Can Someone Tell the Caps This Is Only a Best-of-Seven Series?

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Is it possible that the Washington Capitals were nothing more than smoke and mirrors this entire regular season? Or is it they have seriously underestimated their opponents?

Either way the No. 2 seed in the East is but one game away from being eliminated in the first round and becoming a colossal failure for the 2008-2009 season.

There are many things that have attributed to the demise of this team so far through four games, but the biggest is all-world player Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin has 35 shots on net, averaging just under nine shots per game, yet has only scored one goal in this process.

This is not to take anything away from Henrik Lundqvist, who has been amazing, but for arguably the "best" player in hockey, that is just flat out horrid.

Adding to Washington's demise is Norris candidate Mike Green.

Green, who set records for scoring in consecutive games by a defensemen and adding 31 goals this regular season while garnering comparisons to Hall of Famers like Ray Bourque, has as well been invisible this post season, with two assists in four games.

The only bright spot this post season has been the play of young upstart Simeon Varlamov.

Varlamov took over for the Swiss cheese factory known as Jose Theodore after the game one collapse letting in four goals on 21 shots faced. Varlamov is the Caps future. Even if that future does not start until next November again.

If the Caps are to get back into this series, they must search deep within themselves and figure out where and when they lost that swagger. Because this is clearly not the same team we watched the entire regular season.

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