Recap: Sharks 5, Caps 2
by David Getz on Dec 31, 2009 1:13 AM EST
Email
Print[AP Recap - GameCenter - Game Summary - Event Summary]
For the second time in two games, the Capitals were simply outplayed - and worse yet, outworked - by their opponent to such a degree that although the final score wasn't overly lopsided and the game wasn't a rout by the first intermission, it was pretty clear only a few minutes in that one team had come to play and one hadn't.
On the surface it might be easy to dismiss this game as a stellar performance by the Sharks, rather than a poor one by the Caps. After all, the Sharks were effective at getting in front of Caps shots and effective in getting their sticks in passing lanes and disrupting Washington's offense, and it's awfully hard to put any pressure on the opposition when you can't shoot or pass, right? Well, yes and no.
As an offense the goal is to attack the opposition in their own end by whatever means necessary. The simplest, in a situation of absolute domination, would be to just skate by everyone on the other team and create one-on-one opportunities. Failing that, the easiest route would be to carry the puck in to the other team's zone and pepper their net with shots; after that breaking down the opposition's defense with movements and passing plays. Failing that, a team needs to adopt the most inelegant of all strategies: dumping the puck in, chasing it down, hitting players on the forecheck, and hoping to force mistakes. It's no coincidence the first Caps goal came from a guy standing in the crease receiving a pass from a linemate behind the goal line in a corner. But, for whatever reason, the Capitals as a team never got to that point, instead opting to vainly try and continue to make passing plays and take shots that weren't going to produce anything - and that's something that just doesn't make sense.
Ten additional thoughts on tonight's game:
- Just how bad was the Capitals' first period in terms of generating offense? Well, only one forward (Tomas Fleischmann) registered a shot on goal and the team as a whole had more than twice as many shots blocked as on net.
- Shaone Morrisonn's decision to float over to the half wall on the play that led to the Sharks goal was not only bad - it was totally inexplicable. Most of the time you can cite a physical error or a bad read, or a brain cramp at the very least, but seriously, what the hell was going on there?
- While we're on the topic of "What the hell was that?" Nicklas Backstrom's second period interference penalty easily falls in to the category as well. Interference doesn't get much more blatant than checking a guy who doesn't have in the puck in back.
- Credit where credit's due: Douglas Murray was a beast in the way he played Alex Ovechkin physically. Simply put, those are the kinds of matchups that make for amazing hockey and it's a shame the two aren't slated to meet again for the rest of the season.
- As much as it's easy to be dazzled by quick hands, as much as we cheer for big hits, and as much as we like guys who are willing to muck it up in the corners and the front of the net, at it's core hockey is still a skating game, and skating is the sport's most important skill. And anyone who disagrees with that should spend a night watching John Erskine play against any of the NHL's quicker teams.
- For the life of me, I will never understand why some fans boo a player just for being good. I mean, sure, Capitals fans booing Daniel Briere or Buffalo fans booing Alex Ovechkin I get, but what could a San Jose fan possibly have against Ovie?
- Jason Chimera is very, very fast and get up to top speed very, very quickly.
- I don't fault Dan Boyle, who's about 5'10'', 190 and not a fighter, in the slightest for not wanting to fight Alex Ovechkin, but his decision to hold on for dear life at first and then drop the gloves once the two had been separated was ridiculous. C'mon Danny, you're not fooling anybody.
- The Capitals had 46 hits in the game. Or rather, the Capitals were credited with 46 hits in the game.
- Brian Pothier can't get healthy soon enough.
And so 2009 ends on a dreary note for Caps fans, at least hockey wise, and while the boys are just entering the midst of the NHL grind, there's always the promise of new opportunity and improvement when the calender turns over. Hopefully the Caps can harness some of that Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.
