Tuesday Caps Clips

by J.P. on Apr 7, 2009 6:38 AM EDT in Caps Clips

Your savory breakfast links:

A quick housekeeping note to begin with - check out our "Hershey Hub" and revamped "Vault" widgets on the left sidebar, and be sure to check out our sweet new Salary Cap page (linked to in The Vault). Everything we do, we do it for you.
Both the WaTi and WaPo on Keith Aucoin and his short- and long-term futures with the club.
The Caps will be on FM radio the rest of the way this year. [Caps.com]
Scott Burnside poops on the Caps, and CK, in turn, poops on Burnside. [CK]
Unoriginal: questioning Jose Theodore's ability to win in the playoffs. Slightly less unoriginal: questioning just about everyone else's. [Sportsnet.ca]
Round one of this week's power ranking:
- TSN.ca (holding at fifth): "3-0-2 in their last five, the Caps have moved into second in the Eastern Conference and have three divisional road games to finish off only their second 100-point season since 1985-1986."
- ESPN.com (holding at third): "Capitals defenseman Mike Green's 30 goals are the most by a defenseman who has played fewer than 70 games (the most Green will play is 68)."
- Sportsnet.ca (holding at fourth): "Thomas Fleischmann snaps a 14-game goalless drought with a tally against Atlanta."
- The Hockey News (up three to seventh): "Crazy how much of a forgotten man Michael Nylander has become"
- SportingNews.com (holding at fourth): "Our NHL playoff preview comes out this week in Sporting News magazine, and we pick the Caps to come out of the East. Hey, Jose Theodore, please don't make us look bad."
- CBSSports.com (up three to fourth): "Alex Ovechkin has given himself a shot at a second consecutive scoring title with 15 points in his past six games."
The Hart Trophy should be about more than "the most gaudy numbers and the best highlight reel." Except, pretty much, if the gaudy number is in the most widely disregarded stats around, plus/minus. Huh? [Montreal Gazette]
The only reason Mike Green is getting any real Norris consideration is because he's on TV a lot. [Jack Edwards (whose math happens to stink)]
What're the odds? Since you asked... [Flyer Frequent]
Speaking of odds, five years ago yesterday the Caps had perhaps the biggest victory in franchise history, and had just a 14.2% chance of pulling it off going in. [OFB]
Simeon Varlamov is the 33rd best prospect in hockey. Sounds low to me (and by low I mean high, as in too low in the rankings... oh, nevermind). [Hockey's Future]
GMGM on D.C. and his Hobey Baker award. [INCH]
Travis Morin led the ECHL in plus/minus. Maybe Jack Todd would vote for him for the Hart. [Post and Courier]
Someone sounds like someone's not quite ready to retire. [News Tribune]

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Digging the widgets.

"Thank God there is a sport for middle-sized white boys.."

by Bald Pollack on Apr 7, 2009 7:33 AM EDT reply actions

Ahh yes. Scott Burnside, you have officially made “the list”

Capitals Kremlin the second line center of the Caps blogosphere.

by CapitalsKremlin on Apr 7, 2009 9:12 AM EDT reply actions

Lest we forget, the only thing more popular than saying the Caps are “a dark horse for the Cup” is saying “the Caps can’t win the Cup because of Jose”.

by wittcap79 on Apr 7, 2009 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions

The Green comments were a tad ridiculous. This season he has stepped up his defensive game. The fact that anyone doesn’t consider him anything but a lock is sick.

I’m actually happy we are no longer the new up and coming media darlings. It means we’ve arrived. The next 5 -10 years should be really fun.

by Carl Putnam on Apr 7, 2009 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions

I think the reason he isn’t considered a lock is because, truth be told, he is not nearly on the same level as Chara and Lidstrom in the defensive zone. He is miles above them in the offensive zone, and his ability to skate the puck out of the zone is also the best in the league…but defensively speaking he is still wet behind the ears. IE where Chara and Lidstrom lead their teams in SHTOI/G, Green is #4 among regulars and just over half the amount of the SH time Poti spends on the ice.

