Mike Green reported progress Friday, but the injured Washington Capitals defenseman remained questionable for Saturday afternoon's game against the New Jersey Devils.
Not everyone will switch to the Kevlar socks, but when Caps players showed up for work Wednesday, they were greeted with a box of them and a note from general manager George McPhee encouraging them to try them out in practice.
The defensive zone needs work. The offense struggles to come up with timely goals. Discipline remains an issue. Just about everything except goaltending showed through as something the Caps can work on in the coming days as they languish at the bottom of the NHL standings.
While an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils, Adam Oates watched the Washington Capitals' playoff series against the New York Rangers with a careful eye. The Devils were set to face the winner, so Oates got the chance to watch goaltender Braden Holtby's standout performance.
After some games, Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates can see more "holes" in his team's game on film than are obvious from behind the bench. A 5-0 win over the weekend against the Florida Panthers was a good example of the result covering up a plethora of mistakes.
Aggressive forechecking resulted in goals. They stayed out of the penalty box, for the most part. Defenders deftly navigated the Panthers' forecheck. And goalie Braden Holtby jumpstarted the offense with a superb pass that resulted in a goal.
Adam Oates made a statement when he yanked goaltender Michal Neuvirth after allowing a soft goal Thursday night. Porous goaltending might not be the most detrimental part of the Washington Capitals' start, but it sure isn't helping.
Simply put, the Caps have lost a lot early under new coach Adam Oates. They've played poorly and lost and played well and lost.
Braden Holtby is tasked with stopping a fair share of breakaways and odd-man rushes. But those aren't the scoring chances that the Washington Capitals goaltender fears.
