wing pairing of Ward and Brouwer on the third line is highly unlikely, that is where you could pair say Brouwer Johansson and Bouchard or Perreault to make things interesting for the opposing team. Let's not forget the long shot of Cody Eakin and  free agent signee Chris Bourque. It sounds like Hershey will be loaded again with the youngsters maturing so there are several possibilities at the third and fourth lines. Lets not forget a Tyler Seguin for the Boston Bruins who had some success late in the year and in the playoffs at a young age. We can't take the younger guys for granted.

Defensively it seems the Caps are pretty set. It would be absurd to think that the Carlson and Alzner pairing would be split up as the top/shut down pairing. The question arises of who pairs with Roman Hamrlik. In my opinion I would put Mike Green with Hamrlik. Green played much more open offensively when paired with Scott Hannan last year and Hamrlik would allow the same type of play from Green. He is quick enough, and much improved defensively, to get back and play smart defensive hockey along with joining in on the rush. When Dennis Wideman was on the ice he paired well with John Erskine and I can't see that being any different. I can only imagine that Jeff Schultz and Erskine will split time and as we all know there will be injuries and having defensive depth is a plus. Sean Collins will most likely be down in Hershey unless they elect to keep two defenseman as healthy scratches, which is a possibility. In all likely hood Tom Poti will be put on long term IR. If he is healthy I would have to believe the Caps will try to move him for virtually nothing to whoever will take him, most likely outside of our division. If he is untradeable I can see them then trying to move an Erskine or Schultz simply because they owe Poti $2.5 million this year if he plays. All in all if the offensive defenseman can perform on the Power Play and they can cut down on mistakes, Mike Green mostly, then the Caps can continue their push towards a New Jersey Devil esq defense first scheme and hopefully push them through to the promise land.

The goaltending is probably the biggest question mark for the team. They brought in Tomas Vokoun, denoted the #1 goalie by Coach Boudreau, and have holdover Michal Neuvirth to challenge. Vokoun has been solid in his career but has never been on a "winning" team. He has two playoff appearances but hasn't gone far. His international stats are amazing but this isn't exactly the international game. Neuvirth played solid last year, clearly earning the job for #1 goalie in the playoffs and didn't play bad. On the other hand he didn't steal any games for us either like Varlamov did vs the New York Rangers now 3 seasons back or the likes of a Tim Thomas this past postseason. Giving Vokoun a chance gives Neuvy the ability to learn from a crafty veteran and time to perfect his skills. Assuming for once there are no injuries, we won't see Braden Holtby which isn't a bad thing. He will be working with Olie Kolzig in Hershey. I for one am glad to have Olie Kolzig back in the organization as he is by far the best goalie in the franchises history. I digress, Vokoun has had the second best GAA since the lockout (which gives it a good timetable for excellence) and has played on teams with very little talent along the way. If he can be as good here as he was in Florida the last few years then the doubts and questions will dissipate as the season prolongs and could solidify what this team has lacked.

Lastly, we have to talk about Coach Boudreau. He has had tons of success in the regular season and nothing but mediocrity in the playoffs. In four trips to the playoffs they have won only two series, both against the New York Rangers. It is highly unlikely that they can play the Rangers in the quarters, semis and conference finals so they will have to figure out how to win against another opponent. There have been times over these four years where Boudreau has been outcoached. I will say he clearly outcoached John Tortorella in both matchups, especially with the starting of Varlamov that first year. However look at the Montreal and Tampa Series'. I will skip the Pittsburgh series because it seems as though Varly just got tired and gave the team zero shot that year. Pittsburgh did however move on to win the Stanley Cup. Back to the Montreal series, Jacques Martin made every move that Boudreau didn't. The Tampa series it seemed Boudreau didn't make any worthwhile adjustments. Tampa's defense was stifling and goaltending was better than average. Roloson did steal a game or two from the Caps, as did the Tampa offense when the Caps did have the lead. One could say Boudreau didn't have Wideman or Green, but you can't blame injuries on losses after four years of playoff failure. I for one think that this is Boudreau's last chance. He has to take the team to atleast game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals or I think George McPhee will be on a coaching search. Boudreau has all the assets needed to win, a veteran goaltender, a better than average defensive group and the tough, gritty offensive additions needed to equal out the finesse, scoring players that the team already has entrenched. With this type of team and the additions made by McPhee the Caps have to be in a win now mode and a take no prisoners attitude, if not this could be the last year we see Boudreau's Hadeed commercial's with the hanging Penguin.