Jose Theodore's Rebound Control
by J.P. on Mar 13, 2009 12:00 PM EDT
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It's generally considered a good thing for athletes to have "short memories." Have a bad game? Forget about it - you'll get 'em tomorrow. Have a great game? Forget about that, too - maybe tomorrow they'll get you.
Just as valuable is the ability to bounce back from poor outings before an off night becomes a cold streak, and nowhere in sports is that attribute more important than in a hockey goalie - back-to-back stinkers in the spring can mean a quick playoff exit.
To that end, one of the under-discussed positives that Jose Theodore has brought to the Caps since "The Turning Point" in Manhattan just before Christmas has been his ability to rebound from the occasional dud (whether the responsibility for the egg-laying was his, his teammates' or, more often, a combination of the two). Since December 23, Theodore is 6-1-0 with a 2.15 goals against average and a .926 save percentage in the games immediately following games in which he allowed four goals or more (and those six wins include tough opponents like Boston on the road and the Pens both at home and away), and, as noted earlier today, Since Bill Guerin's goal on Sunday (Pittsburgh's third on the afternoon), Jose has a 0.77 goals against average and .973 save percentage in just over 156 minutes of work.
For all but a few of the best goalies in the game, there are going to be bad nights. They happen. The key is to rebound from those games before they become more than relatively isolated incidents, and Jose Theodore has been fantastic at doing just that, which bodes well for the months - plural - ahead. As Brooks Laich put it:
"Jose's played fantastic for us since the All-Star break; he's really turned it on. He's adjusted, I think, to life in Washington and whatnot. We have no problems in net; we feel confident in front of him.... The one thing people don't understand is just how hungry he is. He wants to win; he wants to be the man. And I think we're starting to see that. He's doing it at the right time."
And there's hardly any time more right than the present... other than, perhaps, the not-to-distant future.
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Next week will be very interesting between the pipes:
Four games, including a back-to-back, all on the road.
JT red hot.
Neuvirth roughed up in his last outing (though the team’s collapse was a big part of it).
Varlamov healthy again.
Can’t wait to see how it plays out. I’m hoping to see Varly again.
by Stephen Pepper on Mar 13, 2009 12:22 PM EDT reply actions
From a hockey standpoint, I’d also like to see Varly again.
From a message-sending standpoint, I’m not sure it’s necessarily the right one to basically tell Neuvy he was a placeholder until Varly got healthy.
From a developmental standpoint, I’ve got to think it’d be better for Varly to be the #1 for a Hershey playoff run than the bench warmer in D.C., no?
Many interesting questions to be answered, for sure.
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But you could argue that having Neuvirth as #1 in Hershey is better for his development. We still don’t know which (if either) young goalie is going to be the man for the future.
by Stephen Pepper on Mar 13, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions
And therein lies the intrigue.
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Can we bring up Varly without using one of our ‘call ups’?
by vt caps fan on Mar 13, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Not by any means of which I’m aware, unless one of the two Gs already here gets hurt.
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Word. So is this something ‘worth’ doing?
by vt caps fan on Mar 13, 2009 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions
I think we need to play Neuvirth at least one more time in the near future, precisely because of that roughing up. There’s a message in that, too, and that message is “we still believe in you”. I know we’re riding Jose down the stretch, but I want to see Neuvirth between the pipes again.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
He’s had an appearance since then – those 23 seconds of shutout hockey vs. Toronto. I’m sure that got his confidence back.
I do agree, though – one more start for Neuvy.
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I still say that that was because BB was planning to pull the goalie at first opportunity, and Neuvirth can get back to the bench faster than Theo can.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Well that was the B.S. Gabby gave for it, but the real reason had to be that he was hoping to buy a few seconds for his boys to catch their breath.
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OK, so Monday or Tuesday?
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Mar 13, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions
JP – I know you had to love the win over philly plus the ’Cuse 6 OT win. Which was your favorite?
by sincitycapsfan on Mar 13, 2009 12:43 PM EDT reply actions
Jesus… that’s like asking me which of my testicles is my favorite (sorry). Beating #2 UConn in the Big East Tourney in the most ridiculous game ever has to win out, but barely.
