The Washington Capitals: Finally Learning to Win

On the biggest stage (so far) in the biggest game of the season, the Washington Capitals put to bed many of the questions they were facing just 48 hours ago: could they close out a tight playoff series when the pressure was on? In a very un-Capital-like performance, Washington went from potentially enduring another first-round heart breaker to “exorcising their game 7 demons.” Somewhat anyway.

The Alex Ovechkin era for the Washington Capitals has been many things: exciting, breath-taking, fun, and energetic are just some of the words that come to mind. Of course, “disappointing” and “playoff failures” are a few others. For all their record season success, the Capitals were synonymous with “choking.” And with good reason…in the nine Ovechkin-era seasons, the team only won three playoff rounds, and never advanced beyond round two.

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No one ever doubts the regular season success of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and the rest of the team. But when things got tighter and the games a little grittier, the team just couldn’t get it done. A 2-5 career record in game 7’s for Ovechkin and his Capitals was one of the lead narratives heading into Monday. The Islanders were down three of their regular defensemen, were a mostly inexperienced playoff bunch, and had stumbled down the stretch to give the Caps home ice advantage in round one. So to say that game 7 against the Islanders carried some extra pressure for the Capitals was an understatement. Another first round clunker would re-affirm everyone’s doubts about this team.

The Washington Capitals just didn’t win game 7…they dominated it. Sometimes statistics can be mis-leading, but in this case, they were an accurate reflection of how the game went: shots were 26 to 11 in favor of the Capitals and if you’re an advanced stat person, the Capitals enjoyed a 56% to 44% possession advantage. They reduced the Islanders’ transition and speed game to nothing more than trying to survive for the first 40 minutes of action.

Yet, the real sign that this may not be your father’s Capitals: after playing the first two periods in the Islanders’ end and only facing seven shots in the process, Capitals goalie Braden Holtby allowed a goal that can only be described as “horrendous” which tied the game early in the third. After controlling play for so long, it was the type of goal that gets a goalie run out of town after the season since it’s a turning point and possible back-breaker. Maybe the old Capitals would have folded…but not the 2014/15 Capitals.

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Instead of sulking, the Capitals continued to be the aggressor and continued to push. Sure, it helped that Islander coach Jack Capuano and the rest of his neophyte club had a “deer in headlight” look going all night and allowed the Capitals to gain the offensive zone with ease. But they didn’t allow the Holtby gaffe to cost them, and eventually, Evgeny Kuznetsov potted the game winner.

There are no style points in the playoffs. You do what you have to do in order to survive and you move on, no apologies. The Capitals did that last night against a solid Islander team that didn’t have the horses to keep up with a deeper Capitals’ squad. Survive and move on.

Could this be the stepping stone the Washington Capitals need to get over the proverbial hump? Up next are the President Trophy-winning New York Rangers. They are fast, skilled, well-coached, deep on defense and possess an elite goalie in Henrik Lundqvist for good measure. The teams have met four previous times in playoffs in the Ovechkin-era, each winning a pair. By the time this series opens up on Thursday, the Rangers would have been resting for nearly a week. They’ll be the favorites when the puck drops, and with good reason.

But, these Capitals are different this season. They’ve bought into new-coach Barry Trotz’s defensive system. They’re big. They’re nasty. They hit (not always legally, but that’s another story). Their power play is deadly. They are talented throughout the lineup.

Does that mean they are going to upset the Rangers? Who knows? The Rangers have the recent head-to-head success, but that was the past. This is the now. If the Capitals can turn this into a physical, “grind-it-out” type of series, then yes, they’ll be right there with the favored Rangers, no question. Just ask the Islanders who lost two top-four defensemen this series against the Capitals who eventually just wore them down. Like a boxer going to the body only to weaken his opponent for the later rounds, the Capitals kept hitting and crashing until they overwhelmed the Islanders. The Rangers are an elite team for a reason with tons of experience, but the body can only take so much punishment before it wears down.

Whether or not the Capitals advance, it looks like they are finally turning a corner and put to bed many of the game 7 fears they previously felt. It’s taken ten seasons, but it finally looks like they learned what it takes to win this time of year.

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