Recap: Rangers 4, Capitals 3
by David Getz on Oct 8, 2009 10:37 PM EDT
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The Capitals have had plenty of superlatives piled on them in the last week or so, and they've almost all been deserved. There's no denying this team is incredibly talented, skilled, fast, and exciting. There's no doubt they can beat anyone in the NHL. To be frank, there's no reason they shouldn't go in to every game this season expecting to win. At the same time, they need to realize talent alone isn't enough.
The margin for error in the NHL is small no matter who you're playing and you're simply not going to win when you make as many mistakes as the Capitals did tonight. You can't take penalties in the offensive zone when your team's on a 5-on-3 advantage; you can't take bench minors when you're on the powerplay. You can't let in two five-hole goals off snap shots from between the circles, even if Marian Gaborik's doing the shooting. You can't find yourself in a 4-on-4 situation without a single defenseman on the ice, even if it's right after a powerplay. You can't let the opposition tie the game up in the third period eighteen seconds after you've taken the lead. You can't let a team give you nine powerplays and not take the game because, as Bruce Boudreau said after Tuesday night's game, "You take [nine minor penalties] in a game, you're not going to win that game."
If you're the Washington Capitals, you can't lose that game.
Ten additional thoughts on tonight's game:
- Mike Green attempted 15 shots. Two were on net, six missed the net, and seven we blocked. Dude, find a new stick already.
- Chris Clark isn't the explosive skater he was a few years ago but he does finally look truly healthy. And it's great to see.
- If Chris Drury is a checking line center, he's got to be the best damn checking line center in the NHL, no?
- No more scratching Brian Pothier. Ever.
- You have to love the effort Tyler Sloan put forth (including his three hits) but he really looked like he had no idea what he was doing playing as a forward.
- I would do horrible things to have either Ryan Callahan or Brandon Dubinsky on the Capitals.
- Jeff Schultz on Gaborik at the end of the first period was subtle beauty.
- Thank you, Donald Brashear, for reminding us why we're not sorry to see you go, especially at $1.4 million.
- Criag Laughlin seemed pretty adamant that twenty-eight NHL teams tried to sign Matt Gilroy last spring. I wonder who the other was that wasn't interested was?
- It's only a matter of time before Smokin' Al Koken's Thompson Creek Windows commercials achieve "Pulte Homes" and "Raisin Brahms" status.
What's we'll be looking for tomorrow is how Bruce Boudreau responds to his team's performance. Last season we questioned whether or not not he was holding his players accountable or, at the very least, whether he was consistent about it. After publicly and repeatedly calling out Tom Poti and John Erskine for their performances against Philadelphia on Tuesday, the standard seems to have been set for this season. Here's hoping that's the case, because there's no way these guys should be let off the hook.
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On a positive note, Nicklas Backstrom currently leads the league in assists, plus-minus, AND points.
"My face is my mask."
by Jake Shapiro on Oct 8, 2009 10:50 PM EDT reply actions 6 recs
That was a weird game to go to. I’m still on the way home but the atmosphere and the play felt so off.
After backstroms first goal everything seemed to be back to normal Caps hockey. The fans were back into it the Caps had a jump in their step and then they got another goal.
I suppose having 5 minutes normaclllcy in the game made it even weirder.
After Backstroms second I looked over to my gf and said nice to see him pickup his first two and I’m glad Theo is playing well. Then Bam everything came unravelled.
Nice recap D.M.G.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
by zephyr on Oct 8, 2009 11:01 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I was able to go for the first time in years and I was disappointed to see all the empty seats in the arena. There were vast tracts of the 200 level that were without fannies.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 8, 2009 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions
200s are, unfortunately, frequently without fannies, due to the fact that they’re sold to companies, not individuals.
Also, WTF is it with New York fans. They’re so obnoxious. I know, its the bad apples giving everyone else a bad name. But yelling during the national anthem? Acting like a jackass when the Rangers score? There’s no need to turn to the nearest Caps fan and practically assault them. I’ve rooted for the visiting team at a number of events and I’ve never acted in the way Rangers fans consistently do at the VC (Bad Apple Penguins fans act like this too). Be respectful, don’t be a jackass, and if you’re team wins, smile and enjoy it, but don’t come up to me on 7th street with “RANGERS RULE!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!” Stay classy.
Caps fans have their own yelling issues, but busting out with random “Go Rangers!” and other assorted stupidities throughout was uncalled for, and just plain rude. My opinion, of course.
Yes, Ranger fans are obnoxious. It reminds me once again that there is one thing more obnoxious than Crosby being with the Pens. It’s Crosby being with the Rangers. If that happened, it would be hype city.
200s are, unfortunately, frequently without fannies, due to the fact that they’re sold to companies, not individuals.
That’s a shame, but the 100s weren’t full, either. Not the way the 200s were, but it’s not like the house was packed. The seat to my left in the 400s was empty and the two to my right were also empty. Place just wasn’t that full.
The Rangers fans that were sitting near me weren’t terrible, but others that were in the medium distance were freaking obnoxious.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 8, 2009 11:43 PM EDT up reply actions
all I can figure is Monday is a government holiday, people took Friday off as well, and left town immediately after work. There’s also a Jewish holiday (Sukkot) stuffed in here.
The minor Jewish holiday has no bearing on it. Good point about Columbus Day, though, does that Monday’s game will be the same?
my friend works for a Jewish organization and gets today off, so I assumed it was slightly more important than minor. my bad!
Monday’s attendance may be crap, since, yeah, its Columbus Day and there’s major metro construction on the Green and yellow lines (L’Enfant and the surrounding stations on those lines are out of service all weekend. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)
Sukkot is minor in the sense it’s not a high holiday. Jewish organizations, Jews that are intense observers and the entire State of Israel shut down. All other sons of abraham suffer at work with the goyim.
200s are, unfortunately, frequently without fannies, due to the fact that they’re sold to companies, not individuals.
I think that individuals can buy club level seats (as season tickets). The only catch is that it’s a two year contract. Someone was telling me last night they go for as little as $50 per game.
Just Remember...
…The First Amendment of the US Constitution gives everyone the right to prove to the people around them that they are indeed an @$$-hole…
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 9, 2009 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s official, this site is owned by Jeff Schultz. He was horrendous tonight, again, and all you can say is that his play on Gaborik was a thing of beauty? This site has no credibility with its constant Schultz praise.
by vegas caps fan on Oct 8, 2009 11:06 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
He took a bad penalty, but he had a good game, overall. Jose struggled tonight, though.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 8, 2009 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I disagree with you DP on Jose — I thought he played a good game. I agree, the last goal was a bad one. But the rest… the first goal was a breakaway and the second a nosing shot from about 1 foot away, and the third one happened pretty much before the puck was dropped and Gaborik walked in without anyone even waving at him. I thought he pretty much kept the team in the game in the first period when they were utterly asleep.
DMG, I thought Sloan seemed surprisingly comfortable up there, but who knows. I do agree that Potsy looked great; and that 52 struggled (as did 8, I’m afraid to say; probably one of the least into a game I can remember seeing him). I thought the second line played well, but they’re going to have to start scoring soon.