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We're talkin about mental toughness
Champions have it. With all that Theodore has been through, at this stage of his career, I think he has it PLUS the “chip-on-my-shoulder” edge that motivates many athletes.
If the D-corps can stay consistent in front of him….
The keyboard is mightier.
Since Bill Guerin’s goal on Sunday (Pittsburgh’s fourth on the afternoon)
It was their third? Crosby – Gonchar – Guerin – Crosby.
The fourth was Crosby’s in the gimick.
JT played great again last night, to be sure, and has that confidence back but color me unconvinced he’s got what it takes to ride all that far in the playoffs. He is susceptible to cold streaks where he looks lost out there. I still fear the first-minute-of-the-period goal (though it’s not always his fault, I know well). No small consolation is we don’t need him to win a series by standing on his head; he just has to make all the stops he should make.
He is susceptible to cold streaks
Except that he hasn’t been since Xmas, which is the point of this post.
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I get the point JP, but the fact is he’s 4-4-1 in his last 9 appearances, been pulled once, and his GAA is about 2.75 since Feb. 20. Hardly on fire.
How much of that is the team, though. This team stunk up the building (sorry, they did) for all but a few games for a week or two there.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
hey, it’s all related, I agree. I just think the guy is streaky and when he’s going the other direction from where he is right now, he’s going to give up goals that are soft. I’m happy to read the Laich shout out, and that they have confidence in him. It’s critical for that mental component to be there.
It’s clear to me that he’s just not a top flight G.
/shows self out
How would we pay a top-flight G, though?
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
It’s clear to me that he’s just not a top flight G.
I admit to being dragged along with heels dug in to this point in my thinking — but I must say that this is not as clear to me as it was in the autumn. Joe-Zay is looking pretty solid to me. He may turn out to be orbiting in the neighborhood of “top flight” (whatever that means) pretty soon. He’s not Marty Brodeur (yet) but he is carrying his load around here in an exemplary fashion. I look forward to seeing how this all unfolds.
I hear what you’re saying, but the point here, if you want to be theoretical about it, is that he doesn’t give up four goals in back-to-back games, which is a good thing, when your team averages more than three a night. In fact, he has only given up three goals following a four-plus-goal outing twice since Xmas.
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I happen to rather enjoy lemonade, especially in the late spring/early summer… :)
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Brooks Laich is just the man. How man just amazing spot-on quotes can he produce game after game?
by zephyr on Mar 13, 2009 1:50 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
From most hated Cap in October to loved. Theo, we’ve all had our double helping of crow.
I think that some of our “playoff puzzle pieces” are coming together. Theo is hot, Semin is sizzling and the defense is looking better. Just a few more pieces and April is going to be very exciting.
Oh and off topic, how bout them Orangemen Jp?
by CapitalsKremlin on Mar 13, 2009 3:29 PM EDT reply actions
Yes, the Fun Police put an end to that (and yet the Redskins are still the Redskins).
And how ’bout ’em?
Oh, and I am not eating crow on JT, as I’ve been a booster all along.
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perhaps you’re in a hair net dishing it to everyone
by CapitalsKremlin on Mar 13, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions
not directing my comment at you, but those people know who they are. I’ll admit in Oct. and Nov., I, sadly, was one of them.
by CapitalsKremlin on Mar 13, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, they’ll be back as soon as he lets in his next softy, and perhaps it’ll be me eating crow in a month.
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To your defense, I do remember seeing post after post defending him after we signed him and after the first month of play.
I don’t Theo is just going to “lose” it all of a sudden in April, but strange things happen. I think Laich’s quote about Theo is spot on. He looks comfortable in net, unlike the first few games where he scrambled about and it was miracle if he saved the first shot. His glove hand looks good, he’s moving well laterally, and he’s recovering well from being out of position.
Like I said earlier, it’s nice to know Theo is playing well down the stretch.
by CapitalsKremlin on Mar 13, 2009 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
one last comment, tell your “orange” b-ball players to finish their lay-ups. They could have ended that 6 OT game three times if they hadn’t gaffed on simple lay ups.
by CapitalsKremlin on Mar 13, 2009 3:39 PM EDT up 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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