Strome is coming in hot at least. I've had similar doubts but we'll see. It would help if the bottom six pitches in, blueliners are also able to help (without getting caught) and team defense is on point. Thompson looked just fine against Montreal. Surprisingly good after the time off. I think the question is more can the skaters in front of him not severely get broken down? Because there were definitely prime chances for the taking had MTL executed. And that's with a pretty thin roster unable to turn the screws all that consistently. On paper those are two modest advantages that give them a path. How likely they're able to be decisive definitely depends on some other underlying areas...
I think the main question coming into this series in less those two than team defense, the pace of 8/74 for sure goes with that, but they've got to be more buttoned up. They've got to have more second effort and composure recovering during those havoc moments in their end and not necessarily need Thompson to be out of his mind left and right. Defend firm enough and they can find ways to win. But if they're getting bogged down, hardly possessing and getting shelled it's going to be tough to find traction uphill. Being opportunistic could gain them a foothold but they're going to need to be just as hard-working (if not more). Structurally Carolina has the advantage against most. They're a top-end possession team so analytic predictions should favor them. But within that the Caps need to at least manage it with their own structure. Do they have not just the intensity but the IQ, composure and patience? Either way on paper those are the main limiting factors for Carolina I think. It's more whether in Washington's case other underlying areas are there sufficiently enough to exploit it.
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