Ovechkin was definitely struggling out there – he was in position for a finish a couple of times and either couldn’t field the pass or just missed and seemed listless. It was not the Alex I’m used to seeing on TV.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 8, 2009 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions
sorry, but have to disagree on Jose. Sure, he made a few good saves just as every NHL goalie is expected to do every night. But those last two goals were soft and at bad times. After Varlomov’s performance in Philly, Jose had the chance to step up tonight and take the job. All he did in my mind is make me much more nervous about our GT situation.
Jose’s got to have both of the Gaborik goals. I know he’s good and he’s got a deceptive shot, but those are both savable, and, judging by his reaction, he knew he should’ve had them. The Kotalik goal was also bad. Both on the D and his part. He committed Varly’s mistake of way over-committing and paying for it. But I also realize how much more difficult that situation was for him to anticipate.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 8, 2009 11:50 PM EDT up reply actions
I can almost say, OK I understand the third one going in because it was one hell of a play and then number 10 was right in front of him but the second one going in cost the team the game.
Same player, same shot, same hole from farther out and with more time to react. I viewed that about as bad as the first goal Backstrom got on Lundy.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
Explain how he was “horrendous”, oh avatarless one?
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 8, 2009 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn’t think he played well to be honest, but compared to Erskine/Poti’s performance in Philly, it’s blind hate to say he was any worse.
Also, if you don’t have an avatar, Bald Pollack doesn’t acknowledge your points.
I'm so sick and tired of the refs explaining the calls like this is the NFL.
Honestly, aside from the one penalty, I thought he looked good. I know he was on the ice for one of the Gaborik goals (maybe both), but there wasn’t anything he could do about that.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 8, 2009 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I remember
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 8, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Cripes, stupid wrong button.
Don’t remember much about Gaborik goal one, though Poti was in front of Gaborik goal number two and I’m likely to fault him more for it.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 8, 2009 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, and for the goodwill he gets on the PK, Stecks is rapidly becoming teh suck on ES.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 8, 2009 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Stecks looked like a steaming pile of dog shit tonight. Sorry. I love the guy, but WTF? Bad bad bad couple of games for him.
Have you noticed his stickhandling (rather, attempt at) lately? He looks like a kindergartner holding a stick way too big for him.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 8, 2009 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Jesus, yes. He looked terrible all night on ES.
There were a bunch of times I found myself wishing Quentin Laing was just a hair faster. He’d be so much better with just another half-step or so of jump.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 8, 2009 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Speaking of missing a step, no one looked very fast tonight. Ovechkin didn’t look like he was getting a good stride, Green looked slow, hell, even Brads had a few moments where he looked slow, and that’s unusual for him.
Clark, on the other hand, looked like he was on fire – but there’s a reason he’s a 3rd liner…
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 9, 2009 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions
The plays that stuck out to me with BMo were the ones where he got there because he was so fast, but wasn’t able to do anything with them because he got muscled off the puck. I thought he had a fairly good game, I just wish what I just described didn’t happen so often.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 12:05 AM EDT up reply actions
I thought it was more that no one could keep up with him, so he made it to the puck only to see Brooks and Knuble lumbering into the zone way too late.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 9, 2009 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Which is another reason to break up the SOB line and turn it into the KOB (as in rough as a cob) line and the MLS line, because both Laich and Semin can skate with him and it gives a net presence to each scoring line.
I thought Knuble was far less able to keep up with him than Laich, to be perfectly honest.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
The issue is that Knuble is going to have just as much trouble keeping up with a streaking Ovechkin and Backstrom (which is one reason I’d bet BB didn’t start the season out with that line).
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 9, 2009 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions
I feel like Backs has better vision and patience and will be better able to setup in such a way that Knuble can do some damage.
Besides, a guy that will dig on the boards to get the puck and go to the net for those two has to be an improvement on Kozlov.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m withholding judgment on Knuble because playing with 10 stitches in your ankle is probably an hindrance.
by RedBirdie on Oct 9, 2009 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
MLS Line
So it’ll consist of mediocre talent and lots of diving.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
This is for sure true. Ovie looked way off all night, I’m really not sure what was bothering him.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Watch out vegas. Apparently there’s a new policy here at the Rink this year that puts the lack of meaningless 24×24 pixel image is far more important than, you know, what you actually said. Because that’s why people come here, not to discuss hockey, but to see who has the most original/funny/intense avatar.
Seriously. I’ve faithfully read and posted on the Rink for over a year and only on Tuesday was my glaring lack of avatar pointed out to me.
Why’d you conform then? =]
BP is just doing it for fun. You’ve taken a few things super cereal lately that are pretty much clearly jokes. No one is out to get you and no one discounted what vegas caps fan said because of avatar status.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
Haha as much as I love to be the rebel (and believe me, I do). It was apparent (to me at least) that I would be viewed as some random newbie whose point would not be taken seriously if I didn’t have one. I wasn’t really that against it so I tried to appease him (actually it was F&B, if I remember correctly) to avoid anything further confrontations.
don’t let the rats into your crawlspace. believe me, newcomers are welcomed as long as they are willing to interject thoughtful discussion and not thoughtless bluster. i can’t tell you how to feel, but i can tell you that i personally appreciate new perspectives. for his part, you’ll notice BP recommends a user’s first avatar’d comment. it’s nice to identify with other community members, and at times i’ll seek out individuals by scrolling the right side of the screen.
on the other hand, if you wish to saunter in and question the author’s credibility (literally) in the fashion of mr./ms. vegas, it would be wise to construct more of a case than “he was horrendous.” because DMG has made his case at length, with balance, with patience, for anyone of mind to debate the topic.
respect the author enough to make a real argument. don’t just throw darts or leave hit-and-run attacks.
by Natty Bumppo on Oct 9, 2009 3:33 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Aside from making the side look unlike every other SBN blog with faceless commenters making other blogs look ghetto, it at least makes a community feel a little more…communal.
Besides, with the uptick in readership, I figure now is as good a time as any to live up to the resolutions.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
Seriously. I’ve faithfully read and posted on the Rink for over a year and only on Tuesday was my glaring lack of avatar pointed out to me.
Well, faithful reader, I’m sure you, like the rest of the Rink Rats, have noticed that BP didn’t start his avatar enforcement policy until the last couple of weeks. Don’t take it so damn personally. Half the fun of it is to see the new ways BP calls people out for lack of avatar.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
It’s official, this site is owned by Jeff Schultz. He was horrendous tonight, again, and all you can say is that his play on Gaborik was a thing of beauty? This site has no credibility with its constant Schultz praise.
No comment was made about anything other than the one play. I agree Schultz didn’t have a particularly good game (though he also didn’t have one bad enough to deserve to be singled out) but that one plays was nice. And if any other Capitals player had made that play they’d be recognized for it too.
If you think he was bad, or is bad on a regular basis, let’s hear your rationale. Throwing out an assertion without a reason isn’t really constructive because it makes it too easy to become a he-said-[s]he said situation.
Credibility shouldn’t be measured in ideas alone, it should be measured in large part by the ideas and rationale than lead to them. As Natty points out the case for Schultz as a productive player has been made over and over again and his shortcomings are readily acknowledged here, just as are any other player’s. If there’s a decent, substantive reason for the “Schultz sucks” assumption, lay it on me. Perhaps I’ll be swayed. but until then I’m going to assume he is what the overwhelming evidence suggests he is: a good NHL player.
