Recap: Panthers 3, Caps 0
by David Getz on Dec 9, 2010 9:59 PM EST
in Game Recaps
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[GameCenter - Game Summary - Event Summary - Faceoff Summary - Corsi/Fenwick - Shift Charts - Head-to-Head - Zone Starts]
A strong start without any results on the scoreboard. A hot goalie. A confused powerplay. A failure to adapt. A night of frustration. The result? Not only a Washington loss, but a reminder that, even more than six months later, the wounds from last season's playoff exit can still be opened up rather easily.
The upside is that, unlike when the Capitals fell to the Canadiens last spring, it's only going to be a couple of days before we get to see how the team responds; to see whether they're going to be able to address their problems. Ultimately this game was still only one of 82, and the team has been saying all the right things in recent days and week. Here's hoping they'll be able to put them in practice.
Ten more notes on the game:
- The first shift for Matt Hendricks, David Steckel, Boyd Gordon line was the prototypical grind line shift: energetic, smart, and gritty, all while keeping the puck deep in the Panthers' zone. You can't ask for anything more out of guys like that, especially at the beginning of the game.
- Naturally, Tomas Vokoun was the center of attention for most of this one, as far as netminders go, but Semyon Varlamov had several strong stretches as well. It's not easy to find yourself suddenly needing to make several big saves after extended periods of play at the other end of ice.
- That said, Varly still needs to be a little more calm in the net - he left too much of the net open on the goals by Mke Santorelli and Steve Bernier, and frankly could have surrendered a couple more by overcommitting. Let's just put the issue this way - I can't imagine Michal Neuvirth being beaten on plays like that too often, let alone twice in one game
- The potential Scott Hannan-Mike Green experiment didn't really yield much in the way of results. That's not to say the pairing won't work, just to say that, with all the penalties called, there wasn't much of a chance to see how the two worked together, and specifically whether Hannan's experience and communication skill provided Green with more chances to jump up in the play. If there's a silver lining to Jeff Schultz's injury, it's that a Hannan-Green pairing should get a long look from Boudreau, something which could pay dividends in the spring.
- Speaking of Green, no one on either team was as all-over-the-place as number 52 in red. On the one hand, there's the four shots, seven hits, and a few nice blocks. But what was he doing behind the Florida net while he was killing a penalty (other than giving Karl Alzner a chance to make one of best defensive plays of the night), and when is he going to stop taking penalties every time he gets frustrated?
- Just yesterday Bruce Boudreau was giving the issues of ice time and shift length some attention, offering some hope for those of us who have been concerned with the issue for some time. Of course, no matter what happens in practice, it's hard to feel like there's really been much of a change in approach when Alex Ovechkin's in the realm of ten minutes of ice time and an average shift of ninety second in the first period of December game against Florida. Yes, it was one period in one game, and, yes, it was because the Capitals spent almost half the period on the powerplay - but that's still an awful lot, especially given the issue was just addressed.
- When Matt Hendricks dropped the gloves with Keaton Ellerby, the Caps recorded their 20th fight of the season - the same number they had all of last year.
- Even in a Caps loss, it's nice to see a guy who has gone through what David Booth has gone through back on the ice and playing well.
- You know, John Erskine is, at best, a third-pairing defenseman in the NHL, his skill level is way behind most guys on this team, and when he's bad, he's bad. But it probably wouldn't hurt if some of the other guys on this team were as aware of their own skill level and as conscious of finding ways to utilize their strengths and mitigate their weaknesses.
- Tomas Vokoun deserves better than he's had in his NHL career. Period.
You have to be careful about assigning too much value to games at this point in the season, but, even given that fact, it's going to be interesting to see how the Capitals respond to another young, conservative team with a strong goalie when the Avalanche come to town on Saturday.
Game highlights:
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If only this were just a blip on the radar, a game we could just throw away and never have to think about in the future. . .unfortunately, i feel like there might be a few just like this coming our way
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
What makes you say that? (That being that a few like this are coming our way).
Could it be that they have played similar shitty games all season?
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:19 PM EST up reply actions
I meant more along the lines of losing in this fashion, as in totally failing at hockey. . .
Starting maybe around that 0-5 against ATL, we’ve been playing shitty games, so yeah. . .that’s how i know a few more are coming
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
They’re losing now, but their play has been lackluster for the entire year, with few exceptions. Earlier they were getting lucky with Semin playing as good as he ever has, the D adding O at an unsustainable level, and some insane goaltending.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:33 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t think there is much meaning to that C’n’B “quality wins” post, but I think they are right that this isn’t a particularly good team.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
I didn’t need C’n’B’s post to tell me that this team isn’t very good. The quality wins post asks “how many” (to a certain extent). But the important thing for the Caps, as I’ve said many times, is the “how” not the “how many”.
They have the talent to dominate. But the effort, consistency and system just aren’t there.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:36 PM EST up reply actions
They have the talent to dominate. But the effort, consistency and system just aren’t there.
So where does the team go from here?
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
A new coach.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:44 PM EST up reply actions
In all fairness, I’ve been walking that tight rope for a while. So this isn’t some knee jerk reaction.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:51 PM EST up reply actions
I’ve thought BB was not the right answer for some time now, so I was mostly welcoming you to my side of the fence.
Patron saint of quality footwear.
I was leaning towards this side during the regular season last year. The playoffs pretty much pushed me here. And so far this regular season is solidifying it.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 11:18 PM EST up reply actions
I consider Boudreau very good coach. But maybe it’s time for the team to have a new approach. Maybe he’s gotten as much as he can out of the guys. It appears that the league has Ovi and Green both figured out, essentially nullifying two of our main “offensive” weapons.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
Regardless of whether or not he’s a good coach, every passing game convinces me further that he’s not the right coach.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 11:40 PM EST up reply actions
That’s what I’m thinking. If they lose their next two or three in a row, it’s definitely time for a drastic change. (Note: upcoming games are the Avs, the Rangers, and the Ducks. Two of those are teams of less than stellar quality.)
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
At this point, I would support it. . .i just dont know what would have to happen for GMGM or Teddy Leo to fire BB.
With Therrien, the Pens fell pretty much out of the play-offs for him to get fired. For better or worse, i dont see that happening to the Capitals.
Then comes the question of who to replace BB with
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
by kingzman264 on Dec 9, 2010 10:51 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
The earliest I see it happening is this off season if Boudreau fails to get them to the Conference Finals, at least.
I’d have been more bullish about that option if I knew which coaches were available. But I don’t know the market for coaches as well as GMGM does (I’d hope). I’d love a coach like Tortorella, but I don’t know if anyone like that is out there.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:54 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, if Boudreau doesn’t get to the Conference Finals, I think he’s gonna lose his job. I feel like the sense around here is that we need more immediate action, and that’s where i thought you were coming from.
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
by kingzman264 on Dec 9, 2010 10:57 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
MARK FRENCH!
Homegrown, and he knows how to adapt to different styles. i.e. last year’s playoffs, and he knows the talent in the system!
I’ve been thinking of Pat Quinn, but I’m not sure what the deal is with his contract in Edmonton. Guy’s taken 3 teams to the cup finals, and won Gold at the Olympics.
His Oilers squad finished dead last in 09-10, but I don’t think you can put that solely on him. The style of play he coaches seems well suited to this roster.
I am a hockey fan first, and a Caps fan second.
by iwearstripes on Dec 10, 2010 2:17 AM EST up reply actions
f_d mentioned MacT somewhere, which would be a fine coach. Rather Bengt brought up Guy Carbonneau, who I’d also be fine with. Savard is probably still available, there are guys out there who could fill the shoes.
Hell, I thought Scott Nolan did a pretty good job with the Isles, all things considered.
"Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful" George E.P. Box
by Knee high to a duck on Dec 10, 2010 8:14 AM EST up reply actions
I like a MacTavish/Carbonneau type – NHL-experienced coach, but young enough to still be relateable. And obvious defensive credibility. And with rings (as players – 4 for MacT, 3 for Carbo).
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Holy living fuck if we brought MacT in to be coach, I’m out. That’s in the “Fuck You Ken Hitchcock realm” for me.
Choice #1: Mike Sullivan
Choice #2: Brent Peterson
Choice #3: Dale Hunter
Wildcard: Bob Hartley
Before you say “Hartley? Why that trapping motherfucker?” I’d say this – he took an extremely talented and offensively-oriented team in the Avs, taught them how to play defense and led them to three straight Western Conference Finals and a Stanley Cup. The dude knows what he’s doing. He’s also got experience in “breaking” a talented Russian – nobody every got as much out of Kovy as Hartley, and Kovy loves him for it. Apparently, he cried when Hartley was fired.
And I hear you talk the talk, but I don't see you walk the walk and I still don't believe a thing you say.
Mike Sullivan is a great call, but I still probably have Hunter at the top of my list.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
The main thing that concerns me about making Hunter head coach is the fact that he has no professional coaching experience. No ESHL, no AHL, no NHL. For those who complain that Boudreau’s AHL experience isn’t sufficient preparation for the NHL, it’s even more so for Hunter.
Jumping from junior coaching directly to an NHL head coaching just seems like too big a jump to me. Maybe juniors to assistant NHL coach or juniors to coaching in the AHL.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
I’m curious if a 10 game losing streak a la the Isles is enough to get BB fired. Is it wrong that I’m kind of rooting for us to find out?
Release the Mackan!
by Killer_Carlson on Dec 9, 2010 11:41 PM EST up reply actions
If it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 11:45 PM EST up reply actions
I probably have a bit of a selective memory for earlier in the season. . .but, at some point, a team is held up by something on the team going right.