Game highlights:
90 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I blame the last two games on JP jumping the gun with the 2009 recap.
by sixsevenfiftysix on Dec 31, 2009 1:18 AM EST reply actions
I’ll take the heat on this one, provided they turn it around in La La Land.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Simply put, those are the kinds of matchups that make for amazing hockey and it’s a shame the two aren’t slated to meet again for the rest of the season.
That’s was a lot of fun to watch particular those last few minutes in the third period.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson
At Cornell I had season tickets to Murray’s last year as a member of the Big Red, and I gotta say he was one of my favorites. I’m really disappointed I missed the game last night…silly family obligations.
by SeattleCapsFan on Dec 31, 2009 3:19 PM EST up reply actions
What a bummer. Forget secondary scoring, I wish the 28-19-8 line would have started the game together. There was no flow at all in the beginning of the game. Seemed like everybody was feeling each other out. And while they were doing that, SJ took a 2-0 lead. Oh well, I hope the Caps get off the schnide this weekend against the Kings. Nice writeup DMG! (I totally agree with your assessment of Erskine)
Russian Machine Never Breaks - A Hockey Blog Focusing on The Washington Capitals and Their Awesome Russian Superstars: Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin & Semyon Varlamov.
I think there’s a mistaken assumption (not by you, but elsewhere) that 28 somehow has something to do with that combo’s productivity. Keep 8 and 19 together, but keep 28 elsewhere for most ES shifts, IMO.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
You don’t think 28 helps create added space for Nicky and Alex? I’m not especially good at “providing evidence”, but I’d think having the 3rd best forward up there with 8 & 19 would create more problems for the defense.
by mechanicsville on Dec 31, 2009 3:50 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t fault Dan Boyle, who’s about 5’10’’
Hey, give him a break. He looks like he is about 5’8".
Lobbies: Green, Carlson
For Chimera’s first game he got better as it went along, i thought. Will be interesting to see him in 2 weeks after he’s more comfortable. For a first game, not to shabby, especially given how well SJ was playing D.
Speaking of SJ, wow, that was a complete game they played. I haven’t been impressed by a team playing against us in a while and that one did it. So kudos to them, off to LA to hopefully end this skid.
Then onto how to get Erskine and ShaMo out and a new Dman in here.
Promote the game, it's the NHL, not SCHL
This.
I liked Chimera playing with Knuble. That break he made for himself later in the game was a thing of beauty, just didn’t have the angle to finish. Once Gabby finds the right line combos (but then again, has he ever?) things will be looking up.
The Sharks did exactly what they needed to do and I can’t think of many points in the game where we had any kind of sustained pressure due to their willingness to block shots. I don’t think we play very well against good shot blocking teams, which can be corrected; hold off on the shot. Nabokov had some nice saves when we did get pressure on which really killed any momentum.
Agree that Erskine’s deficiencies really showed up last night. Also, for all the great things he does, Stecks really looks like he’s skating in mud sometimes. I’ll be really excited to see what this newly acquired cap space does for us, but I think we can “get by” for now…
"If you want money go to the bank, if you want bread go to the bakery if you want goals go to the net." - #21
by snakegriffin on Dec 31, 2009 7:42 AM EST up reply actions
Then onto how to get Erskine and ShaMo out and a new Dman in here.
Yes, please those two need to go.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson
I’m still not clear why Jurcina was moved instead of one of these two if they’re attempting to reduce the number of defensemen; it does suggest a cap related move . . .
Jurcina was healthier, cheaper and has a little more upside than Morrisonn, thus the more appealing asset between the two.
"I didn't mind a diminished role because we were winning so much and we're such a great team and had a chance to do something in the playoffs...I would have taken any role on this team to do that.
by Bald Pollack on Dec 31, 2009 6:59 AM EST up reply actions
That’s it, in a nutshell. I’m sure GMGM would have much preferred moving 26 in that deal. To quote a great hockey mind, “You know Columbus has to agree to the deal, too, right? Heh.”
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Dec 31, 2009 7:40 AM EST up reply actions 4 recs
Zing!
