Sometimes we think of hockey players as robots. They show up to the morning skate, get a quick workout in, return home for lunch and a nap and then head back to the arena for a game that night. Rinse and repeat 82 times over a long season with a whole lot of travel thrown in.
Players do need a break from the sport during their down time. The mental grind wears on everyone. But some consume the game as fans, too. They know the standings in minute detail. They check out stats – some simpler than others – and they know exactly where they stand among the 29 other NHL teams. Capitals center Brooks Laich fits the profile.
“I woke up and took a look [Wednesday] morning and we’re sitting in 12th,” Laich said after Wednesday’s practice. “But looking at the standings…there’s only one team in the playoff picture right now – and that’s the Toronto Maple Leafs – in either conference that’s given up more goals than we have. They’ve given up 95, we’ve given up 94. Some of the other teams are in the 80s, 70s, there’s one even at 59, I think Boston’s given up.”
Since then the Chicago Blackhawks, second in the Western Conference, have passed Washington with 95 goals allowed. Of course, that’s with two extra games played. And Boston is now at 61 goals allowed, tied with the New York Rangers for fewest in the NHL. But Laich’s point is taken: The Caps might not even make the playoffs if they don’t address the issues in their defensive zone.
“I said it before the season that I had a goal that I wanted our team to be No. 1 defensively. And we aren’t anywhere close to that,” Laich said. “But I want us to take pride in the other side of the puck. I want us to be tough to play against. I think you have to be.”
Of course, the undertone there is that Washington isn’t devoted enough to keeping pucks out of its own net and isn’t a difficult a team to play against. Not sure if that’s exactly what Laich meant. But either way it’s hard to dispute. Sometimes the Caps are that team Laich imagined. But they have yet to sustain that level of play for more than a game or two. One more from Laich just because he articulates the issues Washington faces as well as anyone in that room. He referenced last year’s successful switch in mid-December to a style that focused more on the defensive zone. The Caps dramatically cut their goals against, finishing fourth overall by the end of the season, and took the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
“We’ve been through it before. But you have to understand as players what we did to earn that,” Laich said. “You have to look at your game last year and say ‘Okay, at that time we weren’t scoring goals.’ Because right now we’re not scoring a lot of 5-on-5 goals. One [Tuesday vs. Philadelphia], none [Saturday vs. Toronto]. We have to generate offense 5-on-5, but if we’re not scoring at least we can’t give up goals. As players just continue to take pride in the other side of the puck. Know when you don’t have the puck that it’s not time to score right now. It’s time to defend and be tough to play against.”
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