Different Mike, but here's a quick update on the Caps.
This won't surprise most readers - we've posited as much across the boards - but the Capitals are poised to find a middle-ground between the extreme defense that they played last season and the extreme offense that they played the year before.
From Tarik Al-Bashir of the Washington Post:
After testing out the new system in development camp, Boudreau stated that "It seemed to work really good... I'm always trying to be more of an offensive coach. I love offense. You have to score to win."One of the more interesting items [mentioned by Bourdreau] was the style of play the team will implement this season. It's been well-documented that Boudreau was forced to switch from his trademark high-octane style to a defensive posture when the flood of goals all but dried up in December. But now he's contemplating another tweak.
"I'm hoping that we can be a hybrid," Boudreau said. "There's some parts we changed [last season] that I really loved. But when you're playing like that, you have to score a lot of goals on dump-ins and you have to score a lot of goals off the forecheck because the quick-break isn't there. I'd like to get back to being more of a quick-break team."
Of course you take any statement made by a pr-minded team rep or coach to a reporter with a grain of salt, but in an interview two days later, John Carlson seemed to believe it. Again from Al-Bashir:
The latter post was also interesting for its focus on Carlson. Those who feel that he's lost some gloss in the Subban-Karlsson-et al heirarchy should remember that despite the retreat from offense:Something else that's got Carlson looking forward to 2011-12? Boudreau saying that the Caps will return to a more up-tempo, offensive style of play.
"That's a great decision," Carlson said, cracking a big smile. "We can still incorporate some of the things we did last season and just add the flair and swagger that we had from years prior. And if we can find that middle ground between the two, we're going to put a good product on the ice."
He's got the right mentality, though in a way that may or may not benefit his fantasy owners in the short-term. "I would like to [score more]," he says, "but who knows? ...I still might be able to play my best hockey and get 25 points. Whatever role they put me in, whether it's going to be the same as last year or a different role, I just want to do those little things to help this team do something special."Carlson, by almost every metric, had an outstanding rookie season. In addition to matching up against the opposing team's top forward line most nights, he tied the franchise's single-season record for points by a rookie defenseman (37), led all NHL rookies in ice time (22:38) and ranked third among rookies with a plus/minus rating (+21). Carlson also led the Caps in ice time on 21 occasions, while being assessed fewer minor penalties (17) than nine of his teammates.
Interesting reads for anyone looking to draft Caps for the upcoming season. If you're wondering about projected line combinations, the first post includes Boudreau's comments on that, as well.
Originally Posted by Gripnrip13