Regarding Erskine, though, hasn’t the history been that if he sits a few games, you then get a few good performances out of him? Maybe because that’s all his legs can handle. Sit him, Bruce.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
He has seemed to respond well to being given a maintenance day or two in the past.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Yeah, but the alternative right now (save a call-up) is Sloan. I’m guessing that he’s viewed as an “Eminger v2.0” of sorts right now, so I’m guessing that’s the way it’s going to be until Pothier returns or some other alternative takes place.
"I didn't mind a diminished role because we were winning so much and we're such a great team and had a chance to do something in the playoffs...I would have taken any role on this team to do that.
by Bald Pollack on Dec 31, 2009 8:27 AM EST up reply actions
This was one of those games where you can tell how it will turn out by the end of the first period.
We started getting something going in the third, but it was too little too late.
A few observations from Section 214 at the Tank.
- Caps are in a good old fashioned slump. At the first intermission, my brother in law sitting next to me asked “what would you tell them to do differently” and my answer is “they know what they need to do, and they’re trying to do it, but it’s just not working.” Everyone seemed to have a hole in their stick. They could not make a clean pass, and when they did, they could not receive it quickly. I’ve never seen so many pucks jump over stick blades or bounce off toes.
- With that said, the Caps have got to stop trying to pass the puck through guys. Young guns were the worst sinners. I counted several passes they tried to make that would have had to go through two Sharks to get through. Inexcusable.
- Neuvirth was alright. First goal was a sharp angle, but it was a perfect shot. The rest, well, the team should be ashamed of hanging him out to dry.
- Chimera was noticeable in the good way all night. That guy makes stuff happen. And I think he had great chemistry with Knuble. I predict that by the end of the season, 25-9-22 is the team’s second line.
- Whatever went wrong tonight, having Jurcina and Clark in the lineup wasn’t the solution. Whatever went wrong tonight, Chimera wasn’t the problem.
- Defensemen who are bad at playing D: Shaone Morrissonn (always); John Erskine (in consecutive games); Mike Green (when he’s being asked to give too much TOI)
- One day, Alex Semin will finish his shots and score some goals again. But right now, he just looks awful.
- I don’t think Sharks fans have any idea how weird it is to see a game at the Tank. They have odd traditions that, growing up in the Bay Area, Sharks fans must think are normal.
Coming back around to the first point, there isn’t anything fundamentally wrong with the Caps — at least not that was on display tonight. Perhaps they do need another great shutdown D. But really, tonight was about passes that were a foot off, or hard hands that couldn’t receive a pass well. It was about failed clears and bad dump-ins and missed defensive assignments. And bad bounces and bad luck. It’s a slump. An ordinary slump. And the Caps will be the Caps we know and love again.
I predict a hardfought physical game in LA that the Caps lose, but not by much. The equivalent of the game at Minnesota last year. Or maybe they’ll break their teamwide slump in the next game after. But sooner or later, the Caps will put a few in the net, build up some confidence, and rip another bunch of consecutive wins. And this painful stretch will be forgotten…
… until next year, when I again watch the Caps be blown out at the Tank. I need to move back to DC.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 2:32 AM EST reply actions 9 recs
I don’t think Sharks fans have any idea how weird it is to see a game at the Tank. They have odd traditions that, growing up in the Bay Area, Sharks fans must think are normal.
I’m curious what you mean by this. What do we do that you find odd?
Ever get the feeling we are on a collision course with reality? (boycott Hollywood!)
by ang6666 on Dec 31, 2009 3:49 AM EST up reply actions
Not all of these are traditions, but they all make for a really weird atmosphere…
So the obvious one is that at the start of every power play, every fan in the stands puts their hands out in front of them with the left hand face up and the right hand face down, makes a claw at the end of each one, and starts making “shark jaws” in the air. My brother in law, who was not at all prepared for this, pretty much lost it.
