Caps, Ovechkin continue surging
The Washington capitals big 5-0 blowout of Edmonton last night boosted them above the Boston Bruins, at least for now, as the Eastern Conference second seed. They are two points behind Philadelphia for the overall Eastern Conference lead. That is what a six game winning streak will do for you.
If the playoffs started today, the Caps would be looking at a show down with 7th seed New York Rangers. Not exactly a match up I would want in the first round. The Rangers can be down right dangerous, as the Caps have felt this season. This season, the Caps are 1-2-1 to the Rangers and have been out scored 18-6. Over the last two match ups, Caps have been shutout 13-0.
Good news for these Caps is the resurgence of Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin had a three point night last night, scoring twice and adding one helper. He has a 6 game point streak and has score din 10 of his last 11 games. In that 11 game stretch, Ovie has put up 6 goals and 10 assists. Ovie is loving the month of March as well, watching his capitals soar while has scored 3 goals and 6 assists in 5 games this month.
More good new sis the return of Eric Fehr last night after missing 22 games. Fehr welcomed himself back by scoring his 9th and 10thgoals of the season, giving obvious confidence to Bruce Boudreau that he is ready to re-assume a role after a long injury stint.
Goalie question for our Caps readers --- Is the future of the net for the Caps quickly becoming Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby? Both have come up big, both have a great feel and presence in the net, and both have put up some stellar saves. Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov, who most Caps fans thought would have the mantle between the pipes, has once again proven that he is not durable. Is Braden Holtby pushing Varly out of the equation? With the Holtby win and shutout last night, he improves overall to 6-2-2 with a 1.95 GAA and a .930 save percentage. Meanwhile, Michal Neuvirth is 22-10-4 with a GAA of 2.47 and a save percentage of .910. How does the three goalie scenario resolve when Holtby is looking like he is also NHL ready?
Finally, all nine defenseman practiced today. That means, once Mike Green and Tom Poti are healthy, three defenseman will be scratched? Wow. Caps are overflowing in defenseman.
