Washington Caps: Boudreau Out and Hunter In

UPDATE (December 2nd)-2 days ago Boudreau was hired by the Anaheim Ducks, who fired Randy Carlisle, and he will coach in his first game tonight...6 days after coaching his last game in DC.  This is the shortest timeframe that a coach has coached two different teams in a game in league history.

This morning I received a text from Comcast SportsNet (I guess I signed up when I tried one of those in-game contests by sending texts) that the Capitals have canned Bruce Boudreau and replaced him with former 19-year veteran Dale Hunter.  Boudreau presided over one of the longest eras of prolonged regular season success in team history, which included the team's first ever Presidents Trophy in 2010.  However, all of the regular season success never translated into postseason success, as the team never got past the 2nd round in any playoff season, losing to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Montreal, and Tampa Bay.  This prolonged postseason lack of success hung like a dark cloud over Kettler Capitals IcePlex.  Coming into this season, the mantra in DC was Stanley Cup or bust.  It all started well (7-0-0), but 10 regulation losses in the last 15 games was the final straw that broke the camel's back. 

In-season coaching changes can be a jump-start for a team that's in a malaise.  This is exactly what happened in 2007 when the Caps canned Glen Hanlon and promoted Boudreau from Hershey.  Boudreau opened up the offense far more than what Hanlon would allow, allowing stars like Ovechkin and Semin to do what they do best.  The team sacrificed defense, but were regularly winning games 5-3 or 7-4.  Wins were wins and the Caps were racking them up.  However, in the playoffs, they ran into stiff goalies like Martin Biron and Jaroslav Halak.  The Caps would pile up the shots like a pinball machine but could just not put one home when it mattered the most.  So instead of winning shootouts, they would lose games 1-0 or 2-1.  Overtime was not the Caps' best friend either, and even in the early going this season, many of their wins came after 60 minutes.  Why is this significant?  In the playoffs, overtime is not 4 on 4 and there is no shootout like there is in the regular season. 

All of these flaws led to the demise of Boudreau and now Dale Hunter will try to steady a ship that sinking.  Alex Ovechkin only has 17 points and 9 goals, pedestrian stats by his standards.  I don't really know what Hunter will do with the team that Boudreau did not do already.  John Carlson played for Hunter in juniors, so he knows what Hunter will bring to the table.  I know that Hunter likes to score goals, and as former team captain, liked to stir up the pot just a little bit with the fisticuffs.  So he will bring much more energy to the bench unlike Boudreau who was more of a grandfatherly figure (albeit one with a very dirty mouth...did any of you see the HBO series leading up to the Winter Classic this year?).  Here's what else Hunter brings to the table...take that Philly!

Dustin will be back later with a guest post featuring his take on the Caps coaching shakeup.