What Happened? I Missed It.

Back when the Capitals were winning games on a (semi) consistent basis, the common refrain among those in the know was: "Sure, they're winning, but look at those Shots Against numbers! Surely this team is a house of cards ready to collapse at any moment!" My response, generally, was something along the lines of "Screw that. Let Olie make saves and everyone else worry about scoring goals." In light of tonight's results, I throw out, for your approval, three statistics.

48 - The number of saves for Olie Kolzig on the night.

4-0-2 - The Caps' record in games where they allow 40 or more shots.

2 - Number of points earned tonight in Tampa Bay.

Now I didn't see the game, so all I have to go by are these numbers, and any other numbers that may present themselves in the box score (i.e. Alexanders Semin with a two point night, or Matt Pettinger with a two point night, or Alex Ovechkin with a two point night, or... you get the idea). Seems to me that, if the Caps want to win games, this might be the formula they want to stick with. The box score, to me, seems to indicate that perhaps the high shots against total and the four goals (as many as their previous three games combined) might not necessarily be unrelated. Perhaps the Caps should start concentrating more on scoring goals rather than stopping the other team from doing so? It seems like it would be this teams strength, after all. Obviously, this sort of strategy isn't going to get them very far in the long run (see: 2003-current Washington Wizards), but it might be their best chance to win games in the short term.

(If, by the way, I am completely off base on anything I may have surmised based solely on the box score and the AP report, please don't hesitate to lambaste me in the comment section. Thanks.)

Recaps From People That Matter:
-A View From the Cheap Seats
-Bleatings From a Caps Nut
-Japers' Rink
-The Peerless Prognosticator
-Puckhead's Thoughts
-On Frozen Blog (not really a recap, but it'll do)