Comments on: What gives with these roller coaster Capitals?

By: stakex

stakex — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 07:20:25 +0000

The Capitals have stopped responding to Boudreau… its that simple. They have looked pathetic at times over the last few games, and there is only one person to blame when the whole team looks bad.

If this was the first sign of trouble for the Caps under Boudreau then I would say they should wait it out. However, he has proven he is not a Cup winning coach… and when his team is not playing well he struggles to do anything about it. I think its fair to say there have been at least 4 times over the last three years in which Boudreau could have/should have been fired… but was given the benefit of the doubt. He should be out of second chances at this point.

By: stakex

stakex — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 07:10:48 +0000

The “Well they won 7 in a row!” argument has a few holes in it. First of all, four of those wins were against teams that are currently outside the playoff picture (Oilers, Wings, Hurricanes, Lightning). Yet another one of them was against a Pittsburgh team that, while still potent, was playing without its top two offensive weapons. Second, the Caps were getting amazing play from their third and fourth lines. As I predicted several times, that was simply a bubble that was hiding larger issues for the Caps…. and that bubble has now burst. Throw in the fact they were getting better then expected goaltending from Vokoun, and you get a very misleading winning streak that masked the fact that the Caps are a team with many issues.

Now that their “grinders” and Vokoun have come back to earth… we are seeing what the Caps actually have, and its a scary picture if your a Caps fan. Its not just Ovechkin playing bad. Its not just Semin being lazy and taking horrible penelties. Its not just Green being hurt. Its not just Vokoune in a slump. Its not just awful defense. Its not just a Washington team that hasn’t looked organized since the season started. Its all of them. The team as a whole is playing, and looking, horrible…. and thats saying something for a team that should be a Cup favorite with its talent.

So when the whole team can be described to be playing bad, who do you blame? At that point… its hard to blame the players.

By: abrienza428

abrienza428 — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:20:21 +0000

Isn’t that what people said last year?

By: macintoshw

macintoshw — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:10:45 +0000

Unless they make it to the EC finals (at the very least) Bruce is toast.

By: brianforster

brianforster — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:36:15 +0000

Are we really concerned? This is a team that continues to break franchise records. Or are we already forgetting about the winning streak to start the year? It’s a long season. It will turn around.

By: danphipps01

danphipps01 — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:59:48 +0000

Thing is that he’s pretty much Ken Hitchcock Two: Electric Boogaloo. He’s not a guy well-liked by the players, but his strategies pay off over and over and over again. That having been said… even great instincts don’t mean much when your players keep sulking and playing poorly. If Boudreau’s good ideas aren’t enough to balance against Ovi’s moodiness or Semin’s laziness or Vokoun/Neuvirth’s inconsistency, they ultimately need to try to find someone who they’ll try harder for – but then, that won’t solve all their problems. Semin will still be lazy and if Ovi doesn’t light up (and it’s not just his hate-on for the coach that’s screwing with the quality of his play right now) under a new guy, very little will actually change. In other words, a coach swap would be a huge risk with no real proof of payoff. The Caps are in a strange and unpleasant place right now.

By: abrienza428

abrienza428 — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:47:22 +0000

Boudreau simply isn’t the coach for this team. He was great when they were young, but the yelling wears off after a while and players don’t respond to it.

Reminds me of Pittsburgh and Michel Therrien.