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| How did Barry Trotz revive Capitals? By addressing one flaw at a time. | How did Barry Trotz revive Capitals? By addressing one flaw at a time. |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Fans of the Washington Capitals have lists, long painful lists. All the times they screamed until dawn after losing a Game 7. All the times they swore the Caps couldn’t possibly blow another two-game playoff series lead. All the seasons they vowed they wouldn’t take the bait again: This year, we’re going to the Stanley Cup finals. | Fans of the Washington Capitals have lists, long painful lists. All the times they screamed until dawn after losing a Game 7. All the times they swore the Caps couldn’t possibly blow another two-game playoff series lead. All the seasons they vowed they wouldn’t take the bait again: This year, we’re going to the Stanley Cup finals. |
| Capitals Coach Barry Trotz has lists, too. But they are exactly the opposite kind. So far, those lists — of past Caps sins, of flaws to fix and demons to defeat — are a key to why the Caps have the best points percentage (.776) in the NHL as well as a fat nine-point lead in the Eastern Conference. This might be the best Capitals team ever. | |
| After a 16-1-1 run, the Caps have lost their past two games, both on the road, in part because of injuries to defenseman John Carlson (expected to be out a few days) and forward Jay Beagle (six weeks). Now they face three more road games in a row. So a giddy streak has turned to the sober need to find a center for the third line — perhaps Marcus Johansson — and temporary reinforcements for Carlson. | |
| But the big picture is as clear as the Capitals’ splendid 28-7-3 record and their pace for a 127-point season — even better than 2009-10, when they had 121 points and won the Presidents’ Trophy. | But the big picture is as clear as the Capitals’ splendid 28-7-3 record and their pace for a 127-point season — even better than 2009-10, when they had 121 points and won the Presidents’ Trophy. |
| Braden Holtby has stepped up as perhaps the NHL’s best goalie. The offseason addition of two wingers — powerful, relentless T.J. Oshie and savvy three-time Stanley Cup winner Justin Williams — has added skill, depth and balance. The Caps have eight players on pace for more than 40 points. | Braden Holtby has stepped up as perhaps the NHL’s best goalie. The offseason addition of two wingers — powerful, relentless T.J. Oshie and savvy three-time Stanley Cup winner Justin Williams — has added skill, depth and balance. The Caps have eight players on pace for more than 40 points. |
| At 23, Evgeny Kuznetsov has emerged as an almost magical creative catalyst. The defense, which improved from 21st to seventh in goals allowed last season, has taken another major jump: It’s now tied for No. 1 with the Los Angeles Kings. And the offense, led by Alex Ovechkin, is No. 2 in the NHL. | |
| How can a team that missed the playoffs two years ago (with just 90 points), and then fired its general manager and coach, improve so much so fast? | How can a team that missed the playoffs two years ago (with just 90 points), and then fired its general manager and coach, improve so much so fast? |
| In part at least, it goes back to those lists. As soon as he came to D.C. last season, Trotz combed the collective memory of the Caps world — from front office to media — to compile a record of everything the team had not accomplished, all the areas where the club had shown weakness and all the situations that had bedeviled it in the past. | |
| “One by one, knock ’em off the list,” Trotz said. | “One by one, knock ’em off the list,” Trotz said. |
| But it was a long list. Why were the Caps so bad in the first round of the playoffs? And so lousy in Game 7s? How, at one point, could the Caps amass a hideous 9-47-11 record in games in which they score two goals or fewer? Why couldn’t the Caps hold leads in the final 10 minutes? | |
| Perhaps most important, how many of these problems were actually intertwined, traceable to weak defensemen and not enough calm-in-the-clutch veteran leaders who could set a tone in tense moments? | Perhaps most important, how many of these problems were actually intertwined, traceable to weak defensemen and not enough calm-in-the-clutch veteran leaders who could set a tone in tense moments? |
| In his 15 years as coach of the low-budget but respectable Nashville Predators, Trotz built his reputation on strong defense and discipline. One item at a time, Trotz and General Manager Brian MacLellan addressed the Caps’ psychological weak points and problems with team culture, as well as issues with leadership and maturity. | In his 15 years as coach of the low-budget but respectable Nashville Predators, Trotz built his reputation on strong defense and discipline. One item at a time, Trotz and General Manager Brian MacLellan addressed the Caps’ psychological weak points and problems with team culture, as well as issues with leadership and maturity. |
| Partly, that meant new personnel, starting last season with pricey free agent defensemen Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik (injured for most of this season so far). But also crucial was that many longtime Capitals were sick of their choking identity. | Partly, that meant new personnel, starting last season with pricey free agent defensemen Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik (injured for most of this season so far). But also crucial was that many longtime Capitals were sick of their choking identity. |
| “Over time, things had gotten a little toxic,” Trotz said to me recently. “They needed a road map. We needed to put accountability back in the group. They wanted direction. They knew they blew a couple of years. I came at a good time. They were ready for change.” | |
| Gradually, those ugly items on the list started to disappear. | Gradually, those ugly items on the list started to disappear. |
| “The numbers were crazy bad if Ovi and Nicky didn’t score,” Trotz said. “Holding leads late — terrible. Any close game, we were nervous.” | “The numbers were crazy bad if Ovi and Nicky didn’t score,” Trotz said. “Holding leads late — terrible. Any close game, we were nervous.” |
| The turnaround in games when the Caps score two or fewer goals has been stunning. Since Dec. 4, 2014, they’re 23-29-6, including a 10-9-2 mark this season. Better defense means better goaltending (Holtby’s 1.92 goals against average), which means that even when you barely score, you’re still a winning club. | |
| When leading with 10 minutes left, under Trotz the Caps are: 55-2-4! A team that didn’t focus enough on its defense in practice under Adam Oates suddenly switched from “look for a breakout” to “responsibility first.” | |
| “We can play any kind of game: physical, wide-open, tight checking, hold a lead,” Trotz said. | “We can play any kind of game: physical, wide-open, tight checking, hold a lead,” Trotz said. |
| The Caps’ “list” is far from completed. | The Caps’ “list” is far from completed. |
| “It’s a process,” Trotz said. “Last season, we won in the first round. We won a Game 7. And we played our best in Game 5s and Game 7s. We weren’t scared of those big games anymore.” | “It’s a process,” Trotz said. “Last season, we won in the first round. We won a Game 7. And we played our best in Game 5s and Game 7s. We weren’t scared of those big games anymore.” |
| So, cross those off the . . . no, not yet. | So, cross those off the . . . no, not yet. |
| “But we ended up with the same bitter pill,” Trotz said of their second-round Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. In all his years as a coach, Trotz himself has never gotten past that second round either. | “But we ended up with the same bitter pill,” Trotz said of their second-round Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. In all his years as a coach, Trotz himself has never gotten past that second round either. |
| “We played well, but we didn’t like the outcome. And afterwards, we felt the real hurt,” Trotz said. “Maybe some guys had to grow up to feel it. It’s carried over to this year. We want to get rid of that hurt and that taste.” | |
| The NHL doesn’t give cups, even little ones, for half-season brilliance. But no Caps team has ever played so well at both ends, or in so many styles, as this one. | |
| How will their nerves and their health be in spring? No franchise in any pro sport has had as many crushing postseason heartbreaks as the Caps. | How will their nerves and their health be in spring? No franchise in any pro sport has had as many crushing postseason heartbreaks as the Caps. |
| What is the last item to cross off the list? Everybody knows. No one has to say. | What is the last item to cross off the list? Everybody knows. No one has to say. |
| Said Trotz: “We have a common goal and a common trust to do something special.” | Said Trotz: “We have a common goal and a common trust to do something special.” |