Capitals exit leaves possible question marks over Boudreau’s future

WASHINGTON , DC – So, you’ve addressed some key issues with your team, you’ve one of the games premier talents on your roster and you’ve just rocketed through the regular season and won the Presidents Trophy. Surely you are among the Stanley Cup favourites?
 
For the Washington Capitals, all of the above are applicable. The Caps addressed some of their issues through smart player acquisitions such as free agent Mike Knuble and trades for veterans like Jason Chimera and Scott Walker. Superstar winger Alex Ovechkin, despite some controversial suspensions and minor injuries, still scored 50 goals and 109 points in 72 games and the Capitals finished the regular season with the best record of any NHL club. And yes, many fancied them to take a run at the Cup despite one or two question marks still outstanding.
 
And yet the players are clearing out their lockers, the fans are preparing for summer and everyone is left asking one question – what went wrong?
 
Montreal shocked the hockey world when they overturned a 3-1 series deficit to knock the Caps out of the 2010 post season in game 7 of their first round match up. What was more shocking is the way Caps all conquering offence, which scored over 300 goals during the regular season, seemed to dry up, scoring just 3 goals in the final three games of the series! Bruce Boudreau’s side put an impressive 134 shots on Canadiens netminder Jaroslav Halak during those final three contests, and saw many more blocked by the Habs defence, but struggled to light the lamp.
 
There is no doubt Halak was red hot when it really mattered for Montreal. After being chased in game 3, amid claims by Ovechkin Halak’s hand ‘was shaking’ on his water bottle, Halak also sat out game 4 before returning in game 5 for what many expected to be a formality, as Washington wrapped up the series and enjoyed a week off ahead of round 2. Of course it all turned out very, VERY differently, and no doubt Ovechkin regrets some of those words now, but does Washington’s demise lie purely in the   hands, shaking or otherwise, of a Slovak netminder in a rich vein of form?
 
Halak’s outstanding play certainly played its part. He is not the first Montreal netminder to steal a series after all! But what may be worrying for Caps fans is the lack of production from one or two key players, and the apparent lack of a plan B, or C. Halak made a number of outstanding stops for sure, but the Habs defence did their home work on how to combat the Washington offence and did their best to limit the amount of top quality scoring chances Halak would have to face, the Slovak did the rest. And yet the Caps kept rolling with the same system.
 
Bruce Boudreau has done well in his time with the Caps, let’s not discount that here. When he took over they were idling along, Ovechkin was their main draw and they sold tickets almost on his name alone. They weren’t going to be a 30^th placed team, but they were likely going to be on the outside of the play-offs looking in, or on the bubble bouncing in and out of the play-offs from year to year. Boudreau took them along to the next step, making them an almost guaranteed play-off team and probable division winner each year. He’s certainly given them the foundations to go on to greater things. But has he taken them as far as he can?
 
While most people still point towards Theodore and Varlamov, the Caps goaltenders during the play-offs, and claim that Washington were never going to win with ‘those two’, an age old rule of thumb must be raised – the two most important parts of a team are its goalie, and its coach. While Theodore and Varlamov were not exactly spectacular for more than a short spell during the Caps loss to Montreal, equally Boudreau saw his team blow not one, not two, but three chances to win the series with nothing more than exasperated looks, flailing arms and claims of disbelief in press conferences.
 
The Caps can perhaps easily address the goaltending situation via trades or free agency, with the likes of Turco and even Nabokov as free agents this summer, and continuing to develop Varlamov and prospect Michal Neuvrith, but the coaching question will still remain open whilst Boudreau is at the helm of this ship.
 
Contact the author: rob.mcgregor@prohockeynews.com