There are weird chants people do, some of them you can’t understand. (more below)
The ads around the boards and around the stadium are hilarious. You’ll get the normal beer and car insurance ads, but they’re interspersed with high tech companies, including companies like Rambus that don’t actually sell anything to consumers.
For example, there are ads for Maxim. But it’s this Maxim.
So this next one is hard to explain — the fans are weird. They’re passionate, but they’re passionate in a very academic way. They’re very polite. They make it a point to cheer at the right times and boo at the right times. I think this comes from the city having been taught hockey all together. You don’t have any of the madness of New York or Boston or Chicago.
Anyway, if I think of more I’ll post them. Bottom line is that for an east coaster, the whole experience feels a little “off” in a very interesting way (and not in a bad way).
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 11:31 AM EST up reply actions
The “academic” cheering doesn’t surprise me. I get the sense it’s been a geek-tech intelligent fanbase since the dot-com boom. It’d be like watching a college hockey game between Carnegie Mellon and M.I.T.
"Let the rest be scared of us." - Emo Bunny Sasha Semin
by Scott in Shaw on Dec 31, 2009 12:29 PM EST up reply actions
And to be honest, I wouldn’t mind more of that. I know DC is a highly educated area, but some of the crap I hear at VC…
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
I agree with that. I don’t understand why there seem to be so many unintelligent fans, given that there are so many graduate degree types and others in the area. The opposite seems to be true at Nats games, where I see a ton of people keeping score, discussing advanced fielding metrics, etc.
"Let the rest be scared of us." - Emo Bunny Sasha Semin
by Scott in Shaw on Dec 31, 2009 2:55 PM EST up reply actions
I’m going to have to just go with “knowledge of the game.” Most of the people at Nats games, if not Nats fans, have followed baseball their whole lives and understand it. There are still a lot of relatively new Caps/hockey fans so no matter how many degrees they have, their hockey intelligence isn’t there yet. Not that that’s a total excuse, because I hear some mind-numbingly dumb stuff regardless of your level of hockey knowledge. (And as always, because it’s DC, entirely too much Redskins talk in the stands.)
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
Ah, the chomp. It looks stupid but I do it anyways. And the high-tech stuff, I really never notice it, maybe I’m used to it! I always like to hear what opposing fans have to say about the Tank, interesting stuff.
Oh and now I feel like a nerd… (jk)
Yeah, have to agree. The chomp is one of those things that sounds stupid, looks stupid, but is kinda fun and supportive in an odd way so most people do it.
As for the high tech stuff, well, it is Silicon Valley, and probably 90% of the companies or something (pulling that percentage out of my rear end) are computer-based. And since San Jose has this weird pride issue because it’s often overshadowed by San Francisco, a lot of the companies in San Jose probably wanted to sponsor something purely San Jose – the Sharks. And hey, the arena is also named after a computer company (HP Pavilion), so it’s just par for the course.
I guess I can agree that we’re pretty polite – there is an unspoken etiquette at the Tank, like never lean forward in your seat, always applaud for significant milestones even if it comes at the expense of the Sharks, boo Chris Pronger like your life depends on it, etc. And that might have something to do with the relative newness the sport is to the area. It might also have something to do with half of the crowd being employed by some sort of computer company, I don’t know.
But, yeah. I’m always interesting in other fans’ experience at the Tank, especially compared to places where hockey is more established.
"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Re-Sign Marleau" Club
Fools and Sages
On the tech point — you know how in normal arenas they pick a random row out of a random section and give them some gift, like free burritos or gatorade or something?
The lucky row in the Tank last night all got portable hard drives.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 6:41 PM EST up reply actions
What, that isn’t normal? :P
"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Re-Sign Marleau" Club
Fools and Sages
Since it was my first game at HP Pavilion I’ll chime in on what I felt was different from my East Coast hockey experience.
