Three games into the season, the season is over.
The Capitals cannot score on even strength, the defense sucks, Braden Holtby is gonna choke, the division is too good, blah blah blah long story short we're toast.
Now that the mini-rant is out of the way, let's be a little bit more rational about things.
1. The Caps cannot score on even strength. That may be true, but coming into today, we have as many even strength goals as Boston, Columbus, Philadelphia, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay, Nashville, and Dallas, and more even strength goals than Los Angeles, Minnesota, Buffalo. They only have one or two fewer goals than most of the rest of the league. The Caps have to step up their even strength play, but they are not doing badly comparatively.
2. The defense sucks. Well, unfortunately I cannot argue with this. Only Edmonton and New York Rangers have worse goals against per game than the Caps, while Calgary has the same. Still, it is early.
3. Braden Holtby is gonna choke. Yes, he has been bad; only three goalies have worse save percentages than him. However, it is still early, and as RMNB (among others) has pointed out, Holtby usually starts shaky before doing well later.
4. The division is too good. Um, not really. Philly is worse than the Caps, NYR the same, and only Pittsburgh and NYI have been really good so far. In the division, Pittsburgh and NYI are the only teams with more goals than the Caps. Not bad for a team who can only score on power plays. Plus, defense-wise, we have allowed fewer goals than New Jersey and NYR, and only three teams (Pittsburgh, NYI, and Columbus) have better goal differentials than the Caps.
In the end, it is early. We are only three games in, and the Caps have not been bad. They have not played up to standards, but don't stick a fork in the Caps yet.
Let's wait until the Caps have played at least 20 games before we do that.
The Capitals cannot score on even strength, the defense sucks, Braden Holtby is gonna choke, the division is too good, blah blah blah long story short we're toast.
Now that the mini-rant is out of the way, let's be a little bit more rational about things.
1. The Caps cannot score on even strength. That may be true, but coming into today, we have as many even strength goals as Boston, Columbus, Philadelphia, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay, Nashville, and Dallas, and more even strength goals than Los Angeles, Minnesota, Buffalo. They only have one or two fewer goals than most of the rest of the league. The Caps have to step up their even strength play, but they are not doing badly comparatively.
2. The defense sucks. Well, unfortunately I cannot argue with this. Only Edmonton and New York Rangers have worse goals against per game than the Caps, while Calgary has the same. Still, it is early.
3. Braden Holtby is gonna choke. Yes, he has been bad; only three goalies have worse save percentages than him. However, it is still early, and as RMNB (among others) has pointed out, Holtby usually starts shaky before doing well later.
4. The division is too good. Um, not really. Philly is worse than the Caps, NYR the same, and only Pittsburgh and NYI have been really good so far. In the division, Pittsburgh and NYI are the only teams with more goals than the Caps. Not bad for a team who can only score on power plays. Plus, defense-wise, we have allowed fewer goals than New Jersey and NYR, and only three teams (Pittsburgh, NYI, and Columbus) have better goal differentials than the Caps.
In the end, it is early. We are only three games in, and the Caps have not been bad. They have not played up to standards, but don't stick a fork in the Caps yet.
Let's wait until the Caps have played at least 20 games before we do that.
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