Following the Capitals’ loss in game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals last Saturday, the thoughts of many people immediately turned to Washington head coach Dale Hunter.  Would he be back?  Would he choose to come back, or would General Manager George McPhee make the decision for him?

Monday morning at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, we all found out.  McPhee announced at his end-of-season media availability that Hunter would, in fact, not be back as the head coach of the Capitals, deciding instead to return home to London, Ontario.  And that was that.

With Hunter’s departure, however, the Capitals don’t have a coach.  They need one, the sooner the better.  To set the stage for the appointment of the next coach, I’ve prepared a list of job requirements, or qualities, that I’d like to see in the next Washington bench boss.

The ability to fix Alex Ovechkin: As we all know, Capitals winger and captain Alex Ovechkin is a shell of his former self.  Ovechkin’s point output plummeted to 65 this year, down from 85 the previous season and 109 the season before that.  His corsi rating has also taken a nosedive, and it was the 7^th best out of the 11 forwards who played 50 or more games for the Capitals this year – against the second easiest competition on the team.  Goal scoring, since the lockout, has gone down, as have power play opportunities.  But the Capitals, and probably their success, are tied to Ovechkin because of his contract and his status as one of the faces of the NHL.  In all likelihood, he isn’t going anywhere, and no NHL team, particularly one that is as heavily invested in one as the Caps are in Ovechkin, can win when it’s star player isn’t doing what he’s supposed to.  This is a big problem, and “team play” or not, getting Ovechkin on track is an important, and difficult, task.

Read on to find out more needs!

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Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post

Monday was a rainy day in Arlington, Virginia.

As light rain pattered across the giant glass window that serves as the entrance to Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Vice President and General Manager George McPhee strode around the corner and towards the throng of reporters waiting for him.

“Good morning,” McPhee said.  “Thank you for coming.”

“I imagine the first question will be about Dale Hunter.  This morning, Dale and I met at about 10 o’clock, and he let me know that he will not be able to return as the coach.  He’s going to head back to London.  I guess we’re all fathers and sons and husbands first before anything else, and if we have our priorities right in this life, then family comes first.  And Dale, he needs to go home.”

And just like that, it was over.

Dale Hunter’s reign as the head coach of the Washington Capitals was over after 169 days, 37 wins, and 37 losses.  It was over in less than a season.

But it’s over.  And that was the right call.  For club and for coach.

Dale Hunter did a tremendous job as the head coach of this team.  There is no doubt that he came in and changed the culture of the Capitals by holding everybody accountable for their play.  They were annoying, tough, and stubborn.  They were like Dale Hunter as a player.

"He had this club playing the way he played,” said McPhee.  “Home or road, winning or losing, healthy or hurt.  He had this team playing hard."

He got this team, his team, to buy in to his system.  And he put together a nice little run, winning seven playoff games and knocking off the Stanley Cup Champion Bruins before falling to the Rangers in seven games.

But the reality of the situation is that the Capitals lost.  They lost because the Rangers were better than them and because of lost opportunities, sure.  But they also lost because they were completely reliant on collapsing defense and a historically great run from a rookie goaltender; a performance like that from Braden Holtby nobody saw coming.  And, quite frankly, they got a little bit lucky, just as they got unlucky in game five against the Rangers.

“It’s tough to play that way sometimes,” said Troy Brouwer.  “Because one bounce can determine that game, no matter what you do through the course of those games.  Sometimes it’s hit or miss.  Over the course of the season, it’s tough to play playoff hockey for all 82 games and then continue it in to the playoffs.”

Continue reading for analysis from the players themselves.

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The Washington Capitals announced Monday morning that head coach Dale Hunter will not return to the team to coach next season.  Hunter resigned on Monday after a meeting with Caps GM George McPhee and after speaking with his family about whether or not to return.  The OHL team that Hunter owns and used to coach, the London Knights, are in the Memorial Cup tournament, and Hunter will go back and watch from a suite.  "I'm a fan," he said.

"Im going home," said Hunter.  "To the team, to the farm.  To my family."

Lots more to come from Kettler over the next few days.  As always, follow me on Twitter here for news and updates.

Monday afternoon in Arlington, the Capitals will hold their end-of-year media availability following their loss to the Rangers in game seven on Saturday night. Make sure you follow along by following me on Twitter here for all of your news, as I will be at KCI.

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Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty

Here we go again.

Saturday night inside Madison Square Garden, the Washington Capitals will play a game seven in which one team is the favorite.  One team had the banner regular season.  One team led the Eastern Conference in points.  One team is a betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

Sound familiar to a Capitals fan?

It should.  But as we all know, this year, is different.  This year, the Capitals are the upstart underdog, the team pushing the top seeded club to the brink for a decisive game seven on the road.  It is their opponent, the New York Rangers, that have the MVP candidate, the all-star coach, and the top seed in the Conference.  And, both among most pundits and in Las Vegas, it is the Rangers that are expected to win.

