There is no ‘I’ in this Team
BY MELISSA ZIELINSKI
Peek at coach Bruce Boudreau’s notes from the first three weeks of the 2011-12 campaign and it might look something like this:
Overtime, check. Shootout, check. Regulation, check.
It’s still early, but the Caps have found themselves in a lot of different winning situations and they have a large supporting cast to thank.
After their latest win (a 5-2 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers), 10 different Caps have had their hands in at least one goal. Jason Chimera, who has a team-leading four goals, acknowledged the group effort.
“I feel like we’re pretty deep,” Chimera said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are scoring now and a lot of guys who are contributing every night. It helps when different lines come through, step up and score goals.”
Chimera also believed the production on the team’s different lines were a major reason for their sixth win in a row, which is the best start for a Washington team in franchise history.
“Last night our fourth line scored two goals. That’s huge for us,” Chimera said “It’s things like that, that win you hockey games.”
Some of these “fourth-liners” include Mathieu Perreault, Jeff Halpern and Matt Hendricks.
Consistency on all of the team’s offensive lines is something coach Boudreau has preached since the season began. Other years’ lines were productive, but Boudreau sees a whole different dynamic in this year’s linemates.
“Right now they’re providing a big spark when we need it and all three of them work really hard.”
And while the “young guns” (Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin) have received noticeably less playing time, Boudreau was quick to say that no one has complained.
According to Boudreau, other teams have also followed this philosophy and it brought success.
“If you look at the model of Boston winning the Cup last year, they used their fourth line a lot,” he said.
Now that the Caps have the “we” instead of “I” mentality, they’ll have a long season to master it. They’ll be challenged sooner rather than later, facing the only other undefeated team in the league in the Detroit Red Wings tonight.
“You’ve got to be on your best effort against Detroit or else you’re going to pay for it,” said Chimera.
This is only the second time in NHL history that two teams with a record of at least 5-0 are playing each other. After tonight only one team will remain undefeated. The Caps are hoping their “whole” new look will help them be the team with the unblemished record.
