We all know that the Caps have an explosive offense, and part of their remarkable turnaround has been a jump in goals-per-game. But another big contributor this season has been their defense, which was reinforced with the pickup of Cristobal Huet at the trade deadline. But with both Shaone Morrisonn and Jeff Schultz listed as day-to-day, the Caps are currently with only 4 healthy, regular blueliners - Green, Poti, Erskine, and Jurcina - although some may not count Erskine as any help. And with the offense pretty even, it looks like the series may come down to defense.
Did you get all that?
Morrisonn has been a big loss as he has spent most of the season paired with Green as the top D pairing. In an article by Tarik back in January, Coach Boudreau noted that "Shaone Morrisonn deserves a lot of the credit for allowing Mike Green to do what he's doing. Shaone is the constant security blanket back there." Credit Green and Boudreau for making things work with his mix of new partners, but the lack of Morrisonn out there is still noticeable.
Jeff Schultz has been a solid lockdown defenseman, with a +12 on the season, including being a +6 in the Caps last 12 games. Much like Morrisonn with Green, Schultz' pairing with Tom Poti has allowed Poti to move the puck forward when need be without being a risk.
According to Corey, both Schultz and Morrisonn skated a workout session after the team left the ice today, and may be ready in time for Friday's game.
Both termed their status day to day, but they obviously hope to benefit from the series not starting until Friday. Schultz admitted his status would be dicey if the series started Wednesday night.
If they come back and the Caps have their normal blueliners for the first round, Caps Chick puts the defensive advantage firmly on the Caps' side. The good thing for the Caps is that both Eminger and Lepisto are solid fill-ins, so there shouldn't be any significant drop-off should Morrisonn and Schultz miss a game or two.
So while every other series kicks off Wednesday or Thursday, the Caps can prepare for an extra day, and get an extra night's sleep before suiting up for game 1 in their own building. And what a rocking building it will be.