Whether it was Tampa Bay’s Goalies playing pretty well at the beginning of the year, the Minnesota Wild PP operating at ridiculous efficiency for a bit, or Sidney Crosby playing out of his damn mind, at some point, something on the team works and that’s what helps you win.
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
Humph!
I see you've played knifey-spoony before!
by Holt Worth on Dec 9, 2010 10:01 PM EST reply actions 3 recs
Still crossing my fingers more losses now means more adjustments between now and April.
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
If you don't know how to use Timeonice, read this.
"Numbers don't lie, they just don't agree with you"--George E. Ays
Also, DMG: Corsi/Fenwick links to the Blues game, not this past FLA game. That bad, huh? ;)
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
If you don't know how to use Timeonice, read this.
"Numbers don't lie, they just don't agree with you"--George E. Ays
by red army line on Dec 9, 2010 10:04 PM EST up reply actions
Well, this is the worst hockey this team has played in a while. This stretch has just been piss poor, not a whole lot of positives to take from it.
The worst part? It’s how this team is losing. The team is making the same mistakes over and over again. Not a lot of intensity. No one looks like they’re having any fun, and they sure has hell don’t look like they care.
And I’m positive they do care, but you do have to look at the coaching to try something new to adjust the formula. Because the formula as is looks abysmal. And I don’t think this is rock-bottom, I think the frustration could get worse before it gets better. At least if BB’s changes don’t work.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:05 PM EST reply actions
I think right now they care too much. You said it, they’re not having any fun.
If I was coach, tomorrow, there would be no pads. Everyone comes out in skates with a regular stick — goalies too. Put up a shooter tutor and just shoot into the holes for an hour and a half. Make a stupid game out of it, juice-boy style. No skating.
Then a regular video session.
Then everybody goes to Rock Bottom for lunch together. Drink some beers. Clear the air a bit. Day is done at 2.
Regular pregame Saturday morning.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:14 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I would support this 100% if it seemed like the Caps were in a rut. Unfortunately, it’s the manifestation of all the same bad habits over and over again. That being said, maybe it’s becoming a “chicken and egg argument” here.
Are the Caps in a rut because they are going back to their bad habits, or are they going back to their bad habits because they’re in a rut
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
Every week, on Wednesday, our coach runs a practice that is almost entirely mini-games and things like that that the entire team loves. It’s a good way to keep up morale.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:22 PM EST up reply actions
I did that with my kids all the time. We’d have contests to see who could slide the longest with a running dive on the blue line. We’d bring out soccer balls. We’d play a game called Asteroids where you try to hit other with a puck on the shin to knock them out.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Our favorite game is a game called “3 on 3 Down Low”. Pretty self explanatory – a 3v3 game below the hash marks/top of the face off circles. The team that scores stays in.
Today we had 6 players at practice (Yay end of the semester grind!), so we were playing that for half of the practice. So tiring. Yet so awesome.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:28 PM EST up reply actions
Are you playing hockey for Bates? Do you play Williams this year?
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Yeah I play with Bates, but we’re only a club team, so no Williams.
We’ve played the club teams for Sacred Heart, Northeastern, UNH, UMaine, and MIT so far. This weekend we have games against MIT and Keane St. We also play
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:32 PM EST up reply actions
How does the club thing work? Do you play east coast teams / regional teams? Is there a national club tournament?
If it's too loud, turn it down.
We play teams in New England. We’re in NECHA – the Northeastern College Hockey Association. I can’t remember our entire schedule off the top of our head, the farthest we play is CT and NY.
Then we have a small playoffs. We were the NECHA Champs my freshman and sophomore year. I didn’t play last year because I was abroad second semester. And we lost our entire top line this past season, so we’re having a bit of a rough go so far. It also doesn’t help that we can’t start playing and practicing until late October while other teams start practice right away.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:39 PM EST up reply actions
I was just curious because I know Illinois is club and a few years ago were very very good. But I wasn’t sure if there was some sort of national tournament for club teams to determine who is the best.
If it's too loud, turn it down.
There’s an ACHA tournament but I’m not exactly sure how they do it.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
ACHA D1 has a 16-team single elimination tournament. This year’s tourney is in Cleveland March 5-9. ACHA D1 consists of schools that do not have NCAA-sanctioned programs and could – theoretically – make the jump to NCAA-level, although there are probably only a dozen of the ~55 teams that can realistically go NCAA if they find the funding.
ACHA D2 is a much larger division (200+) and has a different style of tournament. They’re segmented into four regional divisions, and the top 2 teams in each of the regional divisions advance to Nationals. Teams ranked #3-#10 in a Region play in a single-elimination tournament in late February (Regionals), with the top two teams advancing to Nationals as well. You then have a 16-team national tournament which is broken out into 4 pods, with each team playing the three other teams in a round-robin format. The winners of the pod go to the semis, where it’s single elimination from that point.
FYI, the top ACHA D1 and D2 teams play at the same level. The difference is that some D2 teams serve as JV squads for their respective NCAA team (Miami-Ohio, Boston U, Michigan, Michigan St, etc.) and thus cannot become an NCAA squad.
The "Other" Box Seats Blogger
Bates doesn’t have a varsity team? I guess I remember playing Colby and Bowdoin, but we didn’t play Bates.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
There’s some weird thing about the rink size/the person who donated the rink. I’ve heard multiple stories – one is that the rink is a couple inches too small to host a varsity team. Another is that the man who donated our rink demanded that we not have a varsity hockey team because of the violence of the sport. Yet we have a varsity football team … albeit a very shitty one.
Also – Colby can fucking suck it. Fuck those jerks. So hard. We should just napalm the shit out of Waterville.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:41 PM EST up reply actions
I feel the same way about Amherst. They can eat shit and die.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
I hate Colby with ever fiber and ounce of my being. Fuck those Mules.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:45 PM EST up reply actions
Back away from the gun. That’s it. Ease away big fella.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Even their cheese is yellow!
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:47 PM EST up reply actions
Gouldie – I love the idea. Seriously. This team is incredibly tight right now. They need to loosen up.
Maybe put a few soccer balls on the ice? Play paintball? Do something to loosen up. Heck, I’m sure someone has a good porn DVD collection, right?
At work, when your team works long hours and is down, because the results aren’t there, don’t you take them out for a cocktail? Of course.
Bag skate could have the opposite effect.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Heck, I’m sure someone has a good porn DVD collection, right?
When the HBO series comes out on DVD, we will know why there is an unrated version.
I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.
by Rather Bengt on Dec 9, 2010 10:27 PM EST up reply actions
If HBO comes out with an unrated version that’s saying something.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
I think they should take a carton of eggs on the ice and pass them around just to loosen up.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
don’t ever hand an egg to Halak — it’ll end up scrambled
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:38 PM EST up reply actions
Better than fertilized.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
How do you like your eggs in the morning?
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 10:42 PM EST up reply actions
A few years ago in the rebuild I might agree but I’d veer in the exact opposite direction. Of course, the signs of softness on this team have pissed me off for a while. They need to get used to the idea that playing smart and attentive to detail is what champions are made out of. To hell with fun, it’s time to grow up and that starts with more accountability from everyone.
Skating with no pads is actually less comfortable than skating with pads.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
THEN LET THEM SUFFER!
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:37 PM EST up reply actions
I've been saying it since last year
Until this team gets a Scott Stevens type of defenseman to clean ppl out of the front, this team is gonna be real hard pressed to win games. Short choppy cross checks in the lower back…refs don’t see it and it keeps ppl from camping out. It was atrocious defensively…on the 2nd goal…there where 4 Caps in the crease area (1/2 of them on their ass) and a Panthers guy standing untouched hacking away. Seems like a bad rerun of George Lopez atrociousness.
Bravo for the comment pics above.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
Especially in a game like this, I don’t think you can pin the loss on the absence of a “crease clearing defenseman”. As the game wen’t on, the team looked quite despondent; so, to judge the future of this team off of such an example is a bit unfair. Furthermore, I’m not sure what a Scott Stevens type of defenseman would do to help this team finish (which, imo is one of their biggest problems right now) or improve from 0-8 on the PP.
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
0-8 PP
It’s the same problem on the other side of the ice. No one camps out in front.. Perimeter shots with no screens and no chance for quick rebounds….recipe for disaster.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Dec 9, 2010 10:15 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, i would attribute alot of our offensive woes, not just on the PP, to those things.
What does that have to do with getting a crease-clearing defensman?
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
did you see their goals?
Panthers in front of the net untouched getting multiple whacks untouched. Every goal this game.
It’s not just a problem from tonight. Varly made the first 2-3 saves on these goals. Completely inexcusable the puck nor the player is not cleared out.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Dec 9, 2010 10:19 PM EST up reply actions
I definitely agree, but adding a crease clearing defenseman is a bit much to address this issue.
In games where the Capitals are playing well, there’s someone there to clear the puck out. When they’re playing as poorly as they did tonight, not being able to clear a puck out of your goal mouth is just part of the poor play
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
2-3 GA shouldn’t be enough for the opponent to win.
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
If you don't know how to use Timeonice, read this.
"Numbers don't lie, they just don't agree with you"--George E. Ays
by red army line on Dec 9, 2010 10:26 PM EST up reply actions
Name him.
Name the defenseman. Who in the league would you get?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:14 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Thank you. Let’s have some realistic answers.
This is precisely my challenge with firing BB. As much as I’m aggravated, I just don’t know who would be better right now that is a viable long-term option.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Does it have to be viable, long-term?
Would you tolerate a change that brought some limited success, but usually can’t sustain.
