Washington Capitals First Two Games: What We Learned This Past Weekend

The Washington Capitals got off to a hot start to this season with two wins over the weekend. While both wins were in overtime against divisional opponents, the Capitals collected four important points in their march toward the playoffs.

This was the first weekend of action for the Capitals this regular season. With the offseason transactions and trades, it was set to be a very interesting start for the Caps.

Lets’ take a look at a few things we learned this weekend about the 2011-12 Washington Capitals.

Bruce Boudreau Needs to Be More Assertive

Bruce Boudreau is somewhat easy on his players. Even though he is not a player's coach, he tends to make excuses for mistakes that are made during a game or lack of production.

Boudreau benched and criticized second-year center Marcus Johansson on Friday night, and the young forward responded by bagging a goal and an assist on Monday night.

If Boudreau continues to do this, it will send a message to the team that inconsistent play will not be tolerated. With a competitive roster looking for game jerseys and chances to play on scoring lines, Boudreau will be able to sit players as needed if the performance just isn’t there.

The Southeast Division Is Improved from Years Past

Both Carolina and Tampa Bay took the Caps to overtime this weekend. While Washington does win their fair share of games in the extra frame, it is unusual for that to happen twice in a row.

Tampa Bay looked offensively comparable and sometimes superior then the Capitals at times on Monday evening—something that we thought did not exist with a team in the entire league.  

With Carolina improving and Tampa being an established team now, it won’t be a cakewalk to the divisional title this season, guaranteeing them home ice in the first round.

Dennis Wideman Is a Top Defensman

In watching on Monday, Dennis Wideman showed puck moving abilities and the savvy of a premier offensive defenseman in the NHL.

It was a great display of passing and defensive play that the Caps could use every evening from the D-man they acquired at the trade deadline last season.

If Wideman keeps this up, he will become a top blue-line option for the Capitals that brings some defensive stability, something they have needed for a long time.

A Goaltender Will Need to Establish Himself

Tomas Vokoun looked shaky at times in Monday’s victory; he was even highly critical of himself afterwards, saying that he would need to get better to help the team.

Between Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth, one of the two will need to become a true No. 1 if the Caps are to experience success deep into the season.

Giving up five goals in your first start of the season isn’t the right way to make an opening statement.

What Is Needed?

The Capitals are off to a good start in this campaign, but there will definitely need to be improvements.

The good news is that this was only two of 82 games, and there is plenty of time to aim for improvement.

Meanwhile, the Capitals will need to continue their winning ways en route to another divisional title.