The “Schultz is bad” lobby has been very successful. I heard moaning and groaning about him in the neighboring area last night. I was not even going to enter into the discussion, although I suppose if I were prepared with all the supporting data reported here it could have been interesting.
The "Schultz is bad" lobby has been very successful.
I don’t know how successful, really. Certainly loud.
But of course reasonable people can disagree; there are certainly members of this site whose opinions I very much respect who don’t think Schultz is all that good and I respect their opinions on the matter.
When someone tells me something like “I know Schultz’s numbers look good and I know he makes a lot of good plays but I think his skating is enough of a weakness that it can be readily exploited and that makes me question how versatile he is and thus his overall value” they’ve given me something to think about and, even if I disagree, I respect the opinion. When someone throws out a variation of “Schultz sucks and if you don’t know that then you don’t know what you’re talking about” I don’t see any evidence of them wanting to engage in any debate on the subject or provide any evidence for their position, and if you can’t back up your position or your primary rationale is “because I said so”, well, to me that’s not very convincing.
AO skates like a train, hits like a train, and has amazing goal scoring ability; that makes him the best player in the NHL.
Schultz cannot skate like a train, hit like a train, or score with any regularity. Thus, he is the worst player in the NHL.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
When it comes to pre-game preparation, how do they train?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions
On the replays, it looks like Schultz got beat in the first period, but Theo made a great save, just as described. But on the Gaborik goals, it looks like Schultz has his man (not Gaborik). Poti, not so much.
I don’t know if Schultz could have done more to prevent the puck from getting to Gaborik, but once Gaborik had the puck in both instances it looked like he was Poti’s responsibility. We saw the result. Twine.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions
I think teams like the Rangers are going to give Schultz fits because they’ve got speed on lines 1-3 (the Voros-Boyle-Brashear line. . . not so much). This was particularly egregious when he got caught out against Gaborik’s line. In order to avoid getting burned around the edges, Schultz backed off the blue line, with the result being that Gaborik just took wristers and used the D as screens. In Schultz’s defense, nearly all of the Caps’ defenders were guilty of this to some degree last night, but I definitely noticed it most with the Schultz/Poti pairing.
I'm trying to work out a deal with a club in Europe
I guess what I’m saying is that I also noticed it with the Schultz/Poti pairing, but it wasn’t the Schultz half of the pairing that was at fault.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Theo's belly save
Theo’s save from his stomach on Gaborik was necessary because Gaborik just completely left Schultz behind down low. Later, Higgins tooled him 1-1 (around 14 mins in 2nd), leading to a scoring chance.
Schultz can be an effective defenseman, but he has trouble with speedy/shifty players, and likely always will. Again, it’s tough to single him out tonight because the entire defense looked a step or two slow.
I'm trying to work out a deal with a club in Europe
he has trouble with speedy/shifty players, and likely always will.
This is true. A lot of times, we bring up Nick Lidstrom as a model player that doesn’t need physicality to be successful, but Lidstrom is 10 times the skater that Schultz will likely ever be.
I wonder how much of his success is not being placed in situations where he has to be the primary defender on a guy like Gabbo or Dubinsky. It’s an interesting question, but one of the things we toss around in his defense is how well he plays against Evgeni Malkin, who can skate and can be very shifty. Although, I guess Malkin is at least as much slickness with his stick as he is raw speed and agility.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions
I think this falls back into the category of “if Schultz were physical…”
my point being that when you watch OV go against teams #1 D-men, when he tries that shifty stuff, they step up and body him. That’s how Pronger stopped him the other night in a 1-on-1 situation.
While positionally 55 plays well, and I think his numbers provide backup to that, I think it’s the 1-on-1’s that seem to jump out in everyone’s mind (since they’re glaring on the TV screen) … that’s where the lack of physicality comes in. If he steps up and drills Higgins last night, that chance doesn’t happen.
Physical play doesn’t have to be all the time… it has to be at the right time, and IMO if he added that element to his game, he’d be a legit “top pair” guy.
Hitting someone open ice one-on-one is extremely difficult, though, and it’s something only guys who have that rare combination of skating ability, size, strength, and balance should attempt on a regular basis. More often that not, for most guys, trying to do that’s just going to leave you out of position and give the opponent a better chance to score.
But I have to admit that I differ from a lot of people in the sense that I don’t care whether or not defensemen are physical and I see no excuse for forwards, especially wingers, not to be.
The problem is that, in that situation, playing the body is the correct play. If you go after the stick/puck, you get deked out of your jock, just like Schultz did. It’s not about “being physical” per se, it’s about making the right play. Until he starts doing that with regularity, he’s going to be made to look foolish a lot in one-on-one situations.
I'm trying to work out a deal with a club in Europe
I don’t think that necessarily true. If you look at a guy like Semin, a lot of times when people try and take the body on him he just taps the puck past them and gets open space.
Not saying Schultz played Higgens well on that one-on-one, just saying that I think you have be very judicious about when you try and play the body in that type of situation.
stepping up and trying to play the body > backskating, not touching anyone, and still getting beat.
that’s why I advocate the step-up.
I don’t know why but I was interpreting what you were saying as going for a hit rather than just stepping up on a guy (probably once I read ‘Pronger’ I immediately started thinking ‘hits!’). I see where you’re coming from and I agree.
yeah, you don’t have to drop the guy… just play him, rather than the puck.
my bad… my example was a bit skewed (going w/ one of the biggest hitters in the league)
I think it all comes back to one of Schultz’s major problems, which is his lack of aggressiveness. Too often he gets caught trying to decide between two different plays and winds up flat-footed. Needs to just trust his instincts more, because they’re pretty good.
I think that his instincts are to play off the guy, he needs to learn that his reach can be an asset not only in the poke check, but by getting big and just playing the man and letting his partner/goalie pick up the puck. (Like you said above, not crushing the guy, just putting both hands in his chest and riding him away from the play).
Coburn gets tons of credit for being a mean physical D, and that is exactly how he got burnt by Semin. Yeah Semin is a better player than Higgins but honestly Coburn could have and should have knocked Sasha over on that play. Semin opened his feet up to slide around Coburn and thus stopped moving them. Coburn easily could have made that play. You’re right that the correct play is to put your shoulder into the guy’s chest, but Schultz isn’t the only guy that makes that mistake.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
Malkin loves to use his reach to keep the puck away from defenders, but he’s not ridiculously shifty in a lateral sense. That’s why Schultz plays him well. Malkin tries to go wide and take body position and use his reach and Schultz is able to still get his stick on the puck/Malkin’s stick.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
Be that as it may, Theo has to make those two saves on Gaborik. If backing in a little bit and giving up a wrist shot is the lesser of two evils (better than getting burned wide with speed) then that’s how Schultz has to play it, and like I said those plays shouldn’t have resulted in goals anyhow. I agree with you on the wrap-around attempt and Higgins play; mobility is obviously going to be Schultz’s biggest issue, but I thought last night he did a good job keeping the threats to the outside.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
What the hell…? Horrible officiating, the PP is back to passing the puck around, and the Caps have a goaltending problem. Shall we wait until game 20 to see how we’re really doing?
But Brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes.
