Did Ovi carry the Capitals to the playoffs this year?

[wetcoast]

Was this thread created just to be a lightning rod for Ovie and Caps critics? I don't see the point here.

I created this thread because this idea or question was polluting another thread on Ovi's goal scoring pursuit and I did ask people to be good natured about it and everyone except for one guy was before you posted so.....?

 

[JoVel]

A big reason why Caps where so tight on making the playoffs was Ovechkin being so useless in the first half of the season.

 

[SuperScript29]

The Wings and the Flyers carried the Caps to the playoffs.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Good fortune carried them. Their -36 goal differential is the worst by a playoff team since the Whalers were -36 in 1991-92, when 16/22 teams made the playoffs.

This is a pretty myopic way of looking at things. The Caps in the first half of the season dealt with the ineffective and then loss of their top two centers, multiple injuries, adjusting to a new coaching staff and marginal goaltending play. Around February they settled in with Lindgren as their starter, traded Kuznetsov, LTIRed Backstrom, and found some roster stability. They were a middle of the pack team the second half of the season.

Good fortune did not carry them. Doing well in close games and being able to hold leads carried them.

 

[gritdash60]

You could also ask if i carried my equipment bag to the rink when i was 8 year old, same answer.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

No he was a net negative on the ice. They trapped their way in with some decent goaltending.