CapitalsOpinion

Stop Saying: “Here We Go Again”

Whether it be a text from your friends and family, or scrolling through Facebook and Twitter or just looking at The Washington Post, it would seem as if the world is ending after the Caps have lost game one.

It is one game. However, looking at these sites, you would not be able to tell. You would think the Caps just got swept by the worst team in the league. Enough of this “here we go again” mentality. As I wrote about last year, it seems that whenever something goes wrong, everyone is quick to give up on the Caps, citing “history.”

Here is some history for you. The Caps have a 10-7 record in a playoff series after dropping game one. That is a winning record, but by checking online, you would think it was 0-17.

Did the Caps lose a tough one last night? Yes. Were the mistakes gut wrenching? Yes. Those mistakes can easily be corrected though. The Caps need to stay disciplined and get the puck out of their own zone.

What Caps fans should be focusing on is how idiotic Trotz’s deployment was last night. Jakub Vrana, arguably one of the Caps’ best players last night, played a team low (excluding defenseman Michal Kempny who was injured in the first period) 6:58. The next closest forwards were Chandler Stephenson and Alex Chiasson  who played 9:44 and 9:59 respectively. As we saw last night, Vrana’s speed can be a difference maker in this series. His speed drew a couple penalties and set up the go-ahead goal from Devante Smith-Pelly. Vrana is a difference maker and he needs to play more than seven minutes a game.

On the defensive end, even though the Caps were playing with five defenseman, Brooks Orpik played 19:39 and Jakub Jerabek played inly 13:17. Both of them should be closer to 15 minutes given the scenario last night. As we saw on the second goal for Columbus, Orpik really can’t clear the crease, so why is he playing so much?

Last night showed the Caps have some work to do, but fans should not have come in expecting the Caps to sweep Columbus. The Caps dominated the first period. If they can play a full 60 minutes the way they played the first 20, then they should be able to win this series. It is one game, stop acting like the season is already over.

Brandon Alter

Brandon Alter covers all three teams in the Washington Capitals Organization. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in May of 2021.

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