In mild defense of the PP, I think they’re still getting some things locked in. The amount of time Pothier and Poti have spent there has been minimal so far, and I saw them on the points together. Me likey, but in seeing they averaged two minutes each out there, with neither one seeing prolonged time out there? I wasn’t expecting miracles, even with the insane amount of time the Young Guns were logging out there.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 9, 2009 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions
I think people just post this without even thinking now.
the PP is back to passing the puck around
1. You can’t just fire shots on net on a great PK like that and a great goalie.
2. I thought they attempted a lot of shots.
3. If you just fire away often you’ll lose possession by the goalie icing the puck or the team blocking the shot and clearing. (In the Caps case, firing the puck past the net too many times wrapping it up the boards for an easy clear by the opposition)
It’s only 4 games in and they are 2-1-1 and scoring in bunches. It’s not where we all wanted them to be but it isn’t the end of the world either.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
I think the PP needs to be tweaked to some degree. Reorganize the cast of characters.
I would leave the top 2 even strength lines as they are for the moment. The first line is scoring. Except for today, the second line’s been scoring. No one else has been scoring this year.
The Caps will make the playoffs and will likely win their division, in spite of today. If I remember correctly, the Rangers got off to a great start and then self-destructed. (And then they fired Renney and hired Torts.) I think there’s enough incompetence among the teams in the North Least Division and the South Least Division to keep any of the main Eastern Conference contenders from sinking too far.
I think the power play lines are good but they aren’t playing well together yet. The tweaking is a mental thing IMO.
I really dislike when Bruce starts shuffling the deck on every line just hoping something sticks. Most players I know don’t like this either because they feel pressure to score and every other shift their chemistry is changing.
And don’t get me wrong, I thought the powerplay was pretty bad tonight but that “shoot the puck” thing is so cliche I had to say something.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
The Rags PK is good, but that doesn’t excuse the Caps PP. The way you beat a PK that gets in the shooting lanes is to move without the puck and get them moving around the zone. Not continue to pass the puck around the outside hoping they leave the shooting lanes.
And while they did attempt a lot of shots, the fact that so many of them missed the net is another fault of the PP. Guys like Laich and Knuble can’t clean up the garbage if the initial shots don’t hit the net, and the team as a whole pulled that “self clear” move you mentioned all too often. This PP should never go 1/9, so they should be catching lots of flack for tonight.
Of all our iniquities ignorance may be the worst
by Killer_Carlson on Oct 9, 2009 1:38 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know if you were actually replying to me, but as I said above I thought the powerplay was bad.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
Yeah, I wrote my comment before I saw your follow up.
Of all our iniquities ignorance may be the worst
by Killer_Carlson on Oct 9, 2009 1:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Smite me if I’m wrong, but it seems like the Rangers PK requires a complete reversal from what our PP normally needs to do. Against less organized PK units, peppering the goal with shots tends to lead to rebound chances and more goals. Not this one. I feel like the Caps NEED to keep passing around the aggressive PKers in order to get quality shots. Otherwise, Killer_Carlson above is dead on; they’ll grab the loose puck and send you chasing. Oddly enough, I think it was the Caps doom to play the Pens after the Rangers last year in the playoffs, because they had just gotten used to that careful PP strategy when they needed to go back to peppering MAF with shots since the Pens PK wasn’t anywhere near as effective at challenging the puckholder.
Agree or disagree? Are these the mad ravings of a lunatic? Seriously… I learn a lot from everyone here and style matchups are a totally new element to me.
"I am... *grins* ... 'Nobody' "
- Odysseus
The missing key to this is skating. You can’t get them out of the box if you just pass it to the guy and stand still. You need guys moving through the box to pull guys out of their position. If anyone remembers the 5 on3 goal against the Pens in the playoffs where the Pens fans cried “interference!” because Green cut off Staal’s path, that’s exactly how it went down. (Yes, it was a 5 on 3, but the principle is the same, and our 5 on 3 was also garbage last night.)
Baxter (I think) had the puck down to MAF’s left, Green straight up at the point, and Semin at the other point, AO far side from Baxter. Green cuts directly to the net from his point, making the top man, Staal, commit to him and collapse the triangle. Baxter uses the open spot at the top of the zone to go cross-point to Semin. The bottom D on AO’s side has to over-commit because Staal has already committed to Green. He’s rushing out under no control; compound this with a huge wind up by AS and MAF is way on top of his crease ready for the shot. AS slides the puck down to AO who buries it in the open net. The whole key to that play was Green’s initial drive to the net.
In short, nobody was moving their damn feet on the PP. Doesn’t help that they tried to play the full 2 minutes. More PP2, please.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
by Rob Parker on Oct 9, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Rec’d for the breakdown of that play.
Rec’d for “More PP2, please.”
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know how Bruce will respond tomorrow but I’ve never seen him so angry in the postgame. Watch it and be scared. Should be interesting at KCI tomorrow.
well, last time the team blew a game, Bruce damn neared killed them the next day,a dn then they came out and absolutely annihilated the waddle birds. So, here’s to laying down an ass whooping on Detroit.
Maybe you’re referring to the 5-0 loss to the Sabres last season (too lazy to look it up)? I’m sure you’re right though, they’ll respond with a good effort on Saturday. FWIW, just went back and watched Bruce again. They already edited out the last exchange he had with a reporter who asked a repetitive question and Bruce snapped at him to “pay attention”. Yikes.
looked it up (only because I remember the date); it was the debacle against Colorado that I was thinking of.
I’ve always been of the opinion that he was too soft with this team and I see it as an encouraging sign that he’s “MAD AS HELL AND NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!”
The kid gloves are off for sure, the bar is raised, and the team will certainly respond. I don’t see any mutinous element to the team just yet (even the guy that has a wide opening to be so, hasn’t, from the Press Box anyway).
It’d be nice to have a goalie that doesn’t allow 4+ goals per game, though. Both Theo and Varly have looked dreadful so far this year. Neuvy lobby, get your guy healthy and get him up here! : ]
"I am... *grins* ... 'Nobody' "
- Odysseus
in all fairness, Theo looked fabulous against Boston, and he looked very solid for long stretched against the Rags. Unfortunately, Theo’s kinda like Livan Hernandez. There is “Good Theo” and “Bad Theo” and you never know what you’re going to get. And Bad Theo is very, very bad.
I know I’m tough on goalies. But you cannot let in soft goals at those moments in the game. I was all over Theo for it last spring, I was all over Varlamov for it after PHI. I’m not happy with it now, but how much more can you rant about it. This is Jose Theodore. He could kill you at any moment. This Caps team is so good that they don’t even really need goalies stealing games for you (though it would help), but they absolutely cannot have goalies giving away goals like has been happening recently. Soft goals are bad as a rule, but the timings of the soft ones lately has been absolutely terrible.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
First loss of the year…
Joe Crozier was my coach in New Brunswick in 1979. He was a great person and a really smart coach, but back in 1979, he was old school. We started the season 6-0 and we lost our seventh game 6-1 in Halifax, which was a three-hour drive back. I remember him bringing a little chair on the bus after that game. And instead of sitting in his seat, he put that chair in the front of the bus and faced us the entire way home and would not let us talk. He just stared at us to show how mad he was that we lost. When I was a player, I never understood that kind of stuff. I thought it was weird. But as I got older, I began to realize that it had nothing to do with us not being able to talk. Instead, it had everything to do with not being satisfied. We won six in a row and he did not want us to think it was ok to lose a game. He wanted to show us that he was unhappy that we lost a game. He did not care about the talking. It was, "Don’t be satisfied with your success, push to be even greater." Years later I got that. I don’t even know if that was his intention, but that is what I take from it now.
http://capitals.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=501105&navid=DL|WSH|home
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 8:49 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yes, it will be a very hard practice. Bag skates; etc.