Weird and a bit disturbing: the “shark jaws” arm movement before power plays
Annoying and with seemingly no purpose: the constant booing anytime Ovie touched the puck. Why?!? I like booing to be for something specific. The team and fans have too little history with Ovie to warrant non-stop booing. It seemed like a memo was passed out saying that someone heard that booing Ovie is something that is done in the NHL so Sharks fans must boo him too.
Annoying and frustrating: the goal celebrations. Every Sharks fan stands up after their team scores to dance and clap to the song played in the area after goals. Why is this a problem? You miss all the replays. They are standing for a long enough time to even miss seeing the next faceoff.
Other observation: although the goals are celebrated loudly with the fans on their feet and Ovie was booed loudly and constantly any time he was near the puck or dishing a hit, it was fairly quite and calm the rest of the time. The crowd didn’t feel dead, but there was none of the excitement , buzz, and energy crackling in the air that is apart of big team match-ups or has become a mainstay at VC in the past two years. I guess the best way to describe it is “tennis audience.”
My mom’s observation: there seemed to be little or no appreciation/recognition of fine plays made by opposing players.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
Other quick observations:
Few signs, no strange outfits or extreme face painting on fans, when the cameras panned the sections the fans were calm (more waving than look at me movements), fairly calm during prize giveaways too.
The politeness factor extended to fans returning to their seats while the puck was in play. No one told them to hurry, get out of the way, or stop blocking the view.
No outward collective concern when a puck went into the seats. I only saw the people in the immediate area react and check for injuries.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
Rec’aroo – thanks for the firsthand account.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
With that said, the Caps have got to stop trying to pass the puck through guys. Young guns were the worst sinners. I counted several passes they tried to make that would have had to go through two Sharks to get through. Inexcusable.
cough…powerplay…cough cough…
"I didn't mind a diminished role because we were winning so much and we're such a great team and had a chance to do something in the playoffs...I would have taken any role on this team to do that.
by Bald Pollack on Dec 31, 2009 8:46 AM EST up reply actions
Gouldie, what was the general crowd reaction to Ovi from where you sat (if different than the smattering of boos we heard on TV that was mentioned up in the recap)?
Last year, there were a smattering of boos and a smattering of cheers. I got the sense that people were generally positive toward him.
This year, he was booed every time he touched the puck. The Sharks have a chant that’s like their equivalent of “it’s all your fault” where someone yells “Hey ____ _” and everyone around them yells "You Suck.’ Well, last night that was Ovi. Multiple times. I really think he’s getting to be a villain around the league and I don’t get it.
It’s a pretty stupid, juvenile chant. Yay, you all told the two time Hart winner that he sucks. Congrats.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 11:33 AM EST up reply actions
The “Hey ____ you suck” was just a small amount of people right? Because last game I went a group of people kept yelling it the whole time, and couldn’t even pronounce some people’s name right. I found that silly.
They probably got the idea from this other group of fans, that yell “HEY (name of city they are playing) you suck” right before the national anthem, which became a tradition sort of.
#1 was a small group.
#2 was late, so it happened during the anthem. Having a bunch of people yell “You Suck” right after the long “Oh” of “Oh say can you see” was definitely a big bush league. I think they were taken by surprise, but still, it sounded like they were “you suck”-ing the United States…
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 6:42 PM EST up reply actions
Great stuff. I was angry about passing through people all night. That has to stop. I thought Neuvirth was better than alright. He had several huge saves to keep it close early, though we never turned it around. I thought Green also had a pretty good game for the most part, though I wasn’t watching as closely in the third. His legs were moving well, he played well in his own end, hit two pipes, no huge gaffes. I’ll take that from him (provided some of those pipes turn into goals).
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
I caught a couple of mistakes from Green, but honestly I think the guy is just being overexposed. He needs better support from his own team so that he doesn’t have to do everything himself.
Look at his history — he played on a miserable juniors team where he was the only star. And yet he didn’t mail it in — he played hard and tried to make up for his crappy teammates every night. He’s not going to pace himself. It’s up to the coaches to do that. And ultimately, up to the GM to surround him with 5 other good defensemen.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 6:45 PM EST up reply actions
Watching a few minutes of the replay before sleep.
