The Washington Capitals are at a crossroads heading into tonight's game against the first-place Florida Panthers. They have a veteran-laden roster that has underachieved thus far. They are sitting in 9th place in the conference and 2nd place in the division, just a couple standing points away from being in the playoffs, and they are just a few weeks away from the NHL’s trading deadline. This is not a finger-pointing, blame-game exercise; injuries have taken their toll on the roster and moves made over the summer that seemed like a good idea at the time haven’t worked out as anticipated. The real question becomes what George McPhee will do at the trade deadline in 20 days if the team falls out of the playoff picture.
If the team can stay in the playoff hunt, McPhee is likely to make some moves to solidify his team for the playoffs. It was this time of year in 2008 when the Capitals had clawed their way back into the playoff picture under a new coach but were just mudd...
Found February 07, 2012 on
Rock the Red:
PLAYERS:
George Mcphee,
Nicklas Backstrom,
Mike Green,
Brooks Laich,
Alexander Ovechkin,
Alexander Semin,
Jeff Schultz,
John Erskine,
Karl Alzner,
John Carlson,
Tomas Kundratek,
Troy Brouwer,
Jason Chimera,
Matt Hendricks,
Marcus Johansson,
Cody Eakin,
Jeff Halpern,
Jay Beagle,
Tomas Vokoun,
Jeff Carter,
Jakub Voracek,
Steve Mason,
Curtis Sanford,
Michal Neuvirth,
Antoine Vermette,
Sean Collins,
Danny Richmond,
Kevin Marshall,
Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson,
Milan Jurcina,
Joel Ward,
Mike Knuble,
Dennis Wideman,
Roman Hamrlik,
Tom Poti
TEAMS: Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings
TEAMS: Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings
Original Story:
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