Monday was an off day for the Washington Capitals. And with the news that minor league goaltending prospect Maxime Ouellet was called up to the big club to start in net against Atlanta on Tuesday night, both Washington newspapers decided to focus on the struggles of current starter, Olie Kolzig. For some detatched analysis, read Jason LaConfora over at the Washington Post:
The wrath of Olaf Kolzig has claimed many victims this season, from his stick, which was smashed on the way to the dressing room after a poor performance in net last month, to his helmet, which was slammed on the bench after the slumping goalie was yanked from a game recently. Kolzig has cursed at himself and his defensemen during games and practices, and yesterday, while the rest of team skated, Kolzig vented on whoever happened to cross his path in the dressing room. The Washington Capitals' brutal season has taken a particularly harsh toll on Kolzig, who, as the starting goalie in all but three of the team's 30 games, has suffered through an extremely difficult two and a half months with the team going 9-19-1-1. Playing behind a novice defense has compounded the harsh demands of his position and, along with a propensity to yield easy goals, has resulted in Kolzig's worst season since becoming a starting goalie in 1997.
Across town, at the Washington Times, long-time Caps beat writer Dave Fay departs from detachment, and names some names when it comes to the why in Kolzig's disappointing season:
It took a total team effort to bring the club to this point, starting with majority owner Ted Leonsis, who decided to trim payroll with the possibility of a lengthy work stoppage looming and sacrificed the veteran core of his defense. The result is a team that doesn't always have the talent, speed or hockey sense to prevent a goal. Still, it is easy to make the wrong assumption. The other night against Detroit, Jaromir Jagr scored 13:37 into the first period. While Jagr and his mates on the ice