Lots of work on PP and PK drills.
I remember after that 5-0 loss against Buffalo, Boudreau had a special Sunday practice the next day that was a really hard practice. Originally, they weren’t scheduled to have practice.
He can run these punishment practices a few times but they won’t work forever.
If it isn’t already happening the guys will all team up and sandbag in those types of practices. They get tired but not on the “OMG I’m going to puke” level.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
If Chris Drury is a checking line center, he’s got to be the best damn checking line center in the NHL, no?
With a cap hit of $7.050mm for the next three years he had better be huh? Ouch
Pensburgh.com -- it's like the Max Talbot of blogs*
*not just because we only work for 12 minutes a night
Beat me to it Hooks. Was gonna say the same thing …
I have a blog too! www.scottyhockey.com
Let's Go Rangers!
by Scotty Hockey on Oct 9, 2009 2:22 AM EDT up reply actions
Eh, time to get past the contract already, what’s done is done.
Blueshirt Banter: Covering the New York Rangers
Big Blue View: Unofficial New York Giants blog
by Jim Schmiedeberg on Oct 9, 2009 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Done in 2008. And 2009. And 2010. And 2011…
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions
Ben Clymer’s doing well too.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 9, 2009 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Chris Bourque thanks him.
Maybe he really does, as he’s gotten into a game with the Pens. (Not necessarily the Bourque lobby, but I felt the need to throw that in.)
Given how awful the jumble is on the fourth line for Pittsburgh right now, where they seem to just be randomly plugging people in every game to see what works, one game for Chris isn’t enough. Part of it could be adjusting to a new system, but he’s too talented relative to his roster slot competition to be sitting this much.
Winterion Game Studios
Visit us online at : http://winterion.com
At the arena, this game reminded me in a lot of ways of Game 1 of the playoff series – Caps just off, Theodore letting in a couple of softies and some horrific stretches. Even on a break-in, Gaborik was completely unmolested on his second goal, like right at the top of the circles. Seriously, you’re going to let him have space?
Erskine didn’t look too bad, ShaMo looked like he had a solid game from where I sat, other than the dumb penalty in the first, Schultz played a pretty good game.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 8, 2009 11:39 PM EDT reply actions
The D had to give Gaborik that space. He was skating with a head of steam through the neutral zone and MDZ made a very nice pass up the middle to him. Once that happens you either have to back in or risk a breakaway because he’s probably going to beat you wide. In a perfect world one of the 2 D sees that play developing and steps up preemptively and the other D backs up as insurance in case Gaborik still beats the guy, but that play happened too fast for them to realistically read that, and they’d probably be out of position if they did play it like that.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
New York played very aggressively. They were all over the Caps most of the night (and sometimes it was rather borderline)
For all the went wrong, you won’t see a better take-away then the one Semin pulled off tonight. Wow, beautiful.
Sloan looked a thousand times more comfortable in the third than he did in the first two periods.
Boyd Gordon and Stephane Auger? yeah, not exchanging Christmas cards. Gordo was yelling at him all night.
Power play was U-G-L-Y. That’s the only word to describe it.
New York played very aggressively. They were all over the Caps most of the night (and sometimes it was rather borderline)
They did – they earned those penalties. The Caps just didn’t make them pay. Ugly is a good word for it, but uninspired and impatient are a couple of other good ones. I saw a lot of forced passes through multiple sticks and the vast majority of the time, surprise here, they didn’t work.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 8, 2009 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions
The PP was both too cute and not too cute. Early on the Care Bears were exactly that, but then they started shooting just about everything they touched. The Rags had a good PK tonight that collapsed around the goal and didn’t let anything through. Green had how many attempted shots exactly? And only, what, 2 got on net? It was more than just an uncomfortable stick tonight.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 8, 2009 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, a lot of them were lobs looking for deflections in front, but they weren’t particularly good or accurate ones. At least, that’s how they looked.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 8, 2009 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m also referring to all the shots that Green had deflected into the netting. They clogged the zone like none other tonight.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 8, 2009 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I think BB was definitely frustrated fairly early on as he broke up that PP unit on the 3rd or 4th PP. Poti and Pothier on the points with Ovi, Knuble and I think Morrison. And it wasn’t b/c guys were tired.
Yep, time to reorganize the cast of characters on the Power Play. It’s been pathetic the last two games. (I was calling for that to happen in the Philthy game.)
Time to reorganize already? C’mon, it was the 4th game. Remember how last week we were talking about how scary good our PP looked?
"Let the rest be scared of us." - Sasha Semin
by Scott in Shaw on Oct 9, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed. They’re a hair off their number for last year, and 8/28/52 were all around or over 10 minutes of PP time. I liked what they’re trying to do by bringing 3/4 in there to boot.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
and remember how god awful the PP looked until December or so last season? Takes them forever to figure it out.
I think you change just one factor, and they’re great again:
Mike Green needs to find a way to get his shots on net
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions
After the Brashear penalty, the face off was in the neutral zone, just outside our blue line.
I thought the rule was that a face-off automatically went into the attacking zone following a penalty?
I have as many wins in a Capitals uniform as Michael Belhumeur does.
I think it had to do with the icing call after the penalty but before the whistle. I’m not sure what the rule book says about that. (However, those refs made less sense than trying to understand some of Bruce’s decisions)
Rule 15.5 in the NHL Rule Book (Emphasis Mine):
If the stoppage of play is caused by the defending team (puck frozen along the boards, frozen by the goalkeeper, shot out of play) and the attacking team is to be penalized, the resulting face-off shall be made at the nearest face-off spot in the defending zone. The only exception to this face-off location is if, prior to the stoppage of play for the assessment of the penalty, the non-offending team ices the puck. Then, the face-off following the stoppage shall take place at one of the two face-off spots in the neutral zone near the defending blue line of the team shooting the puck.
After Brash took the penalty, the Caps iced the puck, so instead of getting a face off in the attacking zone, it was at the blue line near their defensive zone.
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 8, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that rule exception come into play.
I have as many wins in a Capitals uniform as Michael Belhumeur does.
I’ve seen it a few times, but then I watch Center Ice every night, so you see things all the time.
Despite the text up there, there is another “exception” to the penatly starting face off rule, in that if a penalty is called at the end of a period or before the start of the next period, the next face off is at center ice. The reason is that until the next period starts, the previous period is still ongoing (at 20:00). The face off in the attack zone only is applicable for the same period of the game…
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 9, 2009 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh, thank you. I’ve seen that in previous games, and we’ve wondered why. I should cut that out and put it in my bag so I remember the next time. (Note to team: don’t ice the puck on a delayed penalty)
A slight correction...
