You can contact Tucker Warner by email at firstteemulligan@yahoo.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/twarner50
Round One of the 2010 NHL playoffs have concluded, leaving us with a few surprises. Although I can currently offer little solace for fans of the upset Sabres and Devils (other than they'll be back next year), there is much more to be said for the future of the Washington Capitals.
Yeah, I know they were by far the winningest team in the league this year, and that they lost to the team seeded last in the NHL, becoming the first 1-seed ever to lose a series to an 8-seed after having a 3-1 lead. (Message to Caps fans: wait until you read the rest of the article before sending me angry emails. It gets better.)
Losing this series to the Montreal Canadiens could be the best thing ever to happen to the Washington Capitals franchise.
I know it sounds ludicrous, and crazy, and ridiculous. Just hear me out for a little while.
It's important to remember that this just wasn't the Caps' year. They were not going to win the Stanley Cup. This became evident in Game 5, when the Capitals were playing in Washington with virtually every advantage in their hands and couldn't close out the series. This team was just too flawed.
Sure, they had the most points of any team during the regular season and looked unbeatable for some stretches. But you can never, NEVER, win a championship with a defense as bad as the one the Capitals had. It just doesn't happen. That was the biggest reason that the Capitals couldn't win this year, although there was also their inability to create good shots, inconsistent goaltending, a penchant for taking dumb penalties, and not enough chemistry due to players switching between lines every game.
See? This wasn't the Caps' year. But like I said earlier, it gets better.
Or rather, it COULD get better. Washington's general manager George McPhee tends to make deals that don't make a whole lot of sense, to put it nicely. During the previous offseason, McPhee operated under the basic principle that "our defense is fine." You guessed it, McPhee made very little moves on the defensive end. Never mind the fact that their defense was actually very bad and Chris Pronger was still in the free agent market. It's just that whenever you can sign two washed-up journeymen forwards, you've gotta do it. Anyone want to know the day Washington made their first move to acquire a defenseman? March 3. Funny...that date was also the trading deadline. That was the day the Caps traded for Joe Corvo, a solid defensive player. The glaring mistake in this trade was that they traded AWAY one of their top defensive players, Brian Pothier. But hey, whenever you can trade away your best defensive player to get an inferior player in every sense of the game, you've gotta do it.
Obviously, McPhee isn't the best general manager for a team that wants to win a championship. For a team that needs to become good, sure. But not for a legitimate contender. The good news, however, is this would become a wake-up call. That's where losing now comes into the picture. You don't get wake-up calls by losing in the conference finals. You get wake-up calls by losing historically in the first round. So maybe this will be the year that McPhee wakes up and realizes "Holy crap. We suck at defense." Maybe.
Moving on now, here's 4 Up and 4 Down for this round, with team power rankings at the end.
4 Up
Sidney Crosby
Did he do anything that wasn't expected? Well, not really. But he did lead the first round in scoring by a large margin and is the best player on what seems to be the best team. Also, he became the definite answer to the question: "Who's the best player in the NHL?" I'm sorry, Ovechkin fans, but your argument doesn't have any strength anymore. Yeah, maybe Ovechkin's flashier and can do more with his skill set, but how can you call him the best player in the NHL when he's only made the second round of the playoffs once? Meanwhile, Crosby is the best player on the best team, a guy who can lead the league in goals, and is one of the only player who affects games just by being on the ice. The way he can see passing angles that none of us can even conceive of is a skill that belongs to only an elite few of the NHL- Crosby, Nicklas Backstrom, Joe Thornton, and Joni Pitkanen. In addition to the off-puck skills, well, did you SEE what he did to Jason Spezza in Game 5? He kept the puck for nearly 15 seconds just circling and waiting for someone to get open. Once he passed it, his team immediately scored a goal. It's just incredible. And if you think that's impressive, imagine what this paragraph would look like if I liked Crosby.
Jaroslav Halak
Despite a lackluster at best performance in the first three games of the Canadiens' series with the Capitals, Halak recovered to lead the Habs to the second round with three straight unbelievable performances. His Game 6- the game where he had 53 saves- was one of the best postseason games by a goaltender in the history of the NHL. Enough said.
Joe Pavelski
The guy most responsible for the Sharks finally making it out of the first round was not Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, or Dany Heatley. It was Joe Pavelski, who led San Jose in goals with 5. Those 5 goals included game winners in Game 4 (overtime) and Game 6, and the game-tying goal in Game 2 which happened only 30 seconds before overtime. In the first game of the second-round series with the Detroit Red Wings, Pavelski scored 2 goals en route to a 4-3 victory. Pavelski also racked up a nice, complementary 4 assists. In conclusion, it's safe to say Pavelski is a necessity to the Sharks.
Brian Boucher
The Philadelphia Flyers goaltender, a 33-year-old journeyman whose last regular starting job was before the lockout, led all playoff teams in both Goals Against Average and Save Percentage in the first round. In the four wins against the Devils, Boucher gave up 1, 2, 1, and 0 goals. In the lone loss, he gave up 4 goals- the Flyers scored 3. Even when the Flyers lost, they were still in a position to win due to the impeccable play of Boucher.
4 Down
Alexander Semin
And you thought this would be Alexander Ovechkin! Nope, Ovechkin played well in the first round. Backstrom's play was acceptable, Theodore's and Varlamov's goaltending woes were not their fault, and the mediocre play of the defense was to be expected. Semin had only 2 assists and zero goals in the seven-game series, with an even plus/minus. Is this the type of play you want from what is supposed to be your second- or third-best player? Of course not. Is Semin just not a good player? I don't know. What I do know is that whoever claimed Alexander Semin was an elite player was mistaken.
Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau
Obviously, Thornton and Marleau must not have gotten the memo that the playoffs already started. Thornton finished with 0 goals and 4 assists, with a -4 plus/minus, while Marleau picked up 1 goal and 2 assists, with a -2 plus/minus. I suppose this wouldn't be bad if they were third-line guys, but this isn't what you would want from two of your best players.
Martin Brodeur
I wouldn't say that Brodeur's case for the best goalie of all-time is toast, but the past two seasons have been a gigantic step away from securing his spot. After losing in the first round in heartbreaking style to the Hurricanes last year, Brodeur was supposed to come into this year's playoffs with a giant chip on his shoulder. Obviously, he didn't, losing 4 out of 5 games. On the playoff ranking of GAA, Brodeur is fifteenth. Fifteenth! There are only sixteen starting goalies! Incredible.
Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson
The Kings' top defensive line, starring two of the best young defensemen in the league, ranked tied for 232nd in plus/minus, good for third from last. When your best defensive line plays like THAT, you cannot win more than 3 games. It's impossible. The Kings lost their series.
Power Rankings for Second Round
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Philadelphia Flyers
6. Vancouver Canucks
7. Boston Bruins
8. Montreal Canadiens
-Tucker Warner
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