It’s going to be tough to find a national prognosticator who envisions a series win for the Capitals when they the face the Boston Bruins later this week in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Past Stanley Cup playoffs failures, a coach firing and a roster that struggled at times to adjust to new coach Dale Hunter don’t inspire much confidence. Plus, Boston is the No. 2 seed and the defending champion.
So what don’t the national guys like about Washington? The Zdeno Chara-Alex Ovechkin matchup, for one.
“I just think it’s going to be too much for the Capitals to handle. Chara versus Ovechkin — I think Chara will win out in that battle,” said NBC analyst Keith Jones, a former Caps forward. “I think Ovechkin still has too much one-on-one in his game, and he’s going to end up one-on-one with Chara an awful lot. I think the Capitals are in trouble in this series, and I think the Boston Bruins are going to have a relatively easy time.”
The matchup in goal seems one-sided, too. With Michal Neuvirth (lower-body injury) and Tomas Vokoun (groin) hurt, it looks like rookie Braden Holtby will get the nod for Washington. He’s a promising player with an on-ice combativeness that his teammates like. But he’s not Tim Thomas, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s best goalie and Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP. But maybe, in a perverse way, that works to the Caps’ advantage.
“Lot of question marks,” NHL Network analyst Mike Johnson said on his network Sunday. “[Holtby] is probably in the best-case scenario for a young guy stepping in there because there are not a lot of expectations. There are no other options, no pressure on him. If he plays well, great. If he doesn’t, it’s not really on him.”
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. Washington does have star center Nicklas Backstrom back, and it did beat Boston three out of four times without him this season, including two wins at TD Garden. That alone should give the Caps a puncher’s chance just by stabilizing the lineup. But is that alone enough?
– Brian McNally