(Note to team: don’t ice the puckon a delayed penalty)
Just a correction to make it a better idea… :)
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 9, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions
If this was football, and we played a 16 game season, we would have a reason to worry. We don’t have to act like Skins fans because we’re “2-2,” when we can look at it like Caps fans – we’re 2-1-1, which is on pace to go 40-20-20 with 2 games left to play – and that’s 100 points. I’ll take 2-1-1 all season long.
I'm so sick and tired of the refs explaining the calls like this is the NFL.
It’s hard to be rational after you’ve watch the team stink up the joint. Yes, there were good moments, and after Backstrom scored that “gimme”, the place was electric — for a little bit. But overall, they didn’t look so good. So, yeah, leaving the game, my mood stunk, even though I have faith the problems will get fixed.
I’ll take 2-1-1 all season long before the playoffs.
Fixed, because 2-1-1 is then 2-2. :)
by red army line on Oct 9, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I have an idea. Keep Boyd Gordon off the ice the last ten minutes of the game. Two games in a row he takes a stupid penalty at a critical time. I’ve always thought of Gordo as a smart, scrappy player who does what he does very well. But he’s enough of a veteran now to not pull that crap.
That was strange. Something was just weird with the game tonight. No one looked quite right.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 8, 2009 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m still calling bullshit on that Gordon penalty. Yes, with 9 PPs, complaining about the reffing is kind of lame, but how did he get called for tripping when he didn’t even cause a Ranger to stumble?
I'm so sick and tired of the refs explaining the calls like this is the NFL.
I was stunned to see that penalty called on Gordo.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions
It was a tad of a late call, but I thought I saw him trip the guy, so I didn’t have a problem with it, myself.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 9, 2009 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh, he tripped him plain and simple. Gordon fell to his knees and out of frustration he swung his stick at the Rangers feet causing him to stumble. Maybe the player didn’t go down but the bottom line is that he put himself in a position where the ref could make that call. I don’t know what’s going on with him but that’s two games in a row where he has committed a bad penalty that has cost his team the game. He was also responsible for the second goal when he blew his assignment. Fourth line players who do stuff like that end up in the press box or the minors or traded. If Bruce wants to start making examples, my vote is with Gordon. That crap is just unacceptable.
I had a bad angle on it at the game but after the Philly game, it was a little much for me to take seeing Gordo heading to the box again late in the 3rd
Who will take Gordon’s place on the 4th line if he’s scratched? While he’s certainly been castigated tonight, I think that if Semin had done the same thing, people would be screaming even worse. We’d be hearing “make him a healthy scratch”, “trade him before the deadline”, etc.
Corey’s post game, full of Boudreau, er, quotes.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
Let’s just see how they respond, already.
by DrinkingPartner on Oct 9, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
I wasn’t really focused on him but I don’t recall Shultz being too bad, other than the penalty. What struck me more was that a few times in our defensive zone, we’d have 3 guys going for the puck carrier leaving other guys wide open. Don’t remember whether any resulted in a rangers’ score but definitely struck me at the time.
Observations from Section 421
Yeesh, what a not-so-good game that had some sweet moments:
1) Brian Pothier’s pass to Semin for the opening goal was a thing of beauty. It seems that when he was scratched against Philly he was watching Matt Carle and his pass to Richards for the first goal the Fly-boys scored.
2) Mike Green needs to figure out where the damn net is, and more importantly how big it is. It looks like he was shooting at a soccer net.
3) The Caps converted on only one of nine chanced on the power play, and while that goal and play was a nice one, the Caps on several of them didn’t do what they did against Boston, which is go to the net, and go angry…
4) I don’t think Gaborik’s winning goal was that bad a goal for Theo, Poti was screening Theo pretty good and Gaborik can bring it with the best of them. The first Gaborik goal was inexcusable by Theo, but then Lundqvist complete miss on Nick’s first goal was just as bad (or worse!)
5) Nice to see Nick at the top of the points standings, but I’m sure he’d rather have won the game…
6) Props to the Star of the Game picker, for picking Marc Staal. He and Girardi played really well in keeping Ovie to relatively under control (although Ovie did have 9 shots on goal).
The Rangers gave the Caps every opportunity to win this game, especially with all the stupid penalties they took and the Caps PP failed to click (some of that was Lundqvist some wasn’t). They need to get Laich and Knuble in front of the goal on the PP if they want to have a shot at beating the Wings Saturday…
Let's go Caps!
6) Props to the Star of the Game picker, for picking Marc Staal. He and Girardi played really well in keeping Ovie to relatively under control (although Ovie did have 9 shots on goal).
Yeah, but only one or two of them were good shots on goal. Seeing him whiff on the weakside on the powerplay (Or break his stick, can’t remember which it was) killed me, because it was a sure goal if he got good composite on it.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions
True enough. But still, keeping Ovie off the scoresheet and holding the Caps PP to 1 for 9, someone on their back line did a good job. I actually would have picked Staal’s partner Girardi, but Staal has the game recognition, and will always be remembered for his part in the funniest Caps moment at the VC to this point…
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 9, 2009 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m still developing my “hockey vision”, but ISTM that Knuble’s been spending a lot of time flailing around center ice. I was under the impression he was gonna be ‘round the net more. Though he is skating with ten stitches in his ankle, which can’t be very good for his mobility.
I also think BMo has really stepped up and he was “in play” on most of his shifts, darting in to clean up messy situations and making plays.
IS PAЯTY NOW
So far this year, only 6 Caps have scored a goal; i.e. the 1st Line (i.e. OBS) and the 2nd line (KLM). Glad to see goals from Backstrom, finally. No points from the KLM line today but they were good earlier this year. (I’d probably leave those 2 lines put for the moment.) The return of Flash and Fehr should help our 3rd line. (We’re kind of lacking on offense after the 1st 2 lines.) I’m sure Knuble’s ankle isn’t right at the moment, after just having stitches.
The PP needs to reorganized or rearranged some how. It’s been bad.
Next question: who will be in goal on Saturday? Let’s hope Chris Osgood is Chris Osbad against us.
If you've read this far...seek help.
by ThePeerless on Oct 9, 2009 12:44 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
This game lacked a Fehr/Flash-like goal.
TEB says Fehr’s going to Hershey for a stint… so he should be back in a week or two, right?
How about Flash?
The last news I heard on Flash was “back in 2 weeks”. That was Saturday. In any case, I think we’ll get better productivity from the 3rd line once they’re back. (Not that they’ll be on the third line but we’ll have more offensive options.)
On Fehr, he took the pre-game warmup today.
Where does Flash fit in the line up? I gotta say he’s a 3rd liner, Morrison, Kunuble and Laich are far, far better than him
I don’t think he fits as a third-line-shutdown type player, though. He doesn’t forecheck well, he gets pushed off the puck easily, doesn’t play with great energy, and I can’t see him cycling in the corners. He’s either a second-line guy or an AHL-type player, in my opinion. Cycling him down to the third or fourth lines just isn’t going to fit.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 9:26 AM EDT up reply actions
But on a Bruce Boudreau team, the third line is often just another scoring line. Everybody needs to be able to play decent defense, but the dedicated “shutdown” guys are often relegated to the fourth line. That’s been his history elsewhere, and I think he’s wanted to do that here but for injuries and Nylanders.
