Team needs production from entire core group
Your stars must shine.
That has become almost a mantra for Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau in recent years. On nights when his team struggles, he often points out if his core group of offensive stars — Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green — didn’t pull their weight. Washington won’t win a Stanley Cup without contributions from others — witness Jason Chimera’s overtime winner vs. the New York Rangers in Game 4 of their first-round series last week — but the Caps won’t even remain in the conversation as the postseason progresses if those top four don’t produce.
Save for Ovechkin’s five goals, the other three didn’t come through last spring against the Montreal Canadiens in a shocking first-round loss. Maybe it was because of injuries. Maybe it was because of the brilliant Jaroslav Halak in the opposing net. Maybe it was just bad luck. But this time around, Green and Semin both did their part against the Rangers, giving Ovechkin the offensive support he needed to push Washington through to the second round in just five games.
| Caps notes |
| » Washington forward Alexander Semin sat out practice on Tuesday at Kettler Iceplex due to illness. |
| » Defenseman Mike Green showed no ill effects from the puck he took to the head in Game 5 vs. the New York Rangers on Saturday, remaining on the ice for all of Tuesday’s practice. |
| » Forward Mike Knuble (undisclosed injury) skated with his teammates, but no firm answer on if he will play in Game 1 of the second round. Defenseman Dennis Wideman (right leg hematoma) skated early, but left before the main practice due to feeling “light headed,” according to coach Bruce Boudreau. |
Green had a goal in Game 5 before taking a puck to the helmet while blocking a shot and sitting the final two periods. He also added four assists in the New York series. Semin had the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 1. He finished with three goals and an assist.
“That is what we need. I’m happy about that. I think everybody is — especially those guys,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “It’s nice to see them score. They’re our best players and that’s the reason we do so well I think in the regular season — because they come to play so often and they’re scoring these huge goals for us. We’re going to need them if we want any hope of going all the way here.”
Backstrom wasn’t as fortunate. He posted just one assist in the Rangers’ series and now has one point in his last eight playoff games. But Washington can survive with one of its big guns off the score sheet. Last spring, both Green (0 goals, 3 assists) and Semin (0 goals, 2 assists) didn’t produce — though Semin had 44 shots on goal against Montreal in seven games. Backstrom started off on fire with five goals in four games against the Canadiens, including a Game 2 hat trick. But he didn’t record a point in the final three games, all losses.
Against New York, Green was on the ice for seven goals and was a plus-6 at even strength. Semin was on the ice for six Caps goals and the Rangers didn’t score against his second line, which included responsible, veteran forwards Jason Arnott and Marco Sturm. Ovechkin was on the ice for six goals, but finished just plus-2. Backstrom was a plus-1.
