Following the Capitals’ 5-2 defeat in Ottawa last night -- their third loss in a row -- NHL on NBC analysts Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick performed an autopsy on a lifeless Washington squad.
Milbury’s point about Hunter’s lack of NHL coaching experience is a good one. Hunter’s gone with the blunt, no-nonsense approach right from the get-go, a style that served him well at the junior level but is far more difficult to pull off in the NHL.
This isn’t to say the hard-line approach can’t work in the NHL -- coaches like John Tortorella and the Sutters have used it to great effect -- but Hunter has nowhere near the resume as those guys.
Simply put, it’s fair to suggest Hunter hasn’t picked his spots well. He’s publicly criticized/benched Washington’s three most veteran players -- Mike Knuble, Roman Hamrlik and Tomas Vokoun -- which has coincided with the Caps falling into complete disarray. Those are pretty big battles for a rookie bench boss with 38 games of head coaching experience, especially dealing with a team of *ahem* strong personalities.