Injuries, Trade Rumors Abound, Reeling Capitals Find No Solace On The Road

On the night of Wednesday, November 19, the Washington Capitals, having points in seven straight games and having won five straight games during that stretch, began a merciless road trip through the Western Conference that saw Washington playing four games in six nights.

At the end of the road trip, the Capitals ended up dropping three straight games. Though already missing forwards Alexander Semin and Sergei Fedorov, Washington's troubles with injury came to center stage in Anaheim where defenseman Mike Green was taken out of the game after being drilled by Pronger. The Caps came away victorious, but only thanks to the penalty parade by the Ducks.

On the next day, Washington faced off against the L.A. Kings and the problems came front and center. The Capital's defense was lethargic and the offense was predictable. There was scarcely a shift where the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov line entered the zone and maintained possession of the puck.

The game on the November 22 against the Sharks was a very similar occurrence and the Capitals could only muster two goals again. Washington even saw Fedorov return to the lineup, but nothing could keep San Jose off the board and the Capitals out of the box.

The final game of the road trip, against the Gaborik-less Minnesota Wild, showed the very same results as the last two losses. Though coming alive for three-straight goals in the third, the Caps fell again because the defense was still lethargic and the offense was still predictable. Large numbers of intercepted passes and blocked shots riddled the Caps all night and the games seemed to have more penalties for closing the hand on the puck then were called all of last year.

Now the Caps are without four of their top players. The loss of Green greatly disrupts the Capitals power play and leaves them without one of their offensive weapons, while the loss of the towering Schultz makes the Caps' defensive group a physically smaller bunch.

The addition of Semin back on the top line will probably work wonders for Backstrom and Ovechkin since Kozlov, while large and skilled at puck possession, often seems to slow the line down and make it more defensible.

It must also be recognized that this road trip has been mired with rumors predicting that veteran center Michael Nylander would soon be dealt, most notably to Chicago. There is no doubt that the rumors must definitely serve as a distraction to the team and to Nylander who has not disclosed yet whether or not he will wave his no movement clause.

The trade itself seems to make sense for the Caps. Nylander has been widely unproductive and has become a liability in his own zone. The prospect of collecting a veteran d-man from the trade is enticing and will leave many Capitals' fans paying close attention. The moving of Nylander would also allow the Caps to move around a bit more in terms of the salary cap depending on who is brought in.

The Capitals' next game is at home, where they have not lost in regulation this season, against the Atlanta Thrashers. Getting at least two players back from injury, most notably Semin or Green, would probably do wonders for this now struggling team and set them back on reclaiming the division lead while heading into the holiday season.