Have the Washington Capitals quit on Bruce Boudreau?

1) I don't think so.....they outplayed Anaheim in all aspects of the game last night and lost (unlike the Rangers game where the Rangers were playing a junior C team masquerading as Capitals) and there have been 2 other instances on this 'slump' where they controlled the game and didn't get the breaks.

Again, as I've said before, the Capitals became the 3rd team in NHL history last year to break 120pts....but they had 8 losing streaks of 3 games or more during the year (although none lasted 5).....the most ever by a division winner, let alone a President's Trophy winner.

This is a streaky team like the Oilers of the 80s............great offence, mediocre defence, and a lack of sytle on the ice.

2) Yes he was, and their record since he was named captain reflects that (the last 7 games notwithstanding). The problem with the Capitals has nothing to do with who's the captain and who's not (and to be honest, people put a little bit too much emphasis on the captain's role in a team's success) but rather their inability to get the job done on the ice (watch their games - this team is putting in the effort (aside from the Rangers game).

If anything, teams have adapted to the Capitals and Boudreau is unable to re-adapt.......and if that's truly the case, then Boudreau needs to go. I like to watch teams on losing streaks play live to see what's going on (rather than hear a bout it before I eventually watch the game) and this team is playing well. Giving up 2 goals should never be an issue....unless you score less. Last night they outshot, outhit, and won the majority if the faceoffs......and lost. In the 3-2 loss to Colorado on Saturday........they outshot them 42-26, outhit them, won the face-off game, and won the possession battle.....and lost. In the 3-0 loss to Florida....again, won the shot battle, won the face-off battle, badly out hit them (Florida had 12 hits the entire game), won the possession battle....and lost.

Those are 3 games that they played like winners, and didn't. (Looking at the stats, they outshot, outhit, and won the face-off game against the Rangers too - but they just didn't play as well in that game like the others - and Varlamov giving up 7 goals on 20 shots didn't help)

Leafsfan - the Capital players voted unanaimously to make Ovechkin captain at the start of the 2009-10 season once the players knew they would be trading Chris Clark. They just didn't envision that it would take 3 months to trade him.

(1) Yes, the Caps have quit on Bruce Boudreau. I live in DC and I hear a lot of fans criticizing him, and hoping he gets fired soon. I am not a Caps fan, but I watch a lot of games, and I think he makes a lot of poor decisions.

Example: LITY was saying how the Caps played like a Junior C team last week against the Rangers... I agree, but I place a lot of that on Bruce. I mean, why didn't he pull Varlamov? Varlamov let in multiple goals that should have been stopped, and looked horrible in net. Not to take credit away from my Rangers, who played a great game, but why would Boudreau keep him in there when he is obviously floundering? If the game ended 2-0, people would say "Oh, the Caps hit 4 posts, they are getting so close, they're having a string of bad luck." Instead, the game ends 7-0, and people are calling for Boudreau's head and abandoning ship. Not saying that a goalie change would have won them the game (and as a Rangers fan living in DC, I was more than happy with the outcome), but I think Boudreau's decision to keep Varlamov in net demoralized his team and contributed to his team's horrible play.

(2) No, I don't think Ovechkin's captaincy is a problem. I think the team has no defense or goalie (I mean, they think TOM POTI is good. TOM POTI!), and has been having a string of bad luck. I agree with LITY, they are playing well (with the Rangers game being an exception), they just haven't been finding the back of the net. It will happen, they will get out of this slump. I think that the way the team is built, being a streaky team is inevitable.

It's a fair question to ask...they've got to do something, and the old saying "it's easier to fire one coach than 23 players" rings true.

BQ: As has been discussed ad nauseum, captaincy appointments are no longer generated "in the room" but rather appointed by the club (and Ovechkin's appointment reeks of an appointment). What none of us know is what the dynamic in each club's dressing room is. I'll give Ovechkin credit on Sunday for at least trying to fight (although if we're being fair he's not exactly much of a pugilist...having said that his hip check that brought this on looked fine) although that didn't exactly help things much. Their record with him as captain speaks for itself as does their disaster of a first round playoff series (blowing a 3-1 lead against MTL) which brings me to this- this (their slump/losing streak) is where a captain has to step up and be a leader. Winning games 5-2 every night is easy. Willing your team to snap out of a losing streak is hard. To be fair, PIT went through this 2 years ago (10th place just before the trade deadline), made a coaching change, as as they say the rest is history.

Unrelated, I've only received about a dozen emails with screen captures of Boudreau grabbing his sack so far this morning.

I couldn't understand why. The man has brought them quality seasons in the past. True, their playoff game could've stepped up, but this isn't any reason they should quit on the Butterbean look-a-like. To be honest, I think their level of play lately has gotten to them. Either trying too hard and making too many mistakes, or just not trying at all.

Arguably the best player alongside Crosby, I still do not see Ovechkin as a captain. This kid, last year, surprised me with his teamwork and playmaking beyond belief. But a captain is supposed to be a leader on the ice, and that leader is to be the backbone for them to turn things around. This is his first real test as a captain, and it is not working.

Nah, it really is not any longer his very last. yet his collar keeps getting a touch tighter. in the adventure that they don't do nicely contained in the Playoffs this season i think his a*s is outta right here! It wasn't the worst sport in 20 years, i imagine between the video games the position the Rags killed us 7-0 or 6-0 changed into worse. yet no longer by a tremendous purchase. Like i have ranted, shouted, suggested, and cursed 1000's of cases earlier; the Caps are an quite reliable crew, yet they are not playing worth s*it.

I dont think so, after watching 24/7 its clear that the guys are frustrated, they played soooo much better tonight than they did against the rangers. I think ovie is the best choice for captain because he's maturing just like the team is. On sunday he got in a fight to try to ignite the team unfortunately it backfired. He's been struggling lately and i think he's really squeezing his stick. He really hasnt been the same player since the suspension for the hit on campbell

Yes and no respectively.

Although they don't really have anyone besides Ovechkin. Although I'm usually against this idea, perhaps Washington should bring in a captain.

i dont believe so, i think ovi is struggling and getting unlucky, i have always thought that, baclstrom was ovi inflated. dont get me wrong backstrom is skilled but is not a 100 point getter without ovi. i dont believe that bruce will lad the caps to the promise land. he was obviously out coached byJacques Martin last year, the caps have no system but offense, and true they brought in a scott hannen, but he is not a shut down d man, it think it would help if they has a a shut down d man.