See Ken Hitchcock. The guy is such a hardass, that his methods usually only work for a limited time. But they have worked in the past.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:18 PM EST up reply actions
I would like to think, every time we hire someone, that we’re hiring them to be the coach for years.
I think that’s why I’m reluctant to change.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
I think any coach that can get these guys to the conference or Cup finals is going to stay at least 2-3 years. In the NHL, that’s an average tenure.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:23 PM EST up reply actions
Hitchcock would be a disaster, he’s going to piss off every player that doesn’t have a Pavlovian response to Captain Kangaroo, but more importantly he’s going to force them to learn an entirely new system. They need tweaks more than anything.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
What do you think of the Hunter float?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:48 PM EST up reply actions
I’d throw away my tickets in disgust if Ken Hitchcock is brought in.
Pledge Drive 2010-2011: SO KIDS CAN!! Help build a playground
Exactly. It’s like saying “we need one of the best, hard-nosed defenders to ever play the game”. Yeah, let’s go get that, right on it.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:17 PM EST up reply actions
Long as we’re fantasizing, I’d rather have Rod Langway (and his scowl) than Scott Stevens.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:17 PM EST up reply actions
Come to think of it, what this team really needs might be Dale Hunter.
And I don’t mean as a player.
Come on, I know some of you are following me on this one.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:19 PM EST up reply actions
I want to see if the guy can coach at the AHL. OHL coaches straight to the pros? I love the guy, but risky much?
That’s for any team not just the Capitals.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:20 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe I’m just too young, but I’ll take Stevens.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
You are too young. The answer is Langway.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
They’re different players who fit different needs. If you forced me to pick one in the abstract, it’d be Langway. But there’s definitely a time and a place for Stevens.
This team? This team needs Langway.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:49 PM EST up reply actions
Langway was a better pure defender and his leadership skills are something this team could really use.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
Explain.
Stevens played in an era against deeper competition, had more offensive game, was as intimidating as they come, and was a great leader. Plus he won 3 Cups. I understand Langway was a beast in his own end, but he never had much offensive game and he thrived in an era when there was more weak meat and there was more permissible obstruction away from the play.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
Did you watch them both? I’m seriously asking. Because my answer is different depending on what you say.
Although maybe it isn’t. Langway was the greatest defensive defenseman I’ve ever seen. He was the single best player (other than a goalie) I’ve ever seen at keeping the puck out of his own net.
He elevated the play of everyone around him. The Caps scored lots more goals because he was back there. He just never got the credit.
Laughlin’s story about the “scowl” is dead on. Best captain this team has had, bar none. He controlled the room.
Stevens is also the greatest ever at something, but it’s something that is less directly related to winning. How many open ice hits did he really get a season. Sure, he contributed more directly on offense, but I’d rather have Langway because a Langway team (in the abstract) would have a better goal differential than a Stevens team. He was that good.
But more importantly for right now, Langway would kick some ass in a way that Stevens never would. Langway was the better captain, the better leader, for sure.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:55 PM EST up reply actions
I was born in ‘81. Langway’s last NHL season was ‘92-’93. I figure I gained hockey sentience during ‘93-’94. I watched Langway play a ton. I laughed my tiny little balls off when a rainbow clear landed on his helmetless dome. But as far as knowing what the fuck I was watching, I don’t. I know he was a beast, I know he was my first favorite player. That’s about it.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
I’m not all that much older, but I think older enough to matter. Older enough to remember how I felt about Bobby Carpenter being traded for two guys I’d never heard of named Ridley and Miller. Older enough to remember the John Druce playoffs.
I think I’m biased a bit by remember Stevens more as a Cap than a Devil. And he wasn’t as good as a Cap. A very good player, but not necessarily a hall of famer. He really had to grow into it. And that may be part of my reaction. But the fact that Langway was a Hall of Famer quality player earlier in his career counts for something, right?
I’ll say this, (and now this really is beer and a late night after a tough loss talking) — I’ve never seen a player who reminds me of a young Scott Stevens as much as John Carlson.
Probably the less said in response to that the better, nay? Let the kid be who he is.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:11 PM EST up reply actions
He’s Ray Bourque!
And I agree that in that period a small difference in age is huge. Like I said, that ‘94 season when the Rags won the Cup is the first time I can remember watching hockey and really having a clue what was happening with any detail. That wasn’t much after Langway retired. But I became a Caps fan watching Stevens and Langway play in Landover.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
Carlson is no Scott Stevens. Carlson lacks the physicality and general menace that Stevens possessed. But I think Carlson’s offensive upside is higher.
The "Other" Box Seats Blogger
Carlson lacks the physicality and general menace that Stevens possessed.
I think you’re judging post-Caps Stevens. Yeah, he hit people when he was a Cap, but so does Carlson. Stevens didn’t become STEVENS until after he left.
And I hear you talk the talk, but I don't see you walk the walk and I still don't believe a thing you say.
I kinda agree, kinda don’t.
The late 80s version of Stevens was just as much a physical force with the Caps as he was with the Devils. He hit folks, cleared the crease, talked a lot of smack, started scrums and dropped the gloves when needed.
I do agree with you that his ability to cause mayhem improved in NJ because he didn’t have much, if any, offensive responsibility. He simply focused on what he was really good at.
Overall, I just don’t see Scott Stevens in John Carlson. Carlson’s his own player and going to be a mighty fine one, but you can tell that #74 doesn’t have – for better or for worse – the aggressive mentality that defined Scott Stevens career (as a Cap or Devil).
I don’t like playing the “he reminds me of…” game but if I had to pick a Caps defenseman that Carlson reminded me more of, it would be a mid-90s Sylvain Cote: smooth skating, smart, positionally sound, occasionally physical (without taking himself out of the play), two-way/play-in-all-situations defenseman but with a higher offensive upside and better size.
The "Other" Box Seats Blogger
I think you’re selling Stevens short. His leadership is pretty well renowned among the Devils of that era. He wasn’t just good at open ice hits, he was good at everything. He used to intimidate teams by walking outside their locker room flexing his pecs and staring at them. Is it completely Agro? Yes. Is it the scowl? I don’t know. Is it its own sort of awesome? Definitely.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
I don’t want to take anything away from Stevens. But I hold to Langway being even better.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:12 PM EST up reply actions
Mark my words: Karl Alzner, five years from now. But we don’t want to have to wait.
Six Beers Too Many fantasy team: It's Neu-virth Than Usual
"I wake up in the middle night frustrated because we lost out in the first round and I want to see our players hoist the Stanley Cup." -Brooks Laich
by CapitalCentre on Dec 9, 2010 10:55 PM EST up reply actions
You are too young. The answer is Gord Smith.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Chara
ha.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Dec 9, 2010 10:20 PM EST up reply actions
OK, now without the ha. Who’s out there. Who do they get?
Scott Stevens is an unrestricted free agent, so feel free to say his name.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:21 PM EST up reply actions
how about coaching up some of our players?
We have physical D guys but they stand around and follow the puck. When I played in HS and college it was regularly coached to kill the guy. It was very rare for me (Center) to camp out in front of the net and not get cross check after cross check in the back. Keep them off balance, lift their stick, make them not want to come there….I never see it w/ our guys. Look for it now if u don’t already.
That is all.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Dec 9, 2010 10:27 PM EST up reply actions
06:46 WSH John Carlson : Boarding – 2 min
16:51 WSH John Erskine : Hooking – 2 min
17:33 WSH Scott Hannan : Holding the stick – 2 min
06:08 WSH Tom Poti : Interference – 2 min
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:29 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
None of these penalties occurred in front of the net.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Dec 10, 2010 8:28 AM EST up reply actions
Did you also get coached to take your vengeance out on the forecheck? That’s what forwards are supposed to do. There’s a reason forwards generally have more hits than D.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
by Rob Parker on Dec 9, 2010 10:48 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I’m not sure what you think that’s going to achieve. Not many NHLers are going to be deterred by that kind of play in front, so there’s not a lot of benefit. Meanwhile, your defensemen are distracted from the puck, often off balance, and a lot more likely to take a penalty. It’s just not a very efficient way to play defense.
So the Caps got shut-out, but the problem is not enough defense?
What?
"Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful" George E.P. Box
by Knee high to a duck on Dec 10, 2010 8:17 AM EST up reply actions
I believe the Caps are -6 since Schultz went out. Prob’ly a coincidence.
74 is not Heroic around his own net.
Let 8 rest/rehab/undergo. If they can’t play .500 hockey without him (and welcome him back to a stronger team), then it’s not worth it to play hockey with .500 of him and change the team name to the Ostrich.
There's no 'i' in "team". But there's a 'nap' in "champion".
I definitely think it’s time to start sitting stars. It’s clear they ain’t right. They’re not doing anyone any good playing through it.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:16 PM EST up reply actions
If he’s hurt (and I suspect he is) they need to sit him and let him heal. I think the team grew a little bit having him out of the lineup last year while he was injured. Having a star sit a few games might hurt gate numbers, but it also forces guys to elevate their game and fill the void.
The Caps played solid hockey while 8 was on IR last year.
I am a hockey fan first, and a Caps fan second.
by iwearstripes on Dec 10, 2010 2:26 AM EST up reply actions
It's either gonna be a underdog tale
or a story of a meltdown. Caps fan in me leans towards the latter.
Obstreperously Avatarless
Bright side
not that this is an indication that we’ll end up like this, but I think it would be a good thing if we went into the playoffs seeded in the bottom 4. We sleep walk when teams come in that “we’re better than” and think we can impose our will on them when it’s clear they have the upper hand.
Suspend Colin Campbell!
