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Knuble on Caps: We played like a “bunch of clowns”

Ottawa Senators v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 15: Mike Knuble #22 of the Washington Capitals skates with the puck against the Ottawa Senators at Verizon Center on October 15, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

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The most anticipated game of the night was the Western Conference leading Dallas Stars traveling to DC to take on the Southeast Division leading Washington Capitals. The Stars were riding a modest three game winning streak, while the Caps were a perfect 6-0 at the Verizon Center this season. Sixty minutes and an unbelievably lopsided 5-2 game later and the Stars winning streak is sitting and four games and the Caps are left wondering what happened to their perfect record at home.

Needless to say, the Dallas Stars can win anytime and anywhere.

There’s no shame in losing to the Stars this season. They’re sitting at 11-3-0 and own the best record in the league. Jamie Benn is scoring on everyone, Sheldon Souray has turned back the clock about five years, and Kari Lehtonen is playing like a former #2 overall pick.

That’s not how some guys were looking at it from the Washington Capitals’ locker room after the game though. Spirited leader Mike Knuble had some rather harsh criticism for his teammates in the wake of the 5-2 defeat.

He told a group of reporters exactly what he thought after the game:

“Maybe through the first five games I felt top to bottom it was a better commitment. Of late, I don’t know if we’re all committed. It’s sad to say and we all look bad because of the result - because we don’t all commit. We look great when we’re all committing; we look all like a bunch of clowns when we don’t. A very average team when we’re not all committed.”

Sounds like something the captain of a team would say, doesn’t it? Knuble went on to explain that the defensive breakdowns that were occurring had nothing to do with being prepared and more to do with execution and effort. Must be nice to have someone willing to step up and call out his teammates when the team is still 9-4 on the season.

Knuble understands that the Capitals have different expectations this season—they’re expected to take the next step. Comments like these in November are exactly the types of things we expect from leaders when their teammates slip in the effort department.

We have about 70 more games to see if the rest of the Caps take his words to heart.