The rest of that 2nd period bench interview with the Sharks was actually them saying their gameplan included consciously putting two shifts against every Ovi shift to keep fresh people on him.
Don’t know if that’s a good strategy or not, he did score, but I can’t remember Ovi playing that angry for that long later in the game.
Having just seen the shighlights for this one, any explanation as to why they put Neuvirth into the fire against a team with the artillery of the Sharks? The goals he gave up weren’t terrible, but he was made to look his size time and time again.
The Daily Forehand -- SB Nation's Tennis Destination.
Broad Street Hockey.
Caps O’fficial web site pointed out that the last three games he has gone up against the likely starters for Team USA, Team Canada, and tonight Team Russia. He beat the first two.
No Caps goaltender would have done any better given the lack of help he got. JT isn’t as fast as he used to be, and Varlamov is just now recovering from a groin injury which has kept him out of live fire for three weeks.
The Caps played a less mature game tonight than the Sharks. Later in the season there’d be real reason to worry about confidence and momentum, but there are some good lessons to build on from this for the rest of the season.
I doubt the highlights showed every occasion the Sharks missed the goal where huge parts of the net were available. There were many.
Because Theo shit the bed against the worst team in the league a couple nights ago.
Also, I can’t blame Neuvirth for any of the goals. 2 penalty shots, a snipe, a twice deflected puck, and a play where Poti and ShaMo literally did not move or cover any sharks player.
Now drink with me deeply of the bourbon, scotch, and rye until such time as we are fighting drunk.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 31, 2009 8:05 AM EST up reply actions
I think you’re being a bit generous to young Neuvy, but I’m with you in general.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
It’s pretty clear that Neuvy needs work handling penalty shots/shootouts. That’s a glaring weakness that may not matter come playoffs, assuming nobody takes down a guy on a breakaway like last night, but it’s a weakness all the same. Then again, the breakaway itself is pretty much a penalty shot, so yeah, needs work.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
Clowe’s move was fantastic, and Thornton’s wasn’t bad either. I’m not sure too many goalies would have stopped either penalty shot.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 11:38 AM EST up reply actions
I’m with you on this. Clowe did the forehand-backhand deke to roofing it pretty goddamn perfectly. Maybe if Neuvy is a little taller or has his glove a little higher. . .
Grand Rapids A-Go-Go
Yeah, maybe. An excellent goalie that had lots of experience in that situation could save it, but he roofed it right under the bar. Same with Thornton. Maybe Neuvirth could have come out further or held his glove up, but when a shooter puts the puck in off the crossbar you just have to accept that it was a perfect shot.
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
I guess I’m spoiled in a way. Theo’s usually (not always) pretty good in the shootout, and Varly tends to challenge the shooter and has been pretty successful at it so far. Which is why I say Neuvy needs work. I’m not knocking him, just giving a gut feeling on it.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
I’d say a few of those fall under the “that would be nice if he could have made that save” category but none of them were explicitly on Neuvith. No bad rebounds, nothing through him, nothing that he obviously should have had. Considering the onslaught in the first period the Caps were lucky to be down only 2-0. If they go into the intermission and pull their heads out of their asses we probably talk about how Neuvith kept it close so they could comeback. But the wheels kept falling off.
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
The league average on penalty shots is really low – excluding the two that Neuvy let in last night, the league averages around a 78% save percentage.
Letting in two, and not looking good as he did it, is not such a good performance. He needs to stop at least one of those.
The three that he let in during game play I give him a pass on. The defense in front of him was just horrible in general, and he was not the reason they lost. But I don’t think you can let him completely off the hook for a part of the loss.
"You're gonna eat that g**d**n Koho, three!"
