How Thin is the Ice For Theo?

Today's big topic of discussion? Varlamov (or if you're Lisa Hillary, Var-MA-lov) or Theodore in Game 2?

There's no beating around the bush here. Theodore was awful in his Capitals postseason debut. Just about as awful as he was in his Capitals regular season debut, but to his credit, the defense didn't exactly show up to play either -- on both occasions.

In the last two games, Florida and New York, Theodore has more than lived up to his nickname, "Three Or More," with a 5.00 GAA. The save percentage isn't much better, it's an embarrassing .838.

Looking at Theodore's recent postseason past, last night's game isn't exactly a far cry from what he's used to.

He opened last year's playoffs with a 3-2 win over the Wild, and then dropped two straight one goal games, 3-2. After that, he won three straight with 5-1, 3-2 and 2-1 margins of victory. He then dropped all four to the Red Wings, allowing more four or more goals in all of those games.

No word on how soft those goals were, but considering how many one goal games he had, and he was on a defensive minded team in Colorado, there's room for optimism.

Considering that in spite of a Theodorian effort in net, and a non-existent defense at times, the Capitals only lost by one goal. Theodore doesn't need to play like Vezina for the Capitals to win this series, he just needs to be decent. The Capitals offense is more than capable of carrying Theodore on their backs, but the jury is still out on if Theo can carry the Capitals.

So given last night's performance, and Theodore's past, is it really plausible that the Capitals should take the risk of running with Varlamov in the aftermath of a one goal game?