And before anyone jumps down my throat, yes he has definitely shown remarkable improvement, but he’s still young.

by Yoshietree on Apr 7, 2009 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions

There are only so many minutes a guy can skate and Mike Green is so dangerous 5/4, 5/5, and 4/4 that BB uses him a TON in those situations. I think he has looked pretty decent on the PK but I think BB limits those minutes because otherwise he’d be skating over 30 minutes a game. I’m not saying that SHTOI is not an important stat to consider for a dman’s worth. I’m just saying that in Green’s case you have to look at the comparative advantage.

by Rob Parker on Apr 7, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions

He closed the gap defensive wise this year. His positioning and aggressiveness on the defensive end have markedly improved. Is he as good yet as Chara or Lidstrom defensively, no, but he’s now in the neighborhood. If this were last season I’d agree with you, but look at the numbers. Same plus/minus and MORE takeaways than Chara. And 23 points more than Chara. Lidstrom does have the best plus/minus but plays less per game.

As for SH time – If he played lots of SH time he’d be most likely be playing 28 – 30 minutes a game and that would be crazy.

Now if they look at all even still just go to the goals stat. Game Over.

by Carl Putnam on Apr 7, 2009 11:50 AM EDT reply actions

I knew I’d infuriate some of you by pointing it out there. Getting 30 goals is an amazing stat for a dman and I honestly believe that he will win the trophy this year because he hit 30 goals. But for the sake of argumebt the Norris goes to the “defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position”.

You’re never going to convince me that, right now, Green is on the same level in the DEFENSIVE zone as Lidstrom or Chara.

I recognize that SHTOI is not the best/only measue for defensive ability…but you’d think with this team’s struggle on the PK, if Green was that strong in the defensive zone, BB would cut his PP or ES time a smidge to get him out there a bit more (a la Chara who averages more TOI/G than Green). To me that is the definition of “the greatest ALL-ROUND ability in the position”.

by Yoshietree on Apr 7, 2009 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions

By the same measure, aren’t you neglecting the offensive part of “all-around,” to a certain extent? I mean, look how much better offensively Green is than the other two. To me, the difference between his offense and theirs is greater than the difference between their defense and his.

He’s no slouch defensively – look at the +/- or his sparkling numbers when he does kill penalties.

If there’s a bottom line for me here, it’s that Green’s GFON/60 – GAON/60 is far better than both Chara and Lidstrom, and that’s a great measure of “all-around.” After all, the best defense is a good offense.

Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world

by J.P. on Apr 7, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Don’t get me wrong…I think he will win the award…as stated above in other posts. I just don’t think he deserves to the “lock” that he’s been described During the course of Lidstrom’s reign over the Norris trophy, I’d argue that he was a top 5 dman in all aspects of the position during that time…right now I’d put Green in the top 3 in most of the areas, but don’t think he’s in the top 5 in the defensive zone..YET. I also said that he’s shown improvement in the d zone this year and that at his age he’s only going to get better.

by Yoshietree on Apr 7, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I think the basic question, assuming we all interpret the “all around” criteria the same way, is this: are Chara or Lidstrom sufficiently better defensively that they outweigh, in all around ability, Green’s superior offensive play? That’s really what it comes down to as best I can tell. Green may not be on the same level in the defensive zone as Lidstrom or Chara, but those guys are definitely not on the same level as green in the neutral/offensive zones.

I tend to weigh the offensive and defensive halves of the game evenly, so I think Green comes out ahead here. For the voters that vote for Lidstrom/Chara, it will be because they significantly discount the offensive aspects (or decide to give the defensive aspects significantly greater weight). Fortunately for Green, I think most voters will give them relatively equal weights.

by grapejoos on Apr 7, 2009 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions