After taking a long hiatus from the Internet and the world of sports, I have decided to once again offer my inconsequential thoughts on the world of Washington Capitals hockey. As we are quickly moving towards the playoffs, I would be less than honest if I said that I am confident of the Capitals chances of going far into the playoffs. Comparing this years team to the President's Cup winners of 2010 is like comparing apples and oranges. For one thing, last years team was all offense, all the time. This year's version has trouble scoring more than 2 goals a game, and have been shutout 9 times now I believe. While the new Bruce Boudreau system that emphasizes defense as a major part of the scheme, it seems to me as if the Caps have sacrificed their identity to become more responsible defensively and the trade off in my opinion has produced a team that is less fun to watch, and inconsistent to say the least. I have heard many people say that none of this will matter if the Caps are able to put together a long playoff run, but as this point, I can't see it happening. Goaltending is another area that is a major issue, as Boudreau can't seem to decide which rookie goaltender is his starter, and with Varlamov having injury problems, the Caps may be forced to go with an AHL goaltender in the playoffs if Neuvirth goes down. There are many other issues that gives one pause, but unless the Capitals are able to upgrade the team significantly before the trade deadline, I don't see good things coming this April either.