So in his post-game presser, Bruce essentially says he moved AO from LW to RW to get him away from Mike Weaver.
Mike. Fucking. Weaver.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Dec 9, 2010 10:25 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
I am sorry I am laughing really hard over here. Seriously.
I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.
by Rather Bengt on Dec 9, 2010 10:28 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, it was unintentional comic relief, that’s for sure.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Right now it’s not going to be… where I sit out guys because we’ve got extra guys. Now it will be sitting out on merit. You might find guys sitting out four, five games in a row but it’s down to that part of the season where we’ve got to make them understand that sitting out — there’s always a reason for it." – Bruce Boudreau
Let’s see if he has the balls to sit Ovie for a game or two.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson, Orlov
You can’t. You can sit your captain and you can’t sit a guy who could go nuts every night. That would take the heart right out of this team.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
You can sit your captain, but where do you go if it doesn’t do anything? That is the nuclear option. (well, not THE nuclear option, but perhaps a kiloton nuclear option)
If it's too loud, turn it down.
Not for a game, but for part of a period, a la Keith?
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
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"Numbers don't lie, they just don't agree with you"--George E. Ays
by red army line on Dec 9, 2010 10:34 PM EST up reply actions
Does anyone still feel confident that BB has what it takes to make the necessary changes for this team?
Release the Mackan!
by Killer_Carlson on Dec 9, 2010 11:43 PM EST up reply actions
Did anyone ever feel confident that he did?
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 11:46 PM EST up reply actions
Also, BB goes from eschewing line matching to hiding one of the best players in the world from a no-name D on a crappy team. Desperation move?
Release the Mackan!
by Killer_Carlson on Dec 10, 2010 12:18 AM EST up reply actions
Straw Poll
Is there any team currently in the playoffs that you feel confident the Caps (as now configured) can beat in a 7 game series?
Obstreperously Avatarless
Yes. All seven of them (whomever they are).
Kill ’em all and let Gary sort ’em out.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I'd love to be able to believe that
But I am Caps fan so therefore I doubt.
Obstreperously Avatarless
All of them. Any of them.
You give me the Washington Capitals, with all 6 defensemen healthy, with their forwards playing even average (for them), with either one of Varlamov or Neuvirth playing at least average for him.
Yeah, this team can beat anyone in the league 4 games out of seven.
Don’t let a slump and some injuries convince you that the world is ending.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:31 PM EST up reply actions
You must have the same half-full glass that I do.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Fuck everything. It’s December. If they were on a 14 game winning streak I’d feel the same way.
Jeff Schultz is more important than people realize.
Ovechkin and Green ain’t right. Haven’t been for a while. They need to get right by spring.
But whatever.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:34 PM EST up reply actions
Chicago Blackhawks: March 7 to March 30, 2010: 3 wins, 8 losses
Pittsburgh Penguins – on November 15, 2008 they were 11-4-2. On January 15, 2009 they were 21-20-4. That’s a stretch of 10-16-2.
Of course, both teams won the Cup.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
But Pittsburg did it without the benefit of the coach they started the season with…
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:39 PM EST up reply actions
You do what you need to do.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
So do the Caps need to do?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:43 PM EST up reply actions
I’m willing to give this a little more time. I’m not feeling utter desperation.
However, I feel like GMGM has given us players that can win, and they all can’t be slumping simultaneously. At certain point, you have to look at the coach. I’m almost there.
God forbid we continue as the Pens did in 2008, and then it becomes obvious. I’m not ready to pull the trigger yet.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
What’s gonna get Green and AO right? A serious injury that forces them to sit so they can heal?
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
Well, if they are actually playing hurt and sitting would help them to heal, GMGM is a terrible manager of his assets. If they’re playing hurt and won’t sit, they need to be sat.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
If they are hurt, why is it their choice? Whether GMGM or BB is the one letting them play through it is irrelevant. This organization has a recent history of letting important players play through injuries that could be solved relatively easily and watching that bite them in the ass. Why would it be different now?
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
Because there’s a clearer sense now of the relative lack of importance of the regular season and the criticality of full health come playoff time, not to mention a tiny bit more depth to let a Green sit if need be.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I believe they are playing “marginally hurt” and won’t sit. I believe they’re underreporting their injuries to the team. I believe they consider this “leadership.”
We’ve all been watching these guys for their entire careers. They just don’t look right.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:57 PM EST up reply actions
No, but the team is currently really bad right now. If they start playing like the way we all think they can play, I think they can hang with anyone.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:32 PM EST up reply actions
Let’s hope that happens in the spring. I don’t much care if it happens any sooner, as long as they make the playoffs.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:34 PM EST up reply actions
I blame the refs. No, wait… I blame a hot Czech goalie. Again. No, wait… I blame Colin Campbell, his kid’s a Panther, right? No, wait… I blame Gary Bettman, he must harbor Patrick division hatred, right? No, wait… I blame… Sidney Crosby. All this Caps pain, it must be the Pens’ fault, right?
This team blows. A 2C isn’t going to solve this problem. The Core needs their heads to be surgically removed from their sphincters. I can’t wait until May when we can finally discuss next season.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
by Rob Parker on Dec 9, 2010 10:33 PM EST reply actions 4 recs
You do realize quite how much Toronto fans hate our whiny asses, right?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:36 PM EST up reply actions
If given a choice between watching the Bad News Bears and watching Oedipus Rex, I think I’ll take the Bears.
by D’ohboy on Dec 6, 2010 9:41 PM PST up reply actions
kinda sums it up for me
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
Meh
It’s different, you guys have much higher expectations due to your team’s current level of competitiveness and proximity to playoff favourite.
For the Leafs, all we want to do is not give Boston the #1 pick overall….
20 miles to Legoland!
by nhlcheapshot on Dec 10, 2010 11:29 AM EST up reply actions
Pretty much summed up my feelings at this point as well. The core and leadership of this team don’t get it. The coach doesn’t get it. Until they do its all window dressing.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
I’m just not there. Not close. Yes, they’ve been playing awful, ugly hockey that looks a lot like what they did last spring.
But it’s December.
If they’re turning in these efforts in February, I’ll panic. ‘Til then, I’ll “meh” along with them.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I tried that last season. Something about fool me once…
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
If they had ever fumbled around enough to flip the switch in the dark maybe I’d agree. These guys couldn’t turn it on when they wanted with the Clapper.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
A couple of weeks ago, everyone was talking tweaks. Now they’re talking nuking the whole team. Personally, I think they’re a lot closer to the team they were a few weeks ago than the one they are now. I just don’t see the situation as dire. I mean, a team on cruise control has a crappy couple of weeks. BFD. If anything, this stretch will make management realize more clearly what the needs are and address them, as opposed to when they were pulling wins out of their asses and everyone was fluffing them.
This is still a very good team with extraordinarily good players. There’s no legitimate reason to think otherwise.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
You’re saying stay the course and they’ll break out of the funk. I can buy into that for a few more games. I want desperately to buy into that.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
From the outside the team continues to appear to lack true leadership and direction This isn’t an individual skill issue. It’s a coaching and core leadership issue.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
But I think JP’s point is that you don’t overreact. I don’t think it’s time to overreact. All signals point me to the coach, but I’m not ready to yank him now.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Do the Caps have a sports psychiatrist?
maybe Bruce needs some help on that front.
Obstreperously Avatarless
I’m still with Gouldie’s idea of doing something to lighten the mood a bit. No reason you can’t do team building during the season.
One of the baseball teams (might have been the Rangers) did theme trips during the course of the season to build camaraderie. On these trips, the players had to dress the theme.
I’m not saying that’s the answer specifically, but something to lighten the mood and to bring fun back to the game. Fun is missing right now.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Like blowing up things?
Didn’t they just do a fun team building thing @ the FBI training facility?
by kingbonehead on Dec 9, 2010 11:00 PM EST up reply actions
Then do another.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
That actually happened weeks ago, before the regular season started. You can tell because A.Gordon and Perreault were in the video.
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by CapitalCentre on Dec 9, 2010 11:15 PM EST up reply actions
Perhaps
The Caps it seems, have a hard time dealing with the weight of expectations. The HBO thing IMO isn’t helping
Obstreperously Avatarless
by Edanger6 on Dec 9, 2010 11:02 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Yes but, as others have said, the Pens aren’t having the same problems with HBO as the Caps might be having.
Having cameras focused on you during a streak makes the streak more exciting. During a slump, not so much. Yes it’s having a negative effect. But that’s part of the risk when doing something like this.
How different it would be last season when the Pens were the team to beat. The expectations were on them. And they struggled, especially in games against us. This season the expectations are on us. And the Caps are now the ones struggling under that burden.
Alright, confess-how many goals are you going to make this year?
"I'm not going to tell!"
Well can you at least guarantee fifty?
"No way. I have a different objective. To win."
by capsyoungguns on Dec 9, 2010 11:41 PM EST up reply actions
I really believe this is an injury issue. Green and Ovechkin are the true leaders of this team, and I actually don’t think they’re bad leaders. Maybe not the best in the league, but I believe they do fine.
But right now I think both of them are trying to tough their way through some shit. You can see it happening. They’re taking the wrong lessons of leadership. They need to sit. For the good of the team. And get right. But that ain’t the hockey ethic. They’re physically capable of performing at a baseline level, so that’s what they’re doing. And their limited performance is dragging everyone else down with them.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 10:51 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
And the coaches job is to tell them to sit. Plus, if other guys know they are hurt they need to talk with them. I’m sick of all the excuses.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
Is it possible Ovie and Green are hurt and have been able to hide it from Coach BB? Or is he aware of their injuries but is letting them play through it anyway, either on his own or as a result of pressure from GMGM? I think it’s a form of Russian roulette to play injured players over an extended period of time. Eventually long term that decision is going to hurt you, especially during the playoffs if the injuries linger on and on and they aren’t 100% by then.
I think it’s hockey culture that you play through pain.
I think it’s hockey culture that you let people who are willing to pay through pain do it.
I think they call it “toughness” and “respect.”
I call it stupid.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:13 PM EST up reply actions
It’s is something about the culture. I recall Laich saying in the Laich/Alzner Hockey Diaries talking about playing through a broken foot that he didn’t tell the coaches about. I wondered at the time whether the coaches should have known.
But I also think much of the funk is mental and morale. I like your idea of a light practice and an event geared towards building team bonds. Something to boost morale.
Alright, confess-how many goals are you going to make this year?
"I'm not going to tell!"
Well can you at least guarantee fifty?
"No way. I have a different objective. To win."
by capsyoungguns on Dec 9, 2010 11:21 PM EST up reply actions
some days, I want to screaming “It’s not macho, it’s fucking STUPID!”
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If anything, this stretch will make management realize more clearly what the needs are and address them
Maybe if that’s the first time we said that.
I think they have plenty of talent so little tweaks can go a long way. As of now, I still don’t see this team taking the steps they need to take to be Champs.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
When did we say that previously?
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
This team has supposedly been learning lessons for years. Against PHI they needed to learn how to play playoff hockey. Against NYR they needed to learn not to take lesser teams lightly. Against PIT they learned not to let off the throttle when they had a team down and out. Against MON they learned all three of those lessons again. None of this is new. If it was new I’d have more patience.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
by Rob Parker on Dec 9, 2010 11:00 PM EST up reply actions 8 recs
Rec’d.
It’s just frustrating, because Pit or Chicago didn’t seem to have to learn these many lessons. Except they did, but it wasn’t like this.
This team just seems to have a plethora of problems, and it’s never solved in the postseason. Or if it is fixed, it’s something else.
And what’s worse, you’re seeing the same problems during the regular season. I can totally see why some fans are jaded and not hopeful at all.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 11:03 PM EST up reply actions
And their core just hit 25 years old.
This team is immature. The #1 thing that solves immaturity.
It might just take a while…
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:04 PM EST up reply actions
Chicago’s core was very young too. And they won it all last year. I just don’t see this excuse of age as a sign of maturity.
I do think this team has maturity issues. I’m not convinced, as a team, that these maturity issues will just go away.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 11:05 PM EST up reply actions
And the Caps were a bounce or two away from advancing against the Habs and then… who knows? The Hawks were perhaps decent officiating away from losing to Nashville. Obviously those things didn’t happen, but shoveling dirt on a team that won 50 games last year and is 3rd in the League in points right now seems… a bit premature.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Dec 9, 2010 11:08 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I don’t want to dump dirt on this team, because I genuinely like this team. I like it’s core, and I do like Boudreau. I do.
But the jaded side of me does look at the problems the team has and sees them repeated over and over. I’m not saying this team is cooked in December. Redemption for this team is going to have to be the Spring. It will be “do or die” for this core I believe. I think a lot of fans are just so cynical from recent history, that it’s hard to really put faith in that.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 11:12 PM EST up reply actions
I hear you. And it’s easy for everything to come flooding back on a night like this (or against ATL the other night), because it looks so much like the most recent heartbreak.
But strides have been made. The top six D are greatly improved. So is the penalty kill. So is the goaltending. But none of it matters right now, does it? Positive or negative, there’s no way to know if it’s “good enough” until it’s put to the test. And the Florida Panthers on December 9 ain’t “the test.”
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One scheme and more talented guys doesn’t do it for my confidence. AS in the summertime, its the coach who concerns me the most. I was willing to give him until January to see if he could change enough to make a difference. I’m not seeing it.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
I guess my question is, when does a shake-up become necessary? Maybe one as drastic as a coaching change. When does “the test” come?
Plenty of teams in recent history (Pitt in ‘08-’09, Phi in ‘09-’10) have shown remarkable successes under a coaching change. Is it in February? January?
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 11:21 PM EST up reply actions
Necessary? Not before next year.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:23 PM EST up reply actions
Calendar year or season?
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
not before the offseason
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 10, 2010 12:59 AM EST up reply actions
Before you see a coaching change, I think you have to see a complete failure of the team to respond to a coach who is coaching for his job.
Is Bruce coaching for his job right now? I don’t get the sense that he is. But he certainly is feeling some heat. He bag skated them. Then called a practice on an off-day Sunday. Then acknowledged the shift-length “issue” yesterday. Then talked about merit-based ice time today. Then called out players – by name – post-game tonight.
And in the midst of all of that, the team hasn’t really responded, have they? If the pattern continues, yeah, I think the question becomes more and more legitimate.
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by J.P. on Dec 9, 2010 11:32 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Seems to me his comments to the press have been more erratic and defensive in nature this year than in the past. Maybe I’m wrong.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
Nah, I think he’s always been erratic and defensive in the press
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:35 PM EST up reply actions
For example, his handling (in public) of having 3 goalies after the Huet trade
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:35 PM EST up reply actions
For example, Kovalchucklegate.
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Yeah, both those are examples. It’s also an area of concern because it fits his pattern of talking his way into and out of thinsg, yet always reverting back to old behaviors. His team seems to mirror this.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
He’s won at every level so far. I’m not convinced that his system can’t win in the playoffs. With the right people, of course.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:44 PM EST up reply actions
I’m not so concerned about the system itself as long as it is adjusted due to who the opponent is and what their skills/plans are. It’s how he handles players, adjustments, and individual situations that concerns me.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
He’s hell-bent on proving his system can win in the playoffs at this level. He said before the Montreal series he wanted to show the way they play is the right way. Four playoff series under BB tell me that it is not the right way.
I do think it’s legitimate to say “who’s our Toews?” Sure, Chicago was young, but I don’t think you can call Toews or Keith immature.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:14 PM EST up reply actions
I’d say Nicky comes the closest, but he isn’t ready to step into that role fully. Plus, this team has so many dominant (big) personalities that a Toews type might take longer to learn how and when to assert himself.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
I wouldn’t mind importing one. I wouldn’t have minded seeing Owen Nolan put on a Caps sweater.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:35 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe the root of the issue is a lack of leadership in the locker room, and that falls on Ovie. Is he the leader this team needs? I’m starting to think he’s not mature enough.
His idea of leading by example on the ice seems to be repeating the same moves that the rest of the league has figured out. He didn’t work on anything new in the offseason, he isn’t doing the little things that win championships…I dunno. I think Ovie is more of the problem than Bruce right now.
The Kolzilla PR department has advised me to post a link to my work at Inside Hockey, so here it is.
www.Insidehockey.com
None of this is new. If it was new I’d have more patience.
Precisely. None of the issues are new. There needs to be a change agent put into the mix. It’s painfully obvious now that BB and/or the leaders in the locker room aren’t going to take care of it themselves.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
What on earth could they possibly prove to you one way or another in December?
And I was talking specifically about personnel moves. Has 2C been a problem for years? Of course. But they entered this year not knowing fully what they had in MJ90 and MP85. They’re finding that out now. Has D been a problem for years? Of course. But they entered this year not knowing fully what they had in JC74 and KA27. They’re finding that out now. Has G been a problem for years? Arguably. But they entered this year not knowing fully what they had in SV1 and MN30. They’re finding that out now.
It all comes back to one point: it’s December. I don’t know where you expected them to be right now, or what “satisfactory” would look like.
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by J.P. on Dec 9, 2010 11:05 PM EST up reply actions 5 recs
I think Carlznerson was more predictable, and they aren’t the problem anyway. I think they should have had a pretty good understanding that MP/Mackan weren’t going to solve 2C; certainly not both 2 and 3C.
But in any event, my problem isn’t primarily with the personnel. They guys that know they have roster spots need to do more. And BB needs to do more.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
My problem is with personnel. They’re just damned young. I think the D just got better, more mature. But they sure could use some of that among the forwards. Knuble can’t do it alone.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:15 PM EST up reply actions
I assume you mean the that the top 6 need more maturity? Or the forward corps as a whole?
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Top 9 really, given the way Boudreau runs out 3 lines. But really, top 6
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 10, 2010 12:29 AM EST up reply actions
Do they? Do they need to do more… in December? Why?
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Because I don’t think they can just decide to be better in April.
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
I agree. And I said that if they’re playing like this in February… panic. I’m just waiting a little longer before pulling the cord on my parachute, I suppose. And yeah, maybe it’ll be too late then. But if they – from the top down – don’t have a sense of urgency about this now, I have a hard time projecting one on them from where I sit.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I see urgency. They sure started this game with urgency. They just ain’t right.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:24 PM EST up reply actions
Precisely because they are still fairly young. They need to learn how to close teams out and how not to take teams for granted. They need to learn how to do the little things right. hard to do that when you coach doesn’t seem to be able to.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
Honestly, I think there’s nothing Mike Green needs to “learn” right now. That guy has been dominant-when-healthy this year.
Ovi needs to learn balance. He needs to learn to adjust to the latest adjustments to him. He needs to get his shot radar back on track.
Beyond that, they all need to just get to spring in one piece. We’ll see what they know then.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:23 PM EST up reply actions
So, if they are just healthy come the playoffs its all going to be good? They were healthy come the playoffs last year.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
They’re definitely a different team now. I see a huge difference in Green-Schultz-Carlson-Alzner-Poti-Hannan (with Alzner and Carlson having a full season under their belts) than last year’s cobbled-together defense.
