The Caps and The Cup

Everyone loves to watch the Capitals. Why wouldn't they? They play a fast-paced, high-scoring, reckless style of game that is pure entertainment on ice. And while the popularity of the Washington Capitals soars to the highest of heights, both inside and outside of the Nation's Capital, are they actually good eanough to finally be a Cup Champion?

Dave Thorson once said, "Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships." and recent history seems to be pretty consistent with this old adage. Of the past ten Cup-winners, four of them have had the best GAA in the playoffs and eight of them were in the top three. The two outside the top 3 were:

- Last year's Penguins, who were fifth after a high-scoring seven-game shootout with said Washington Capitals, giving up over 3 goal/game in that classic series. Aside from that series, the Penuins were fairly stingy giving up less than two and a half goals per game, good for about 4th.

- The 2002 Red Wings who were also fifth in GAA, but boasted possibly the most feared offensive line-up of all time with names like Hull, Yzerman, Robitaille, Fedorov, Shanahan and Larionov. Despite having four teams statistically ahead of them in defense, the Wings barely gave up 2 goals per game during the playoffs -- certainly nothing to be embarrassed about.

Right now, the Capitals are 19th in the NHL in goals against per game giving up 2.81 each outing. That's half a goal more than Chicago, the best in the League. Of all the impressive stats Bruce Boudreau's team has earnt, this is not one of them. Not since the high-flying Pens of 1992 has a team given up more than 2.80 goals/game in the playoffs and won the Stanley Cup.

The good news is that this glaring defensive statistic for Washington is only a regular season stat. And despite this they still sit atop the entire NHL. But is this kind of defensively-irresponsible hockey good enough to win in the postseason?

As mentioned, history says no.

There's no doubt about it, the Caps have an amazingly talented offense. One that can, and has been relied on many times to win a game. But during the course of a seven-game series, a well-coached team has the ability to familiarize themselves with their opponent and find weaknesses to exploit.

All the confidence in the world can be obliterated in just a few short games, when one or two players begin to doubt themselves. And that's where the problem lies. With the help of an astute coach and an excellent goaltender, it's not only feasible, but likely, that a team could gain and maintain the upper-hand when it comes to playoff hockey.

If a team were to completely stymie the rhythm of a Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin, can Ovechkin really do it all alone? What if, God-forbid, AO himself were the lose his, seemingly endless supply of mojo? It's difficult to see how the Capitals could possibly get out of the holes they consistently create for themselves with their aggressive style if these-albeit extremely potent-threats are nullified.

Even with their amazing recent streak and their current place in the standings, the Capitals have shown times when they are simply not the best team on the ice. Sometimes they still find a way to win those games, but over seven-games those injustices usually find a way of balancing between the teams.

The way they play is the reason I, along with many others, would love to see them succeed, but the way they play is also the reason they probably won't. In the second-season, familiarity is the worst enemy of a team that plays one-dimensionally and that is probably the most appropriate way to describe Washington right now.

Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom and Green are just a few of the stars in D.C. that are undeniably dangerous. But against a suffocating, oppressively-disciplined defense, you cannot expect 4+ goals from them every night and if they continue to allow goals against to flow like a Sharks' fans tears in April, that's what they'll need.

If coach Bourdreau can't find a way to instill a defensive conscience into his players, they will find themselves once again, playing golf after one or two playoff rounds.