Also, I have to take issue with this:
doesn’t play with great energy
Say what you will about his physicality, but the reason Flash is successful is that he plays with great energy. I don’t think Flash is a bad defender. There were a couple of games I saw last year where he was the best player on the ice at both ends (the game at San Jose comes to mind). That’s a statement of how badly everyone else played, but Flash has it in him to be defensively responsible. I’d like to see the Flash on PK experiment come to an end, but there’s a place for him as the main scoring threat on the third line. In fact, on a team with Ovechkin and Semin, I think that’s the ideal place for him.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions
I think the PK experiment was an attempt to make him more defensively responsible in ES situations, a la Semin. I don’t doubt that he’s capable of playing defense or that he can be defensively responsible, but being capable of it and incapable of it have the same result if that capability isn’t applied.
So what’s your proposed third line? Flash/Steckel/Fehr? That would put Q back to the 4th line, where he’s certainly a better fit and I suppose leave a 4th of Q/Gordo/Brads? If nothing else, that’s better than playing Sloan at 4LW, so I’ll buy that as a better alternative to what we’re doing now.
Say what you will about his physicality, but the reason Flash is successful is that he plays with great energy.
Being energetic in skating is all well and good, but when the other team is determined to hold chunks of ice, make you earn your pucks and your space, it’s not going to help.
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Yup. If the Steckel of last year’s playoffs returns, Flash-Steckel-Fehr is one hell of a third line to be able to put out there. But don’t forget about Clark.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’t take issue with Flash’s overall game. The problem for me is that as a “scoring threat”, he’s invisible for long stretches despite decent ice time. That said, do we have anyone better? Probably not though giving Fehr more of an opportunity (which I know has been discussed at length) I would do.
Next question: what do you propose the Caps do to acquire Brandon Dubinsky or Ryan Callahan? What kind of horrible things do you propose to acquire one of them? And, don’t suggest trade our “young guns” for them.
If sure somebody has an old Nylander Ranger’s jersey lying around somewhere. In the middle of the night we break into the Rags hotel, drop Nylander in Dubinsky’s bed and snatch Dubinsky and bring him back to Ketler. They’ll never be the wiser.
by Ovechkin on Oct 9, 2009 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Is Dubinsky “bald” enough to pass for Nylander? (Okay, I have no idea what Dubinsky’s hair is like — no idea about whether he’s bald or what his hair style could possibly be.)
Keep dreaming.
I have a blog too! www.scottyhockey.com
Let's Go Rangers!
by Scotty Hockey on Oct 9, 2009 2:24 AM EDT up reply actions
To dream the impossible dream…
To fight the unbeatable foe…
Ah, the world misses Robert Goulet…
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 9, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh I don’t think there’s any way the Capitals acquire them in the foreseeable future, I was just commenting how much I’d love to have them.
Martin St. Louis.
I fucking hate that hobbit. (Yeah, I’d love to have him on the Caps)
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I met him at a wedding and he was very cool
Just makes me hate him more. All that, and women think he’s cool…
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Dustin Brown’s a good one. Love that guy.
by David Getz on Oct 9, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Iginla (from last night), ftw:
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
oh, Iginla, you are one BAMF hockey player. How I lust after you.
by RedBirdie on Oct 9, 2009 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I’m with you on this one….
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 9, 2009 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
The Caps have the most goals for and most goals against in hockey right now.
2009 Caps so far = 2006 Wizards.
Fix this, Bruce.
That doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. The Caps play an exciting, high scoring offensive game. As long as we have one more goal at the end of the game than the other team, I don’t care if we set some record for most goals allowed.
That’s what a couple of F’ed up outings do. One lucky, two a coincidence, three a trend. Let’s shut ’em down in Motown now.
by red army line on Oct 9, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Tis the truth.
To the question of “is the glass half empty or half full”, it depends on the general trend. For the Caps, the recent trend has been down, so the glass is half empty at the moment.
Or as a mathematician would say, if the function being applied to the glass “drinking”, which means it would be a decreaing function and the glass is half empty. If the function is pouring, it is an increasing function and the glass is half full.
But what’s the second derivative doing? That’s what really counts. Are they turning this thing around?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions
hey now, remember, there are English and history majors here. Us simpletons can’t follow complicated math! We can, however, compare hockey to the 30 Years War and ensuing Peace of Westphalia.
So for any given point on the graph, you can ask a bunch questions.
The most fundamental question is “where are we.” That’s your X-Y coordinates. This would be “the zero’th derivative” if that existed. Right now the answer for the Caps would be “playing like shit.”
The next question is “what is the trend? Are we getting better or worse?” That’s the first derivative – the direction the curve is heading in. The answer for the Caps would be “well, we started off really well, but now we’re playing really badly, so the trend is poor (to say the least)”
But the next question may be the most interesting. It’s “how is the trend changing?” That’s the second derivative. It tells you the changes in the direction of the curve. For the Caps it had better be “we’re getting absolutely reamed by our coach, and we’re going to change this course and start playing like we can.”
Personally, I’d like to see a discontinuity.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Would be interesting to see if any team who’s led the league (or maybe bottom 5) in goals allowed has ever one the Cup. I’m guessing no.
As I recall
Carolina was pretty close to the bottom the year they won the cup.
I'm trying to work out a deal with a club in Europe
Nevermind
Only 19th. Not great, but not terrible.
I'm trying to work out a deal with a club in Europe
Isn’t that precisely where we were last year?
by Knee high to a duck on Oct 9, 2009 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions
Or, since Neuwirth is injured, will we be bringing up Braden Holtby or Chihuahua (okay Jason B whose name sounds like Chihuahua) from Hershey?
That move would stop us from complaining about Laing’s lack of speed, right?
Where did that awesome 3rd line from the playoffs go? Are they still on vacation? They are the polar opposite of what they were achieving in the postseason…
"I am... *grins* ... 'Nobody' "
- Odysseus
How about all those ENGs Ovie has glove-saved?
by red army line on Oct 9, 2009 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Awww, does this mean we’re no longer daydreaming of a dynasty?
I remember the Pens scoring on us in a regular season game last year after Coach played four forwards in a 4 on 4 situation.
“That flavor [4 on 4 play] has been very delicious for them this year.”
—Joe B, after Ovie tied Lucky Luc’s single season record.
Maybe there’s a reason I’m single right now.
tictactoehockey.blogspot.com
myunjustifiedego.blogspot.com
by turnituptoeleven on Oct 9, 2009 2:00 AM EDT reply actions
We’ll probably make the playoffs.
If things don’t improve on the D by Game 20, trade some D men, bring up the kids to replace them (they can’t do much worse and they can learn).
Playoffs???
I had to, but yeah, the Caps will still win the division and probably end up with of the best records in the league. One game doesn’t make a season (unless it’s Game 7 of a playoff series) and the Caps weren’t going to go 41-0-0 at home.
They’ll play better, and soon….
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 9, 2009 9:17 AM EDT up reply actions
First game the Caps have ever lost in regulation under Boudreau when having a +4 power-play opportunity advantage!
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Let me add that that Green number (shots taken versus on goal) is a joke. Just awful. Same can be said of his penalty.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Agreed. Rather than “Young Guns”, so far it’s “Naked Gun 3 1/2”
by Fehrskine on Oct 9, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Nice – might have to use that…
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
You gotta rec it if you’re gonna rip it.
