The Stanley Cup Playoffs for 2011 are upon us and this year should prove to be a very exciting one, especially for Washington area fans. I know the Caps have a history of doing poorly in he playoffs, but this year could really prove to be different.
For a few years now, General Manager George McPhee, had been steadily building a team that could go all the way. I believe the trade that McPhee made February 28th, 2011 where he acquired Jason Arnott and Dennis Wideman was the pivotal one that finally brought the balance, depth and leadership mandatory for a Stanley Cup.
With the great Alex Ovechkin, Nicholas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, and Mike Knuble on forward and players like Wideman, Mike Green, John Carlson and Karl Alzner on defense the Washington Capitals are one of the most exciting and dynamic teams in the N.H.L. today.
The key to the final outcome for the Capitals, however, lies in their goal tending. This is the most important position in the Stanley Cup playoffs. A hot goalie can take a team all the way and poor goaltending from an otherwise great team will end in defeat.
History has proven that great goaltending wins the cup in the end. The pressure on the goaltender is unbelievable, as you can imagine. There is great curiosity as to how the Caps goalies, Michal Neuvirth, Semyon Varlamov, or Bryan Holby will perform and I believe they now have the maturity to do the job.
In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and make some actual predictions! In the East Semi-Final Championship round I pick the Washington Capitals vs. the Philadelphia Flyers with the Boston Bruins as the possible dark horse. In the West, I pick the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Detroit Red Wings with the San Jose Sharks as the dark horse.
When the dust settles, the final series will be the Washington Caps against the Detroit Red Wings with the Caps winning the coveted Cup.
Check with me next month to see if I am eating crow or not! Regardless, Washington fans can be very enthusiastic about the 2011 playoffs as the Capitals are a team that can truly win the Stanley Cup.
Bryan "Bugsy" Watson
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