Washington Capitals in the Wayback Machine?

Watching tonight’s Washington Capitals game, and their recent victory over Boston, felt eerily familiar. The Caps’ roster was relatively devoid of superstars; they fought hard, beat a better team (vs. Boston) and lost a close one to a divisional rival (Tampa).

Without Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green, this Capitals team is surprisingly similar to the Capitals of almost a decade ago… a hard-charging team that both delighted and frustrated its fans.

How so, you ask? Read on… and while these comparisons are far from perfect, consider them food for thought:

2002-03	2011-12	Why?
Steve Konowalchuk	Brooks Laich	Tough, lays it all on the line every shift, scores the dirty goals, everyone loves him
Olaf Kolzig	Tomas Vokoun	Savvy vet netminder — not a shutdown goalie but certainly solid
Jeff Halpern	Jeff Halpern	Well, duh…
Glen Metropolit	Matthieu Perreault	Little guy, constantly underestimated, great speed burst, hard worker
Michael Nylander	Marcus Johansson	Remember, back then Nylander was a real asset — and a very solid second-line pivot, like Johansson.
Calle Johansson	Dennis Wideman	Reliable puck-moving defenseman overshadowed by a high-scoring teammate
Brendan Witt / Ken Klee	John Erskine	Hard-hitting, crease-clearing D… would that the Capitals had two on their roster!
Mike Grier	Jason Chimera	Blazing speed, scores in bursts — Grier had 15 goals that season, Chimmy already has 14
Peter Bondra	Alexander Semin	European skater, brilliant offensive talent… of course Semin isn’t a fan fave like Bondra was, but both have laserbeam shots and rack up the goals
Sergei Berezin	Troy Brouwer	This one’s a stretch, but both were brought in from Chicago for their offense… Brouwer, though, has more upside come playoff time
Kip Miller	Mike Knuble	Another stretch, but in the opposite direction: Miller had 50 points that season, but Knuble has yet to find his groove.
Jason Doig	Jeff Schultz	Doig hit better, Schultz is better at positioning & shot-blocking — but neither fits the team’s long-term plans
Sebastian Charpentier	Michal Neuvirth	Young netminder trying to break into the starter role… but Neuvy is more likely to stick around and claim the starting job next season

It’s not a perfect match; the old-school Caps had no Karl Alzner, nor a spark-plug like Matt Hendricks, nor a promising young defenseman like Dmitry Orlov. Of course, that team of yore had a disenchanted but still-dangerous Jaromir Jagr—but the current Caps have Ovechkin… and however you feel about Ovie wearing the “C” he’s undoubtedly more deserving than Jagr was, and a wrecking-ball to boot.

Oh, and comparing the coaches falls down just a little bit… while Dale Hunter is another minor-league coach given his first NHL shot with the Caps, he kicks Butch Cassidy’s ass in pretty much every way.

When the 2011-12 team’s Robert Lang (Nicklas Backstrom) and Sergei Gonchar (Mike Green) return from injury, this roster can compete with any in team in the league. The team going through trying times with a depleted roster will build their chemistry and resolve come playoff time.

This limping Capitals team has earned three points in two games, including a tilt against the defending champs… and that’s without three of their big stars. Adding back a healthy Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Green down the stretch improves the team dramatically — but in the meantime, a team forced to play without its superstars is also forced to play a balanced, team-focused game.

If Coach Hunter and the locker-room leaders enforce that team-first mentality when their superstars return… watch out, ’cause these Capitals will be dangerous.

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