If you're after gettin' the honey, then you don't go killin' all them bees.
You’ve gotta rec it… before we kick it…
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
And JP
I would do horrible terrib le unforgivable things to have Ovechkin. Wanna trade? ;-)
Blueshirt Banter: Covering the New York Rangers the only NHL team with three home arenas.
As long as we can mock your fans for only wearing his jersey, yeah. :)
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 9, 2009 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Nah Lundqvist jerseys would probably still be popular
I mean everyone had a Lundqvist jersey. But thats a fair trade in my book. We get Ovechkin you guys can make fun of us.
Blueshirt Banter: Covering the New York Rangers the only NHL team with three home arenas.
by Joe Fortunato on Oct 9, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions
In Peerless’ hypothetical Caps-don’t-win-the-2004-lottery situation, you get Crosby. We make even more fun of you then.
by red army line on Oct 9, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
That’s the truth. (In that scenario, I would hate the Rangers worse than the Pens.) Note: I have a historical hatred for nearly all sports teams in New York and Pittsburgh. Can’t stand the Yankees or the Mets in baseball. Don’t like the Giants in football but hate the Cowboys worse. (As for the Steelers, they’re in the other conference and they’ve been good for beating Dallas in the Superbowl.) And in hockey, can not stand the Pens, do not care for the Rangers or the Flyers. As for the Islanders, they’re currently not worth the trouble but if they ever got good again, my hatred would revive.
Dear Bruce
Could you please move Mike Knuble off the 2nd line and up onto the wing with Ovie and Backis? He needs to get going on the scoresheet, and having him out there on a line with Brooks Laich is akin to having a third thumb. We can’t go the rest of the year relying on one line to do all the scoring.
Could you also please give Tom Poti a little less ice-time, or maybe even scratch him? He’s been god-awful these last few games. If you haven’t heard, we’ve got a boatload of defensemen, and thus far, Milan Jurcina’s leading our D in +/-. Maybe for just one night, you could give us this:
Green-Morrisonn
Pothier-Schultz
Poti-Jurcina
While you’re at it, could you call up Easton and get them to re-create Mike Green’s old sticks? They’re only a few years old for God’s sake. There has to be a CAD file somewhere in some old and dusty hard drive.
Thanks in advance!
Your faithful servant,
D’ohboy
I'm trying to work out a deal with a club in Europe
To highlight one (I think) bonehead play by Poti, when it was 4 v 4 and the Caps were going to have a PP for the last minute, the Rangers took another penalty. Tom Terrific took the puck and skated back to the defensive zone allowing Theo to get off and burning about 20 seconds. Isn’t the play there to give up the puck to the Rags so you have extended 4 v 3 time prior to the 5 v 3 than trying to get your goalie out for a brief 5 v 4 moment? Makes sense to me, and if it makes sense to me it should make sense to a 10 yr vet.
Oh, line shifting is a given
I’m waiting for the bag skate/practice update from Kettler to confirm that Knubs and Semin are switching spots.
Human interest story
Appropos of nothing — our seats are next to the press box on the side where the visitor scratches sit. Also, the two rows behind us have a lot of brokered seats (I assume they still are, they were last year). So there were a lot of Rangers fans sitting behind us. During a break, they clustered over to the press box and the players signed their jerseys (even Sean Avery). Frankly, it’s a little out of line to bother them that way during a game, but they seemed very gracious about it. Hockey players rule!
Sloan on forward
You expected him to be comfortable? What other D on the team do you suggest would have been comfortable under the circumstances? Given the fact Sloan had 2 days notice, switching from D to Forward, playing a different position with different line mates & only playing 7.22 min. (partly because his line mates took penalties) … I’d say he did an admirable job. Backstrom would not have scored had Sloan not rescued the puck & hit his stick (an assist), plus he had 4 hits, not 3 as recorded, and stayed out of the penalty box. Look at the total minutes played by the veteran forwards (minus Backstrom & Semin) and their performance and maybe you should question how comfortable they looked and even more important, how effective they were. Kudos to Sloan for taking on the challenge & not disappointing.
You have to love the effort Tyler Sloan put forth (including his three hits) but he really looked like he had no idea what he was doing playing as a forward.
Where did D say he expected him to be comfortable?
Calm yourself, Tyler Sloan’s mom – A for effort, something less for execution… it’s all good.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Wish I was his Mom, but I’d look pretty funny dressed in a skirt! When someone says “he looked like he had no idea what he was doing”, you could interpret that as “not being comfortable”. Chill. Everyone is allowed an opinion joker!
When someone says "he looked like he had no idea what he was doing", you could interpret that as "not being comfortable".
I don’t think he looked comfortable. But I also wouldn’t have expected him to and wouldn’t fault him for it.
Right. This. Rec’d. Whatever. But chill, first and foremost. And if you can figure it out, let me know what “an opinion joker” is.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I did a GIS for “opinion joker” and this is all I found:
So, I guess, congrats on your Peace Prize J.P.
One guy just drove his semi as a float. I guess semis are cool.
by zephyr on Oct 9, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I didn’t say I expected him to be comfortable, nor that I was disappointed. He did all anyone could have hoped for and he did it without complaining.
But he also played 7:22 because he was on the fourth line. And if we’re going to asses his performance that assist is a lot more dubious that four hits versus three.
What other D on the team do you suggest would have been comfortable under the circumstances?
Mike Green? I wouldn’t have minded at this point, early when Green still hasn’t gotten it going yet.
by red army line on Oct 9, 2009 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I would. 27 minutes of Mike Green on the blue line is better than 18 minutes of Mike Green as a left wing.
Hey, I essentially said this on the Clips thread,. It’s like you’re the Beatles and I’m Chuck Berry. Come on, threaten someone to get an avatar. Feel the power!
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Oct 9, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
All of places, I was reminded of this from Dog the Bounty Hunter. Perhaps coincidentally, I also feel admission is the first step to knowing you have a problem.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
Hey FORTUNA — wouldn’t you feel better wearing an avatar? How about this?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Oct 9, 2009 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I have a lot of trouble looking at the bright side after the last two games ...
Re: " The Capitals have had plenty of superlatives piled on them in the last week or so, and they’ve almost all been deserved. There’s no denying this team is incredibly talented, skilled, fast, and exciting. There’s no doubt they can beat anyone in the NHL. "
Last night was just an awful game, sure some guys played okay or better at times but it was a totally sloopy, sloppy game. Both teams seemed really to work hard – at trying to let the other win – the Caps just fif that “better” in the end… ugh.
I’m not looking at the bright side, but I am hoping the Caps team I remember from last season returns to form and these past two ugly games mean we don’t need to repeat anymore for like another 40+ weeks…
LETS GO CAPS!!!!
by markbona-capsfan99 on Oct 9, 2009 9:23 PM EDT reply actions
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida
|
53 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 61 |
|
Washington
|
54 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 61 |
|
Winnipeg
|
56 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 58 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
53 | 23 | 24 | 6 | 52 |
|
Carolina
|
56 | 20 | 25 | 11 | 51 |
(updated 2.11.2012 at 8:02 AM EST)
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