For the core of these Washington Capitals, this will be the sixth game seven that they have played as a group.  Brooks Laich, Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green have compiled a 2-3 record in those decisive games, disappointing results to say the least.  Of course, prior to this year, that group had played all of their game sevens inside Verizon Center, a period in which they put together a 1-3 record.

In the one road game seven that they have played in the last six years?  A thrilling 2-1 victory over the Bruins last month that sent the Stanley Cup champions to the golf course.

In sports, a lot of focus – media, player, and organizational – is often placed on home ice advantage, and how the regular season is so important because if you are the top seed, you earn the right to home ice throughout the Conference playoffs.  But to some of the Capitals, they say the mindset is different – and decidedly better – when you are heading in to an opposing team’s building for the final game of a playoff series, because it allows you to be a bit more relaxed, and a little bit less under pressure.

“I would say it’s a different mindset,” said center Nicklas Backstrom following practice on Friday.  “I mean we don’t have the pressure on us.  They are the number one seed and they have the pressure.  We just have to go up there and throw everything we have at them.”

Read on by clicking here.

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Hot on the heels of Chris Bourque, Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby and his fiancée Brandi welcomed their first child, a son, Benjamin Hunter on May 10, 2012. No telling if Dale had any influence on lil' Holts middle name, or if the doctor performed his own set of superstitious rituals before entering the room and delivering the newborn with a glove hand flourish. 

In honor of the newest member of the Holtby clan, we present to you this .gif!

 

 

Congrats to the Holtby family!

[Ed. Note: If you made this .gif, let us know so we can give you proper credit!]

88 seconds into last night's do-or-die Game 6 against the visiting New York Rangers, Alex Ovechkin sent a howitzer of a one timer high over Henrik Lundqvist's glove to give the Washington Capitals the early lead. The power play blast was the Captain's 30th career playoff goal, and tied him for the franchise lead him with Peter Bondra, who netted 30 in 80 career playoff games. Surpassing the 30 goal mark in a players' first 50 playoff games is a rare feat, not having been surpassed since the Colorado Avalanche's Joe Sakic in 1997 who netted 33. As James Mirtle points out, Ovechkin's 0.60 playoff goals per game is better than such notible names as Wayne Gretzky, Pavel Bure, Jari Kurri, and Brett Hull - with only Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy, Maurice Richard and Cam Neely higher.

Ovechkin now holds or shares seven franchise records in his seven seasons with the club including most goals in a season, most power play goals in a season, and most shots in a season. In addition to tying Bondra's record, Ovechkin is now within one point of tying Mike Ridley for 2nd all-time.

The goal continued the trend of Ovechkin rebounding in a big way after being held without a shot on goal.  In his career, Ovi has been held with out a SOG only five times prior to Monday's 3-2 overtime loss in Game 5,  the first time in 26 consecutive playoff games. He averages 6.3 SOG in games after not being able to put the puck on the net with 5 goals, 5 assists for 10 points. In games facing elimination, Ovechkin has collected 7 goals, 6 assists in 13 games.

The record-tying goal:

Ovechkin finished the night with three shots on goal, including a mind bottling twisting, turning, puck juggling from-the-butt attempt that was barely blocked by Henrik Lundqvist (video is below). It was unbelievable that Ovi was able to keep with it, and reminded me of a mix between "The Goal" and his one-handed, left-handed shot over Lundqvist's shoulder on February 4, 2010.

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I love Joel Ward.  He’s one of those players that, if you’re not paying attention to and really only check the stats, people could argue he’s a let down.  I don’t think so.  True, he struggled to make the score sheet in the regular season, but he wasn’t signed for regular season performance.  He was signed because of his super-human ability to elevate his game in the 2^nd season – the one that comes 82 games after the initial season.  There was a buzz surrounding his signing in DC last summer, and for good reason.  Joel Ward was sold to the fans as the opposite of everything the Capitals have been over the past few years.

While the point production hasn’t come as advertised, I’ve learned a lot about Joel over the past week or so.  Mostly, I’ve learned to appreciate him on and off the ice.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about him before his arrival in Washington.  Predators’ games were rarely highlighted on National TV, and with all of the late interconference games Nashville is accustomed to, I just couldn’t stay awake most nights to take them in.   Sure, they did some preseason gigs here and there, but what can you really tell about a player or a team in preseason?  They’re adjusting to new linemates (that may or may not be sent down to the AHL soon); getting their legs back, maybe learning new systems…  it’s not a fair judgment forum.

