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Washington Capitals
Overall: 7
Southeast Division: 1
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| Bondra (12) tied for the NHL lead in goals, with 52. (Al Tielemans) |
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Capitals goalie
Olaf Kolzig knows what the skeptics say: Washington's
appearance in the '98 Stanley Cup finals was a
once-in-a-lifetime event
... and the Caps' run wouldn't have happened if New Jersey,
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh hadn't each been upset
... and there's no guarantee that Kolzig, a career
second-stringer before '97-98, can play the way he did last
spring, when he outdueled Buffalo's Dominik Hasek in the
conference finals, matched an NHL record with four playoff
shutouts and finished the
postseason with a 1.95 goals-against
average.
After all, this is the franchise that saw Jim Carey win the
Vezina Trophy in 1996, only to stumble badly the next
season, provoking the Capitals to give up on him. Even in
their hometown the Caps spent most of the '90s living down
the "choking dogs"
label a couple of local columnists hung on them because of a
history of spectacular playoff
collapses. The goal, then, is to prove that Washington's
advance to the Cup finals and its loss to the Red Wings
(the Caps were swept, but three of the four games
were decided by a goal) was a breakthrough, not a
fluke.
"We consider ourselves among the elite," says
Kolzig, whose 33 wins in '97-98 tied him for third-best
among goalies. "The expectations are obviously a lot
higher than they were at this time last
year."
The team's strengths, in addition to Kolzig, are sniper
Peter Bondra (52 goals) and the defense, anchored by Mark
Tinordi, Calle Johansson, Joe Reekie and Brendan
Witt. But the team's only major off-season addition was
defenseman Dimitri Mironov, and the roster is stocked with
over-30 players—Adam Oates, Brian Bellows and Dale
Hunter, to name three—who the Caps must hope will
continue to play well enough to be called
"experienced" as opposed to "old." For
Washington to significantly improve, one or both of its
young wingers, Yogi Svejkovsky or Richard Zednik, has to
excel. Coach Ron Wilson is optimistic. "We know what
we did last year," he says, "and we know we can
get
back."
—By Johnette Howard
Fast Fact
The Capitals were successful on 89.2% of their penalty
kills, the NHL's best percentage since the league began
keeping that stat in
1967-68.
Keys To Success
- Somebody other than 50-goal man Peter Bondra must score
on a regular basis. The best bet would be wing Richard Zednik,
who shone in the postseason.
- The older players the Capitals rely on—Adam Oates and Dale
Hunter, specifically—need to remain healthy.
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