The Ovie/Boyle hug fest was a bit interesting. I was kind of surprised Ovie went after him. Didn’t look like the Boyle hit that led to the confrontation was all that cheap
Because now I can justify browsing and commenting during the work day with the argument that I am promoting my business.
Ovi was trying to injure him so Green could play in the Olympics. (e2)
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Dec 31, 2009 8:49 AM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Actually that’s what some of the Sharks fans were saying last night. Ridiculous.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson
You guys are so lucky. You have an absolutely top notch TV and radio crew. Jamie Baker doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves.
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
We <3 Jamie Baker. Partly because of his heroics against Detroit back in the 94 playoffs, but mainly because he really is a great analyst. He’s probably better than our TV color guy Drew Remenda at breaking down plays and making them understandable. I still don’t know how some national network hasn’t picked him up yet.
"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Re-Sign Marleau" Club
Fools and Sages
I’ve only listened to Jamie Baker a couple times, but I’ve really been impressed. Drew and Randy are definitely one of the best TV crews in the league as well.
And that ’94 goal by Baker was amazing. I still remember it clearly to this day.
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
You jest, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Olympic snub was a small, subconscious part of it. In order of priority, in my opinion, it was a perfect storm of:
-Frustration at the end of a highly anticipated game
-Anger at being semi-hooked/dumped by Boyle
-Opportunity to establish a data point for captaincy
-Boyle (good-sized dude to target for your first regular season fight, also the player most often compared to Green in terms of what they would bring to Team Canada)
AO and Boyle have also played each other a bunch, dating back to the TB days, so there could be a little something there.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Good point, forgot about that.
I poorly articulated the second half of my point about Boyle. What I meant to say was that after Green wasn’t named to the team, his Caps teammates probably knew that Boyle’s inclusion meant Green’s exclusion. Maybe Ovi was bearing Green’s frustration for him. Probably not, but just a thought.
Olympics
As for Ovechkin and Douglas Murray not seeing each other again anytime soon, that’s not necessarily true. They both made their respective Olympic squads.
46 Hits???
How the heck can that be the count when in some games both teams don’t combine for 20.
The NHL needs to develop a standard for this statistic or get rid of it.
As for the game itself, it appears the Sharks have figured out Boudreau’s system and way to beat it. A coworker of mine and I were discussing it. Bruce’s system is one based on turnovers and transition. The Caps are aggressive on the puck carrier in center ice and the blue line and try to get the puck away from the opponent. What the Sharks like to do is carry the puck in past the blue line and as the aggressive defense comes up, drop it back to the trailer. This works if you have lots of quality defensemen (the Sharks do…)
We’ll see if they adjust vs. LA.
Any thoughts on what may happen to the game time for the game in LA if the Winter Classic has to move to Saturday due to weather? I suspect the NHL will strongly encourage teams to change their start times so they don’t conflict with the WC…
Let's go Caps!
the Sharks have figured out Boudreau’s system and way to beat it.
Caps looked very predictable out there, but they also looked really slow and they weren’t executing at all. It’s easy to be predictable when you’re moving at half speed.
The Caps are aggressive on the puck carrier in center ice and the blue line and try to get the puck away from the opponent. What the Sharks like to do is carry the puck in past the blue line and as the aggressive defense comes up, drop it back to the trailer. This works if you have lots of quality defensemen (the Sharks do…)
Caps won the last game between the two, and won it by playing their system and playing it well. Every system is predictable, when you describe it at this level of generality. Lord knows the trap sure is. But it’s always a question of execution. I don’t think the system is the problem here — I think it’s the fact that everyone is playing like shit.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Exactly. And the Sharks play a similar system to the Caps; north-south puck control game with size, speed, and skill. When these teams meet, the team that skates and controls the puck is going to win. Caps did that the first time, SJS did it this time. The league would be lucky to see these teams meet in the SCF, local population centers and historical ratings be damned.
