Can the Capitals Survive Without Ovechkin?

Even though Halloween was over well before the Washington Capitals took the ice on Sunday afternoon, the scariest part of their weekend was still in store.

With the Caps down 2-1 against Columbus at the Verizon Center, there was a scuffle in front of the Blue Jackets bench after a stoppage in play. After the referees had sorted everything out, Alex Ovechkin headed to the penalty box along with two Blue Jackets.

It appeared to be a meaningless event, however when he grabbed his shoulder it caused concern on the Capitals bench. A mere three minutes after he left the penalty box, the two-time Hart Trophy winner got tangled up with Blue Jackets winger Raffi Torres, fell down on the ice and skated towards the bench in pain. 

The Blue Jackets ended up rallying late in the third to push the game to overtime, where they eventually won 5-4. The Caps scored three goals without Ovechkin however his absence was noticeable, especially on the power play. They went 0-3 without him as Tom Poti replaced Alex on the man-up advantage. On the power play, Ovi is on the blue line with Mike Green as the Caps try to set up Ovechkin's deadly one-timer from the left side.

Their power play had been struggling all season as head coach Bruce Boudreau has juggled the lineups. The Capitals power play was deadly last year, converting on almost 25 percent of their advantages for second-best in the league.

Ovechkin's long-range blast creates not only rebounds for the grinders setting screens in front of the net, but also demands so much attention that Mike Green is often left open for his slap shot as well.

Tom Poti has a strong shot, but the Caps must use Alexander Semin and Nikolas Backstrom to pick up for the lack of a heavy slapshot like Ovechkin's. 

Coach Boudreau said the absence of Ovechkin will mean that his team needs to stay away from getting in a track meet. The Capitals have been scoring many goals this year, but their defense has been suspect at times.

It seems as though they rely on their ability to score too much and sometimes are late getting back on defense. This leads to many breakaways and odd-man rushes. Without Ovechkin in the lineup, look for them to win many games 3-2 or 2-1, as opposed to the more exciting 6-4, 5-4 games. 

Boudreau has not set Ovechkin with the same two line-mates for a whole game this season. There have been many variations with Semin, Backstrom, Brooks Laich, and even new comers Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison.

Ovechkin's physical nature allows Boudreau to mix and match with whichever line is most successful in creating chances that game. 

ESPN reported that Alex will be out for, at most, two weeks. This leaves the Caps "Ovechkin-less" for six games.

In his career he has only missed six total games, four in his rookie year for an injury and two last year because of the death of his grandfather.

The Capitals play the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers twice, the Minnesota Wild, and the New York Islanders over the next six games. They have only played the Devils once and the Islanders twice so far this season. The Devils beat the Caps 3-2 in a shootout while the Islanders and Caps split two overtime games. 

If the Capitals are able to maintain at least a three goals-per-game, then they should survive without Ovechkin. This injury puts pressure on Semin and Backstrom to carry most of the load offensively and the defense will have to play at a more consistent level.

Should the Caps escape this stretch with at least six or seven points, then everything in DC will be fine. However if they struggle to win games, look for a shortened recovery time and a potentially sore Ovechkin returning to the ice quicker than expected.