The Washington Capitals are at the midway mark ahead of tonight's game against the Anahiem Ducks. They aren't in a great spot but they aren't in a terrible spot either. The most important thing, however, is that they are certainly not out of it.
To be quite honest these last 41 games felt like four seasons wrapped into them. You had the start. You had Nicklas Backstrom's sad annoucment of stepping away. The injuries. The emergence of Charlie Lindgren, who I think wins MVP of the first half well over guys like Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson.
Now you have Alex Ovechkin hurt missing the last two games and he could be a game time decision tonight. Today at moring skate per Bailey Johnson of the Post, he did participate in morning skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. While he did go through drills he did not take reps on the power play.
It also feels like a new season in a way. This is the time of year where everyone's jockying for playoff positioning and the Caps are right in the thick of things which is exactly what you want in the middle of the chaos.
It looks bad right now division wise as the Caps are seventh with 46 points. But they're just three back of the second wild card. Dylan Strome had a beast start to the season and leads the Caps in goals with 15. Anthony Mantha has enjoyed a resurgence with 12 goals in 37 games after 11 in 67 the previous year.
Tom Wilson will be representing the Caps and he's had one heck of a season with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points. But Lindgren, even when the Caps lose has kept the team in games. He's 8-4-3 with a 2.24 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. Kuemper is 10-10-2 with a .891 save percentage and 3.27 GAA and gets the nod in goal tonight.
Caps take on the Ducks at 7 p.m. on Monumental. Let the second half of the season begin.