Who was the steady presence when Poti was hit in the eye with a puck? They weren’t healthy after that, and I think that was huge.
I’d like to see a similar upgrade in the forward corps before spring. We’ll see. But yeah, they’re already much better.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:34 PM EST up reply actions
You are talking personnel and skill level. I’m talking about attitude, leadership, and decision making. Different things.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
No, I’m talking about leadership and commitment too. We’ll have traded rookies for more confident players. Corvo for Hannan. These things are important.
I really believe Green has grown up. A lot.
Ovi, not so much.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:45 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I’m not disputing any of that. Ovi is the captain and I think that speaks volumes. BB’s refusal the do anything more than talk when the team screws up is the big problem. Teams without accountability fail on any level. BB doesn’t have a locker room that will take care of itself. Not enough vet leadership. Therefore he needs to be the one to so it. I have little faith now that he can. All I’ve seen is more talk. As I stated over the summer. Time for talking is over. Cut ice time, bench guys when they aren’t playing well, not following instructions, or are injured.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
I’m interested in your views on what you are/aren’t seeing from Greenie and Ovie.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
I mentioned weeks ago that Ovi’s wrist looks hurt. He may have a lower body injury as well. He is picking his spots A LOT. I’m also concerned about the leadership aspect. It’s time for him to be front and center. If he’s not wired for that I get it and I’m fine with it. However, if so someone else needs to take control in the room either i=formally or informally.
Green has been a bit up and down, but overall I haven’t had many concerns. he’s in a minor offensive slump, but that doesn’t concern me much.
If either guy is truly hurt they need to sit.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
by Carl Putnam on Dec 10, 2010 12:10 AM EST up reply actions
I’d say so. I’m currently ready to put any dinged up guy (i.e. forward) on injured reserve so they can get well and we can call up a Hershey guy to take their place. The Hershey guy couldn’t do any worse than the player he’s replacing. And the Hershey guy would have more energy and less to lose.
And, yes, that goes for Ovi, as well.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
To put it simply, I think Green is playing great D this year, except that I think he’s hurt. But I see him stepping up, having less of a public persona, and really focusing on his game.
I see Ovi as largely the same person he’s always been, maybe a little quieter. But when I see him commit to cycling, to short shifts, to backchecking the way I’ve seen Green commit to playing D this year, I’ll be happier.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 10, 2010 12:21 AM EST up reply actions
Until Ovi has a coach or a vet player he trusts make him accountable on those issues I don’t see a Cup. All roads still lead back to BB in my mind.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
by Carl Putnam on Dec 10, 2010 12:27 AM EST up reply actions
It’s the quieter in certain contexts, that has me concerned about Ovie. That personality sparked him and his teammates on the ice and provided some charming moments in post-game interviews. I think it helped him be more of an effective non-vocal leader during games. I hope it isn’t on hiatus forever. Away from the rink Ovie seems to be holding on to his lifestyle with determination, not all of it is bad, but that is where I see the least stride in maturity.
Greenie does seem more stable. I wonder if he checks in with his therapist as he did with his nutrisionist last season.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
While I respect your opinion, JP, you know that I disagree.
When this team looks bad, they almost always look bad in the same ways. And those are the same ways that they’ve looked bad for 3+ years. This team STILL doesn’t understand what “effective traffic” means, and they still don’t understand how to hold a lead against an inferior team. Both of which are recipes for running into a “hot” goalie and losing in a 7-game series.
With that being said, last night doesn’t upset me nearly as much as other games. Getting shut out by Vokoun isn’t the end of the world. That first period and a half of play by Florida was probably the worst I’ve seen a Caps opponent play all year.
And I hear you talk the talk, but I don't see you walk the walk and I still don't believe a thing you say.
Can we leave the 07-08 team out of this? They had it. 2+ years, not 3+.
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
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by red army line on Dec 10, 2010 1:13 PM EST up reply actions
And yet, their playoff results weren’t appreciably different.
And I hear you talk the talk, but I don't see you walk the walk and I still don't believe a thing you say.
I thought we were talking about the “how” not the “what”. I can’t recall—though I may be wrong—anyone complaining about the Caps losing leads, or falling behind early, or having lapses in focus every game, or not driving the net, etc, in 07-08. That team simply wasn’t as talented.
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
If you don't know how to use Timeonice, read this.
"Numbers don't lie, they just don't agree with you"--George E. Ays
by red army line on Dec 11, 2010 4:01 AM EST up reply actions
I admire your faith J.P. I wish I could be as optimistic as you are.
Wasn’t the Caps preseason logo “Stay Angry”? Didn’t Ovie shoot a video for NHL Network “Questions Will Become Answers”? The problem is, since last April, the Caps don’t look angry, they look flustered, bewildered, and clueless. Another problem is, Ovie hasn’t answered many questions, he’s raised even more questions about his health, leadership, and approach to the game.
Where do we go from here? I keep hoping things will turn around…eventually.
What questions are going to be answered in December?
I hate to say it, but the only way the Capitals are going to earn redemption is post-season success
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
Yup. for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, today didn’t mean much before the game started and it doesn’t mean much now.
It was 1/82nd of a regular season. That’s it.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:00 PM EST up reply actions
I’m not panicking, but how many times do the Caps need to lose to inferior teams exactly the way they lost to Montreal before 1/82nd of the regular season starts to matter?
Release the Mackan!
by Killer_Carlson on Dec 9, 2010 11:58 PM EST up reply actions
That’s the question I want answered too. The problem is, the way they’re playing now, it’s difficult for me to believe they can earn redemption. Maybe I’m not as optimistic as others are, I just find the current trend in their play very disturbing. But that’s just me, I know that.
No, i definitely understand. I try hard to be optimistic in such harrowing waters. . .but at times it can be pretty trying.
i know its a very apathetic way to look at it; but, sometimes i just look at it this way:
There isn’t much I can do to help the team except cheer as loud as possible when i get the chance to go to games. After that, I just sit back and hope for the best.
and if things get really shitty i can talk it out here, on Capitals’ Fans’ Group Therapy
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
Spot on. This is what happens in the playoffs, just a preview of it now. The team only knows how to play one way and the entire league has figured it out. The Capitals aren’t going to be playing against Mike Smith every game so they’re not just going to be able to launch pucks against inferior goalies and win.
Until they play to win, this is all that will happen. Disappointment, get used to it.
Many a night from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest,
Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West.
True Mike Smith is no Mike Weaver.
I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.
by Rather Bengt on Dec 9, 2010 10:41 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
The atmosphere was bad tonight. I know the team was pretty shitty, but with five minutes left in the game, my dad turned to me and said, “We love the Caps—win or draw.” People were streaming out of the building, and the VC was certainly not a full house to begin with. I know people have varying opinions on booing the home team, and I get that we pay a not insignificant amount of money to watch them do their job. They SHOULD be good at that, and we, as fans, have a right to expect them to show up (in every meaning of the phrase) every night. But honestly, I was pretty embarrassed of the Caps faithful tonight. It seems to me that maybe they deserve a little more than everyone leaving before the game’s even over.
On a happier note, that little winter market across the street? Awesome.
If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak.
by Hang a Laingtern on Your Problems on Dec 9, 2010 10:36 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Apart from playoff success, the fans were quickly spoiled under the Boudreau era.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
They should be given the talent assembled. The roster isn’t full of a bunch of 3rd liners and Jason Doigs.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
I think that’s not giving enough credit. That’s a lot of hindsight talking.
They’re 18-9-3 this year. 54-15-13 last year. 50-24-8 the year before. 37-17-7 under Boudreau the year before that (after going 6-14-1 before he came in). It’s not like they’ve been underperforming by all that much.
Yes, I get that nothing matters at all except the playoffs. But still, give the guy some credit. I don’t think they’ve necessarily been the most talented team in all of hockeydom that whole time, but their record sure makes it seem like they have been.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:19 PM EST up reply actions
I think his system fits the personality of this team and that has translated into a lot of regular season wins. This team reminds of the Sharks and Sens teams of the recent past. When they face teams night after night in a different type of game in the playoffs its a different story.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
I think that gives a lot more credit to the Habs than they deserve. “Hot goalie” and “luck” are real. And the Caps were a bounce or two away from winning that series. And if they learned anything from that series, it’s gotta be not to let up when you’ve got the other guy on the ropes. Does losing to Toronto the other night prove that they haven’t learned that lesson? I don’t think so, despite the obvious similarities.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I think it does, especially since they did the same thing against the Leafs the prior game.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
And I find it hard to equate an early-season game against a lottery-bound team with the playoffs. I mean, if they’d slammed the door on Toronto, would it have proven to you that they have learned the lesson? Of course not. So I’m not sure why failure to do so proves they haven’t.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Because you have to learn how to do it right. Teams don’t all of a sudden flip the switch despite what some believe. Do you believe that somehow when April rolls around the Caps will all of a sudden know how to close teams out when they haven’t been doing it up until that point? I don’t, especially given the make up of the team and they way they are coached.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
There’s a middle ground between “not doing it in early December” and “not doing it in April.” And like I’ve said, if they’re not doing it in February, panic.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
When it was October you said, “Don’t panic, it’s only October.”
When it was November you said, “Don’t panic, it’s only November.”
Now it’s December and you’re saying, “Don’t panic, it’s only December.”
It’s getting perilously close to February, and the Caps aren’t getting better, they’re getting worse.
And I hear you talk the talk, but I don't see you walk the walk and I still don't believe a thing you say.