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
DMG, totally agree regarding Chimera’s speed. He clearly has a gear or two that most skaters don’t. You could tell he was efforting to make a good first impression. The looks on his face on the bench were serious and focused, and he busted his ass a couple of times to get back up the ice after crashing Nabokov’s crease a couple of times. I’m looking forward to what he’ll be able to contribute. A key piecve missing before the season (North American veteran presence) has now been added threefold and become a promising combination (25, 9, 22).
A few thoughts from the 1.75 periods that I watched on my teevee:
Neuvy – probably really could have used Coach Irbe there behind the bench, but the Caps chose to assign Arturs to Hershey with Varly. I understand ‘why’ they did, but a rookie is still a rookie and Irbe is a big part of both rookies’ success this year.
Shakeup – this week brought seismic change to the Caps: two teammates in high regard gone, a new guy to work into an already-crowded second and/or third line (plus Gordon back from IR), the D-corps down one of their better players, the whole Olympic drama (and already a little nationalism/competitiveness is creeping in, I think), and possibly most important, the leadership vacuum. AO seems to be making his case, but so does Laich (he drove new guy Chimera to the airport for the flight). Add in old friend Corey not on the beat, and that’s a whole lotta change in a very few days.
The Boss- I’m trying to decide if it’s important that Uncle Ted hasn’t updated his Take since before the trade. Maybe he’s just on holiday, maybe he just doesn’t have anything to say. Somehow I doubt his inbox is nearly as cheerful as his last post.
ALEX, FЯEE
He’s responded to an email from me. I’d feel bad sharing the exchange since I didn’t tell him I would, but it relates to Corey Masisak and it was a very nice note. And no, there’s no news in there. Just Ted as usual having a classy way to make you feel like the organization cares about what matters.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 12:31 PM EST up reply actions
I think the Sharks fans were booing Ovi when he scored, more for just scoring than anything.
Although I was a little surprised too. Us Sharks fans are very passionate about hockey and our team, so we get carried away sometimes. But most Sharks fans including myself repect and like Ovie. SO I was little surprised myself.
I'm warning you! I have ADHD and I know how to use it!!!
One possibility – the Holidays tend to bring out a slightly different crowd to games. A lot of casual fans see one of their few games of the season over the Holidays. Perhaps they only really know Ovie and decided to boo him just because he played for the other team?
Grand Rapids A-Go-Go
They booed him every time he touched the puck — especially early in the game.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 31, 2009 6:47 PM EST up reply actions
While I thought Green had a decent game
I’m curious if anybody else thought that he did not need to dive on the play were he took out Clowe setting up the penalty shot. I thought he had a very good angle to puck and would have been able to drive Clowe wide, setting up a bad angle shot, or forced Clowe to try and cut back across to the middle of the ice. Just seemed like he quit on the play too early, and that penalty shot essentially put the game out of reach.
Hard to say he quit on the play when he dove to make the play, but I agree that maybe he didn’t need to dive. It happened so fast though so it’s hard to criticize him for that. He was so close to getting the puck first that he almost made a perfect play.
In an ideal world all ten fingers would be on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Japers' Rink
Related FanShots on Japers' Rink
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
The Vault
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Stanley Cup Final: 5 keys for New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings
- Friday’s Three Stars: Devils head to Final; Brodeur, Kovalchuk the difference in Game 6
- Devils eliminate Rangers in Game 6, ending fear of the past, setting course for the future
- Adam Henrique sends New Jersey Devils to Stanley Cup Final with OT goal vs. Rangers (VIDEO)
- Watch Ilya Kovalchuk’s Game 6 goal for Devils, a.k.a. power-play porn (VIDEO)
Latest stories and headlines from NHL.com
- Blues CEO Mike McCarthy stepping down
- Blues CEO Mike McCarthy stepping down, not long after ownership change
- Rangers eliminated by Devils with crushing OT loss after another rally in Game 6 falls short
- Rangers season ends as another rally falls short
- Hard-skating Cataractes upset set defending champ Saint John 7-4 at Memorial Cup
