Ovechkin ain't enough.
Posted 6:50 PM ET | Comments 5
The Washington Capitals currently sit atop the southeast division with 99 points. Alexander Ovechkin currently sits 2nd among NHL scoring leaders with 100 points and is the leagues top goal scorer with 53 goals. Mike Green is the leagues top defenseman with 67 points and is tied for 4th in the league in power play goals with 16. Both Ovechkin and Green sit #1 and #2 on TSN’s player rankings with 104.27 and 100.72.
And you know what else? Even with two of the games best offensive and defensive players, the Washington Capitals will still not win the Stanley Cup.
Hell they won’t even win the Conference!(My money’s on New Jersey) And do you want to know why? Two words: Jose Theodore.
Sorry buddy but lets take a look at your stats: 12th in wins with 29 (Ryan Miller has more and he’s been injured). Tied for 30th in the league for GAA with a 2.80. 35th in the league in save percentage with .902. With only 2 shutouts.
These stats are just not good enough. Championship teams are built around good goaltending and strong defence. Washington has allowed 222 goals. That’s 5th worst among playoff bound teams. Only Pittsburgh, Montreal, Detroit, and Calgary have allowed more goals and if Montreal gets knocked out by Florida you can take them off the list and bump up the Caps. The Panthers have allowed only 216 goals. The Bruins are 1st in the league allowing only 179 goals and the Devils are 2nd with 189. Fans will argue that this is the 3rd highest scoring team in the league with 245 goals (tied with San Jose actually) but there are 3 teams trailing closely behind at 242 goals (Chi, Phi, Cal).There is still the chance that the Caps draw the Penguins in the first round and that alone is a difficult series for any team. Barring some sort of first round upsets where the Bruins and the Devils get knocked off I find it highly unlikely that this team, although highly dynamic, will reach the finals.
Brodeur, Thomas, Fleury, Nabokov, Kiprusoff, Ward, Lundqvist, Luongo: these are the names of the goalies you want on your team during overtime in game 7, not Theodore. Unless Ovechkin’s got a fantastic butterfly style that we just haven’t seen yet, I don’t think it’s enough for this team right now.
And you know what else? Even with two of the games best offensive and defensive players, the Washington Capitals will still not win the Stanley Cup.
Hell they won’t even win the Conference!(My money’s on New Jersey) And do you want to know why? Two words: Jose Theodore.
Sorry buddy but lets take a look at your stats: 12th in wins with 29 (Ryan Miller has more and he’s been injured). Tied for 30th in the league for GAA with a 2.80. 35th in the league in save percentage with .902. With only 2 shutouts.
These stats are just not good enough. Championship teams are built around good goaltending and strong defence. Washington has allowed 222 goals. That’s 5th worst among playoff bound teams. Only Pittsburgh, Montreal, Detroit, and Calgary have allowed more goals and if Montreal gets knocked out by Florida you can take them off the list and bump up the Caps. The Panthers have allowed only 216 goals. The Bruins are 1st in the league allowing only 179 goals and the Devils are 2nd with 189. Fans will argue that this is the 3rd highest scoring team in the league with 245 goals (tied with San Jose actually) but there are 3 teams trailing closely behind at 242 goals (Chi, Phi, Cal).There is still the chance that the Caps draw the Penguins in the first round and that alone is a difficult series for any team. Barring some sort of first round upsets where the Bruins and the Devils get knocked off I find it highly unlikely that this team, although highly dynamic, will reach the finals.
Brodeur, Thomas, Fleury, Nabokov, Kiprusoff, Ward, Lundqvist, Luongo: these are the names of the goalies you want on your team during overtime in game 7, not Theodore. Unless Ovechkin’s got a fantastic butterfly style that we just haven’t seen yet, I don’t think it’s enough for this team right now.
i enjoyed your article, i hope your right about washington... but lately i think the penguins are becoming the biggest threat.
The exact same thing can be said about Philly.
Theodore's also never taken a team past the second round.
I don't think people doubt your arguement. Look for Washington to make a move for a bonafide goalie next year. They have all the pieces in place... just need 1 or 2 shut down dmen, and a starting goalie, and then you'll have a cup winning team.