Honestly, I saw it more as “cold” “hot” “cold” which doesn’t speak much to me.
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
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by red army line on Dec 10, 2010 1:37 PM EST up reply actions
It was a 7 game series and they were up 3 games and dropped 3 straight games. There’s no such thing as luck in a 60 minute game, just work ethic. As far as Halak goes, yeah, he was a hot goalie and that’s why the Canadiens went on to win the Cup and no teams were able to solve him.
Many a night from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest,
Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West.
There’s no such thing as luck in a 60 minute game, just work ethic.
That’s just not at all true.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Dec 9, 2010 11:35 PM EST up reply actions 4 recs
I too, call bullshit on the “no such thing as luck” line
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:36 PM EST up reply actions
Then flip coins before the game to decide who wins the game. Whoever gets heads 100 times straight wins, since luck is obviously on their side.
Many a night from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest,
Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West.
Ah, so now you’re saying that either luck is the only thing or it’s nothing at all.
Hate to break it to you, but luck and skill are both important.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:48 PM EST up reply actions
Guess I’m off to order one of those wrist magnets to help elevate my luck.
Many a night from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest,
Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West.
OK, then explain this to me:
How come teams sometimes beat another team, and then lose to that exact same team the next time they play?
How come the Caps both won 3 and lost 4 against Montreal? If there was no luck, wouldn’t the results of games between the same teams always be the same?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 10, 2010 12:24 AM EST up reply actions
It’s like, say, blackjack. Make the right moves, have someone who understands the role of the last seat before the dealer and you can be “lucky” but all that is just improving the meager odds given to you. That’s work ethic, you’re not guaranteed the bounce but if you’re Johnny Hustle out there good things will happen.
Until you can control the exact outcome of something that you’re not the cause of, there’s no such thing as luck.
Many a night from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest,
Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Dec 10, 2010 6:40 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You’re not taking into account the injuries to the Habs. The Habs were pretty battered by the time they met the Flyers. And Halak did start coming to earth as all players playing out of their minds do eventually.
Alright, confess-how many goals are you going to make this year?
"I'm not going to tell!"
Well can you at least guarantee fifty?
"No way. I have a different objective. To win."
by capsyoungguns on Dec 9, 2010 11:47 PM EST up reply actions
yup. It is a tendency of hot goalies to, after a while, become not hot anymore
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:48 PM EST up reply actions
No, nor should a growing fan base seem like they are ready to bail because of some rough spots. Outside of the playoffs, the fan base hasn’t had to face much adversity since this team’s turn around a few years ago. Just as the team still has things to learn, so does the fan base.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
Some in this fanbase have seen plenty of adversity.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
Si senor.
I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.
by Rather Bengt on Dec 9, 2010 11:49 PM EST up reply actions
That wasn’t my point. They haven’t had many setbacks (except for the playoffs) with this young, uber talented team. That’s why I said this team and outside the playoffs..
The fans who have been around are getting more impatient in part due to the decades of disappointment coupled with the high expectations placed on a talented team with a young core. The newer fans are getting impatient because they don’t realize that the regular season cakewalks aren’t the norm and playoffs seem like intense rallies.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
I will admit that that is the case with me — on the decades of disappointment. I followed the Caps for my entire adult life and almost their entire existence. And, with this young and talented group, my expectations were raised.
And to top things off in the disappointment department, my other favorite team is the St. Louis Blues, who have also had decades of playoff disappointment. (And, if I had to pick which teams I liked the best, outside of the Caps and Blues, guess what teams they are — Senators and Sharks.) I had lived in Ottawa as a pre-schooler and my dad currently lives in the Bay area.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
This is the first Caps game that I’ve left early, after the third Florida goal. I consider myself fairly patient (I’ve been watching the Nats since 2005). But Monday night, when we were up 4-2 in the third, and the chants of “boring” started, I was gritting my teeth and saying “I’ll take boring if we’re up by two.” I stayed through the shootout. Tonight, with the Mike Green penalty at 17:04 and the third Fla goal at 17:26, the game was over. All that was left was for Fla to run out the clock.
Don’t make fun of my obsession over ketchup dispensers ever again! ;) Ted Leonsis
It’s one of the rare ones that we cut out of early as well. (We did cut out a little early from Game 7 last year)
And then we watch the Nats and Orioles as well.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
I never leave early. I stay to the bitter end.
Alright, confess-how many goals are you going to make this year?
"I'm not going to tell!"
Well can you at least guarantee fifty?
"No way. I have a different objective. To win."
by capsyoungguns on Dec 9, 2010 11:48 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I’m very uncomfortable with BB’s approach “If something goes wrong, let’s scramble the lines and yahooo!” It takes time and patience to make players feel each other. To throw in Ovi, MP and Laich (or Knuble?) and expect them to deliver right away is beyond expectation. Or Semin, Backs and Chimera. Or whoever that might be. It’s just BB’s desperation showing in full force.
Cup, please.
by fnralch on Dec 9, 2010 10:37 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
"If something goes wrong, let’s scramble the lines and yahooo!"
This has been an issue for him for the years he has been here. I don’t think he knows to do much else. But as was asked earlier, who can replace him? What can be done about it?
If it's too loud, turn it down.
This came up another place but Scott Gordon or Ted Nolan would be great choices right now.
Many a night from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest,
Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West.
I’m a big fan of what Gordon did with the Isles, but I’m not sure that such an inexperienced coach is what the Caps need. It would be hilarious if he got fired from the worst team in the league and was then hired by one of the best.
Nolan would be better, but the fact that such a good coach is essentially blacklisted from the league is a tad worrisome.
Release the Mackan!
by Killer_Carlson on Dec 10, 2010 12:13 AM EST up reply actions
Dan Bylsma was a rookie coach, no?
"Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful" George E.P. Box
by Knee high to a duck on Dec 10, 2010 5:21 PM EST up reply actions
Can we hire him, pretty please? Everyone else seems to leave Pittsburgh since their economy sucks. Why can’t Bylsma do the same?
(Wait, NHL coaching salaries are not as subject to the local economy as “regular” jobs.)
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
That’s true, but I’m not sure that what the Pens needed in a coach is what the Caps need. I think the Caps need some tough love to help get over their immaturity in a way that the Pens didn’t. Rookie coaches aren’t always a bad fit, but I think that a rookie coach might not be the best fit for the Caps.
Release the Mackan!
by Killer_Carlson on Dec 10, 2010 9:57 PM EST up reply actions
Reading Knuble quotes from Corey:
“We’ve got some of our players that have flown under the radar with their play – myself included. I’m probably the No. 1 culprit.”
“It’s not on Ovie. It’s not on Nick. It is not on our top guys all the time. Other guys need to help out.”
I’m not going to jump up and down to praise him, but I do think he’s saying the right things. Good for him.
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Talk is cheap at this point. I really have no cares as to what anyone on this team says. Nothing.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:45 PM EST up reply actions
It might seem cheap to you, but it might have meaning and importance to the players.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
I liked what Knuble said too, especially in light of Bruce saying that the usual about “if your top players aren’t your top players…” Some of the best Caps games in recent history were the ones when everyone seemed to be contributing to all aspects of the game. The non-traditional scores were shooting the puck, the scorers were in front of the net and doing less glamorous work – sometimes it seemed like role reversal, other times it was everyone doing a bit of everything for the collective good.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
On shaking things up…since the coaching position is not necessarily a viable (or smart) change…
Is there a shake up trade that can be made? The bruins had some success with this last year or the year before? no?
If it's too loud, turn it down.
Except they traded a grinding forward. And the Capitals’ grinding forwards are fine.
Maybe a guy like Fehr. Maybe. I just don’t see a move like that being the fix.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 10:55 PM EST up reply actions
Not to mention you just made the “a guy like Fehr” trade, no?
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That wasn’t a ‘shake up move’ though. The move I’m thinking of was purely reported as a ‘jump start the locker room move.’ (The Kobesaw trade, was it, maybe?)
If it's too loud, turn it down.
Indeed it was (I even wrote about it here). But I’m willing to bet that the Flash trade shook up the room a bit. Obviously the results haven’t followed yet, but it was a pretty significant move, personnel-wise.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
As I recall, when Clark was traded and Ovechkin was named captain, the locker room wasn’t exactly rejuvenated by the move. I thought the team definitely slumped afterward.
Or maybe I’m wrong.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 11:04 PM EST up reply actions
They slumped after Clark was traded and picked it up again after Ovi was named captain.
It wasn’t terribly long before they started a 14 game streak.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:05 PM EST up reply actions
Right. Take a look at the record once AO got the C – 30-4-7. I’d say they were rejuvenated.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Exactly. You can’t just make a trade whenever your team is in a funk. And you could argue that getting rid of Flash might have disrupted chemistry a bit. Not saying that’s the cause of this losing streak, but maybe it is contributing.
by Charlie Foxtrot on Dec 9, 2010 11:00 PM EST up reply actions
I think who you bring in matters a whole lot more than who you send away.
I like the Hannan deal for what it does to the room. But that takes time.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:01 PM EST up reply actions
Lasciate ogni speranza, voi che entrate.
Nothing like Dante to sum up a desperate situation, eh?
Anyway, I’m going to bed.
Patron saint of quality footwear.
What goes around comes around? < grin >
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:02 PM EST up reply actions
My last half-full, rose-colored glasses post for the night —
The beauty of an 82-game season is that the team and their fans get to try the again soon. In our case, Saturday night and again on Sunday. I know I’ll be in front of my television cheering them on as optimistic as ever.
The season is far from over, and I know this team can compete for the Cup. They might change their coach or make a trade or shuffle, but they can still compete for the Cup.
