TAMPA
It wasn’t supposed to end this way. After the Washington Capitals dispatched the New York Rangers in five games, this spring appeared destined for a different, better, perhaps historic conclusion.
On Hockey: After another playoff collapse, the Capitals must make changes
Track every shot and goal of every Capitals playoff game.
The players were more mature, we believed, having learned from the tough lessons taught by last spring’s collapse. The dressing room had a better mix of youngsters and veterans. And, thanks to a midseason switch to a more defensively responsible system, they finally were playing the right way, too.
We were wrong.
Fans and media will be quick to point their fingers at management for fielding a lineup that can’t win when it matters. Others might call out the coach for being unable to get his team to stick to the game plan for a full 60 minutes or squeeze a few more power play goals from one of the NHL’s most talented units.
And they’re right. General Manager George McPhee and Coach Bruce Boudreau should not be absolved of all culpability for the Capitals getting unceremoniously swept out of the playoffs with Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Lightning. But what transpired in Games 3 and 4 at St. Pete Times Forum wasn’t about a flawed roster or Xs and Os. It was indicative of a larger problem, one that emanates from inside the dressing room and could prove difficult to solve.
How else do you explain the Capitals getting outplayed for the second time in two nights when already down two games to none?
“We didn’t play our best game,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “They were doing all the little things right — again. You would like to go back and replay that game [because] there are a few little things you would like to do different.”
“There’s not a lot to say other than they outplayed us,” he added. “They were the better team tonight.”
Across the cramped dressing room, Brooks Laich was answering a question about Boudreau’s future.
“What do you mean?” the winger fired back. “That doesn’t fall on Bruce. We’re the guys that play the game. Bruce, Dean [Evason] and Bob [Woods], I think we have a dream team of coaches. We’re privileged to play for these guys. Any criticism directed toward them is completely unjust. They put the game plan together and it’s up to the players to execute.”
When the Capitals arrived in Tampa, the situation called for their best players to be just that, and nothing less. Instead, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, Laich and others will go their separate ways this week wondering what more they could have done.
The list is long. The offseason, though, will be longer.
In nine playoff games, Ovechkin had 10 points (five goals and five assists) but managing only a secondary assist on the night you get swept out of the postseason isn’t good enough for a two-time MVP, the captain of a team that has won the Eastern Conference’s regular season title each of the past two seasons.
Backstrom’s struggles, though, cast a long shadow. Consider this: He took his first three shots of the two contests in Tampa in the third period of Game 4. One season after notching 101 points, he’ll head home to Sweden having not scored a goal in his final 17 contests and with only two points in nine playoff games.
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