Solid Game but Penalties Continue to Kill Caps

Washington Capitals Hockey

Playing the Red Wings, one knew that the Caps would have to play a solid game and keep the mistakes and especially penalties to a minimum. For the most part they accomplished it, with Theordore having a very good game in goal, the defense played much better, and the 3rd and 4th lines stepped up and produced both of the Capitals goals. Unfortunately, the Capitals had some lapses with Semin taking two penalties, and Green committing a very costly and unnecessary penalty in the third period. While Semin is one my favorite Cap players with fantastic offensive skills, he unfortunately has the habit of committing some bad penalties. It may just be something that the Caps and Boudreau will have to live with, knowing that on any given night he can win a game for you with his offensive talents, but unfortunately, he can and will hurt you from time to time on the other end. Green on the other hand seems to be completely out of it and his head just doesn't seem to be in the game, as he's making stupid defensive mistakes and contributing nothing offensively. Hopefully, this won't continue much longer, and he'll find his scoring touch, and get back on his game.

While it's early in the season, the Capitals have shown some defensive deficiency's and again this year seem to be penalty prone. They are going to have to change that as the season progresses if they hope to win against the top tier teams such as Detroit.