Capitals Redemption, All Barry Trotz

After four games the Penguins/Capitals series looked to be over. The Penguins were up three games to one and were poised to finish off the struggling Capitals. However, Washington has not only gone on to win back-to-back games, they dominated both games. The hockey world is handing out credit to all the Capitals top players and blaming Pittsburgh's injuries. I say the credit goes to the Capitals head coach, Barry Trotz.

The Capitals have outshot Pittsburgh in every game. Even in losing efforts, the Capitals still have had the better of the play. So it would have been easy for a head coach to just sit back and think things will eventually work their way out. Not Barry Trotz. He pushed all the right buttons to get his team back in control. He called out their star players in the press, saying the best players have to be their best players. He turned the dogs loose and called for his team to step up their physical play. He shifted to a more aggressive forecheck and activated his offensive defensemen. Most importantly, he demoted Alex Ovechkin.

In games 1-4 the Capitals were not shy about their physical play. They even bordered on being a dirty team. The big change, starting in game five, was every player on the Capitals started finishing their checks and would not allow a Penguin to skate away unscathed. This may seem like a small thing and does not necessarily show up on the scoreboard. However, in a seven game series it means a lot, especially against a much smaller Penguins team.

Maybe the most obvious shortcoming for the Capitals early in this series was they were not pressuring the Penguins defense in their own zone. Pittsburgh is missing their two best puck moving defensemen, Kris Letang and Trevor Daley. So it stands to reason the rest of the team is not comfortable with the puck on their stick or making the breakout pass. The Capitals started taking advantage of that in game five and especially game six. The reverse is true for the Capitals defense. Washington has three great offensive defenders. Those defensemen became key factors in the Capitals offense starting in game five.


The best decision, and probably the toughest to make, was moving Alex Ovechkin to the third line. Most coaches would have been too afraid to make that call. The hockey media has glossed this over as him just spreading talent across three lines. Not true. Alex Ovechkin has been virtually worthless in this series. He scored the insurance goal in game five and high sticked Crosby into a concussion, other than that have you even noticed him? Trotz realized this and demoted his star player. You know who has stood out the most for Washington? The man who replaced Ovechkin, Andre (the big) Burakovsky. He has been unstoppable on the top line.

Now the Capitals are sitting in the driver seat with game seven at home on Wednesday. From looking like a disgrace just two games ago, now back to the Stanley Cup favorite. All the credit goes to Barry Trotz.