This is your Morning Commute. Additional Links after the jump.
The Caps won last night, and they scored a bunch of goals in the process. That's the good news. They haven't looked very much like the team that led the league in goals last year at all this season, so a strong offensive outburst is always welcome. But can we be happy about a game in which the Caps give up six goals?
There are two schools of thought on this one. One is the fanboy who sees seven goals on the board in a Capitals win and loses their mind with excitement. Ovechkin with a highlight reel goal AND Semin with a hat trick? It's like a dream come true. But then there's the other side of the coin, and that argument is made by a considerably less pleasant faction of the fanbase.
There will be people out there who look at the six goals the Capitals allowed in this win and complain that the Capitals still don't have the defensive chops to compete in the post season. To them, this is a hollow win, merely luck. What good is a deluge of goals if you struggle to prevent them on the other side? That's what they'll sound like, and it's pretty annoying.
I'm very much a glass half full guy. The Capitals can't be successful over the course of a season if they allow six goals a game. But that doesn't mean we can't be excited about this win. We've been waiting for the Caps to have an offensive performance like this all season. So just sit back, calm down about the defensive performance, and enjoy the goals the Caps DID score last night.
First Semin's hat trick:
Secondly, Ovechkin from a horizontal position.
Must reads from around the SB Nation network:
- The Nationals can be as athletic as they want, but if they don't get good OBP from their top two guys, it's all for naught; from Federal Baseball.
- Gilbert Arenas continues to say that the Wizards need veterans around John Wall, from Bullets Forever.
- Testudo Times on the #VetoBradford movement. Doesn't have the same ring as #VetoSeto, so I don't know if it will work.
On tap today at SB Nation D.C.: Martin Shatzer on what Charlie Davies can mean for D.C. United.