Ovie Who?

Ok, so reports are that Alex Ovechkin is 'week-to-week' with an 'upper body strain', whatever that means. DC Puckheads are fretting about what we'll do in his absence. Fear not Caps Fans, we're set. Look at the line combos from after Ovie left the Columbus game:

Semin/Backstrom/Fleischmann
Laich/Morrison/Knuble
Laich & Laing/Steckel/Bradley
Laing/Aucoin/Clark

We're obviously missing someone for that 4th line (or 3rd line, if you'd rather have Laing down there), so insert Sloan or a Hershey call-up. (Update: or replace Aucoin with Perreault)

I like Flash's defensive ability (and, apparently, his offensive upside) on that top line. If Semin can do an Ovechkin impersonation and put shots on/in the net, everything will be fine.

For the Second line, I LOVE the toughness of Knuble and Laich (mark my words, in 5 years Brooks will be looked at in the same was as Knuble). They're all the same speed and tough to keep out of the slot.

The Third and Fourth lines are solid defensively. The PP will be hurt a bit without Ovie's shot, sure, but with Semin and Knuble out there, we'll be fine.

The Caps have built a team that has enough talent and leadership to succeed without Ovechkin. I think a .600 winning percentage is in the cards during Ovie's absence.