So I let anything I may have thought I knew about Joel Ward slip my mind and waited to see him in action in Red before drawing my own conclusions.  What I saw was a tough player, one who puts the work in and does the little things.  He’s not afraid to get hurt, he’s got no problem getting dirty, and he’s a force in front of the net.  Hmmmm… judging by my other favorites in recent years (Knuble, Steckel, Laing, etc), he was a match for me. The goals and assists weren’t what many thought we were getting, but hey, he wasn’t signed for the regular season.

And then the second season began.

Looking at his stats today he has 1 goal, 4 assists, is a +3 and has 6 PIMS (four of which came last night, but we’ll get to that in a minute). Again, it’s not what people expected.  But let’s forget for a minute that his goal was the biggest goal for his team this season.  Let’s focus on what happened after it.

Twitter erupted with Racist Tweets.  I can’t even think about copying what was said, as trash like that doesn’t deserve to be shared.  We all know what was out there.  I was impressed with Boston stepping up and issuing an apology for small minority of their fan base.  Classy move by the organization, and much appreciated, especially by Ward himself who acknowledged his teammates, organization, and even the Bruins for their support.  In the middle of the aftermath, a buddy of mine in Toronto texted me to tell me he was listening to an interview with Ward on local radio up there.  The words this friend of mine used to describe Ward were “gentleman, class act, warm.”  I couldn’t agree more.  The way Ward carried himself after that mess showed me that he’s not just an honorable warrior on the ice; he’s one off the ice as well.

Fast forward to last night.  The Penalty heard round Caps nation.  To make it worse, there was blood.  The 2 minutes of horror quickly turned to 4 minutes of desperation and the Caps couldn’t hold on to the lead.  We all know how the story turned out.  Twitter blew up with arguments of blame Ward vs. blame the team for not capitalizing on earlier chances.  And somewhere, tucked away (luckily not in any of my newsfeed), were the return of racist comments.  This time, from both Caps and Rangers fans.  What a blow.  The baffling ignorance of the conclusion of the first series reared its ugly head again, but this time from the fans of the Red, White, & Blue.  People who clearly don’t respect the game or the players who put on such a show for us night in and night out.

Yet, when the reporters entered the room, guess who was waiting for them?  Mr. Ward himself.  Guess who took responsibility for the loss?  Guess who could have easily hidden and made himself unavailable to the media, but instead wanted to “face the music” – even though it wasn’t all his music to face.  Honorable Warrior off the ice, indeed.

I have a tendency to root for the character guys.  I love goals and stats and heroes, but I love the guys who support the stars more.  I love the blue collar, the accessible, the personable, the team guys.  Joel Ward joined that list for me earlier this season, and after the way he’s carried himself despite the unfathomable emotional roller coaster he’s been on lately, I’m now in the market for a red #42 sweater.

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Wednesday’s game with the Boston Bruins will be another in a long line of game sevens for the Washington Capitals in their history.  Some have ended well.  Others, more recently, have not.

The numbers against the Caps are daunting heading in to the game, and everyone knows it.  Boston won three game sevens last spring, including the final game of the Final, en route to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1972.  They became the first team since the lockout to go seven games in the first round and win the Cup.  They “own” game seven, if you will.

Washington is 1-3 in game sevens in the Alex Ovechkin era, with the lone victory coming in the first round of the 2009 playoffs against the Rangers on home ice.  All three game seven losses came against a lower seed.  And the Capitals have never won a game seven in franchise history when leading a series 3-2 and falling in game six.

But for this incarceration of the Capitals, there are many that feel that this game seven, and this year, could be different.  And for good reason.  Washington matches up very well against this Bruins team, and they have played them very tight.  So tight, in fact, that according to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first playoff series in NHL history in which the first six games have been decided by one goal.

Dale Hunter, despite his unorthodox personnel decisions and controversial bench management, has finally gotten his roster to go for what he’s selling.

"Bruce was here 20 games and Dale's been here 60,” said veteran winger Mike Knuble to ESPN’s Scott Burnside earlier this week.  “It's taken every bit of that 60 games to get everybody to buy in."

The result has been a team that some expected to miss the playoffs carrying the defending Stanley Cup champions to a seventh and decisive game.  Even when Washington made the playoffs, the conventional wisdom was that the big, deep, talented Bruins would wipe the floor with the Capitals and their rookie goaltender, Braden Holtby.  But that hasn’t been the case.

There are, absolutely, reasons to believe.

However, it’s not because the Capitals are the underdog.

It seems as though some people are laboring under an idea that because the Caps had such a decidedly poor season in the NHL’s weakest division, the Southeast, that this year is different.  That it was the pressure of being such a high seed that had caused the Capitals to fall out of the postseason well short of their goals in 2009, 2010, and 2011.  That there is no pressure this time around, because the Capitals are a seven seed and are not “expected” to contend for a Stanley Cup.

And I don’t understand it.  How is there no pressure on this team, exactly?

Read on.