The Avs should watch out on Saturday.
(Phew – that felt good.)
Life With Spidey -- a blog about sports, travel, work, family and fun.
Representing Caps fandom in the Gateway to the West.
Like i said above, sometimes the recap acts as a group therapy session
Soon the Championship with be ours, all ours!
And we badly need group therapy.
From what I can tell, it seems that we have more comments on post game threads than most other teams. Many teams have a very active game day thread but don’t always have a recap and even those who do only get a few comments.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
Yay we get to see the teams make the same mistakes and Bruce allow the same bad habits. Woo hoo.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 11:26 PM EST up reply actions
you don’t actually have to watch
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:32 PM EST up reply actions
He’s a Caps fan. Masochism is in his veins.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
I know I don’t have to. But I’m still going to. Which makes it all the more painful.
As F&B has said about hockey in general – regardless of how much they piss me off, I won’t stop watching.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 9, 2010 11:36 PM EST up reply actions
This is how I feel about NHL refereeing. It never gets better. And I’ll never stop watching, no matter how inexplicable it is
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 9, 2010 11:37 PM EST up reply actions
Anything that happens with this team at this point is a function, and right now a failure, of leadership. GM, BB, AO. I’d be happy if I could at least see progress in how they’re losing, but it seems to be a broken record. Atlanta was the playoff textbook, Toronto was the lack of killer instinct, tonight was the get-frustrated-early turd sandwich. The same ills plague them.
././.
I’m still very “meh” about anything that could happen this regular season. I enjoy watching these guys play even through these crappy slumps.
I’m having a hard time passing any judgment. Hopes were high when they were doing historically well and it didn’t really make them unstoppable. I almost feel like it doesn’t really matter how they play (to a degree) as long as they make the playoffs.
I’m just taking this all in stride since there are more important things in life.
/o noes
Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once.
by zephyr on Dec 9, 2010 11:51 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
I’m confused. Didn’t everybody say during training camp that the regular season didn’t matter? That the only thing that counted was the playoffs? Well, last time I checked, this is the regular season. Everybody would like for the Caps to be playing like Pittsburgh right now and for Ovie to have Sid’s numbers. Last year they did and where did that get us? I’m with Zephyr on this. I’m not crazy about this current stretch of crummy play, but if it means they get their act together later in the season instead of January and head into the playoffs with a better sense of what they must do to succeed, then I’ll take this pain now. Every team that’s ever won anything has gone through a bad stretch. I’m hoping that come June, we can look back on this stretch and say remember that low point in December? The good news is that the first game against the Pens is coming soon and we all know how the Caps respond to that team.
by b.orr4 on Dec 10, 2010 12:05 AM EST up reply actions 5 recs
If they were losing because they were learning to play differently I could easily live with it. That just isn’t the case.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
by Carl Putnam on Dec 10, 2010 12:06 AM EST up reply actions
Really? PK looks a lot different to me, and so does the D - more resistance at the blue lines, more pucks to the net.
Green and AO are critical engines and both are sputtering. That demands a ‘learning to play differently’ that’s more than X and Os.
There's no 'i' in "team". But there's a 'nap' in "champion".
Last season they were roughly even in shots for/against. This season it’s about +3 or +4 per game. That’s heartening (it was +3 even before this recent cold streak)
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
If you don't know how to use Timeonice, read this.
"Numbers don't lie, they just don't agree with you"--George E. Ays
by red army line on Dec 10, 2010 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
No! Not logic! No no no no!
Honestly I’m pretty torn up about this one, but taking a deep breath about this, we should all step back from the cliff. They aren’t going to lose 10 in a row, its a funk, it’ll get better.
I’m talking myself through this.
“Logic are a bunch of pretty flowers that smell bad.”
- Spock
Gads, my inner nerd is emerging because it’s Friday afternoon!
Washington Capitals 2009-10 = Quebec Nordiques 1994-95
--- D'ohboy
by MikeL-Pivonka on Dec 10, 2010 3:28 PM EST up reply actions
My position has always been that their position in the standings doesn’t matter (as long as they make the playoffs). There’s the saying “They don’t ask how, they ask how many”. Well, at this point, I’m not asking how many, I’m asking how. They have not shown any significant and consistent changes in their style of play. It hasn’t just been a stretch of bad play in the last few games; they haven’t been playing well all season, save a few games. What bothers me is that they haven’t seemed to learn anything or make any adjustments during the entire time with BB as the coach. If they haven’t before, why would they now? And if it hasn’t resulted in post-season success, why would it now?
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 10, 2010 12:11 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I feel like they are playing differently and are attempting to take steps in the right direction. Tonight I thought they looked great in the first other than not being able to score a powerplay goal. It just seems that when the going gets tough they are sort of shutting down which is the opposite of how they used to be.
Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once.
I think this is consistent with how they’ve always played. DMG’s line on the 2nd period thread was exactly right. When they dominate a period and don’t score, they always come out flat afterwards
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 10, 2010 12:26 AM EST up reply actions
And this.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 10, 2010 12:27 AM EST up reply actions
nothing gives me heartburn like the Caps dominating a period but not scoring. I know what the end result is going to be, and it’s never pretty.
Pledge Drive 2010-2011: SO KIDS CAN!! Help build a playground
Unfortunately, that is true. I had this sinking feeling after the first period when they had a jillion shots on goal and no goals, they were probably not going to win. And when Florida scored in Period 2 with 1 second left in goal, I really knew it.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
Yeah, that is def. one thing that has remained a constant. I guess I was more thinking how they would come back and win games but those games were usually not ones where they were dominating offensively.
Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once.
The problem I have is that the same issues exist with their PP that always have. Laich is trying that bullshit stuff it from the side move which never works, or they are looking for the one timers from their main players. When they can’t set it up, the PP fails. And they are constantly standing still, which makes it a ridiculously easy PP to defend. That’s a problem that was there before BB and still hasn’t been addressed.
I don’t see them forechecking more, cycling more, or crashing the net more. They may score in a few different ways occasionally, but for the most part, they try to rely on the same bullshit night in-night out. Some pretty passes, and on the rush. The only thing which I can honestly say I think they’ve improved this year is the PK, with the more aggressive approach. Other than that i see the same problems that have always existed with the Caps.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 10, 2010 12:27 AM EST up reply actions
Yes the powerplay has stayed very much the same, even with the rotating personnel. /Cries of Ovi to the wing for PP.
The not scoring on 5on3s is just mind boggling. Their type of powerplay is pretty well suited to score on those. It’s like the shank every shot or miss the net during those extended ones.
Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once.
This is pretty much where I am. The how hasn’t gotten any better, and we’re working with 200 games or so of data under Boudreau with no significant change in habits. The only thing that’s changed is the talent level but it’s like their hockey IQ has declined over that time if anything.
Ovie is the worst culprit in this sense. Zero capability or willingness to make adjustments. Now that he’s not scoring goals I’m struggling to see what else he brings to the table besides offense.
The Kolzilla PR department has advised me to post a link to my work at Inside Hockey, so here it is.
www.Insidehockey.com
It’s probably too soon to be thinking about this and it probably won’t happen but if the team keeps losing and they’re close to last place in the EC by the trade deadline would it make sense to trade some of the UFA, Knuble, Semin, Bradley and even Hannan for picks and prospects? The team would then have two young goalies, a young D corps, and three young centers next season. In other words, do you start all over again with a very young team and new coach next year?
Lobbies: Green, Carlson, Orlov
I’m not saying it is going to happen but it is possible, isn’t? I’m just thinking about it right now, that is all.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson, Orlov
by CapsFan2020 on Dec 10, 2010 12:09 AM EST up reply actions
Sure. And if the Oilers are close to first place in the WC, we can be trade partners.
by wickedwitch on Dec 10, 2010 12:09 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
What do you think will happen to the team if they don’t advance beyond the first round of the playoffs this year? Do you think all of those guys are going to be back next year? Anyway, I agree that it’s way too early in the season to have this discussion.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson, Orlov
by CapsFan2020 on Dec 10, 2010 12:23 AM EST up reply actions
If they don’t advance past Round 1,
Semin will be gone
Knuble will be gone (or back for a pay cut)
Laich may or may not be gone
Boudreau will be gone.
Okay, I agree it’s premature to discuss it but…..
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
It’s probably too soon to be thinking about this and it probably won’t happen but what if DJ King scores 3 goals a night for 10 consecutive games? Would the sign him to a long contract extension for a lot of money? And what would that do to the cap? And what would the Great Gazzoo think?
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 10, 2010 12:28 AM EST up reply actions
if DJ King scores 3 goals a night for 10 consecutive games? Would the sign him to a long contract extension for a lot of money?
No, I think the smart thing to do here would be to trade him to the Rangers for a their first round pick.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson, Orlov
by CapsFan2020 on Dec 10, 2010 12:35 AM EST up reply actions
Fuck the first round pick. Marc Staal.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 10, 2010 12:36 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Not start all over again, but it’d make sense to trade Knuble and Hannan, I think. I’ll need to work out the math to see whether the Capitals can still make the playoffs. 13th in the West may mean just 10 points out of the playoffs (if that) at the deadline.
My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the most unpredictable team in the NHL and where we defend Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Alexander Semin until the bitter end. That is to say, when someone tries to call BS on the Corsi numbers.
If you don't know how to use Timeonice, read this.
"Numbers don't lie, they just don't agree with you"--George E. Ays
by red army line on Dec 10, 2010 1:43 PM EST up reply actions
So far, Caps fans have gotten coal in their stockings for this Christmas.
(But if we had the proper technology, we could put enough pressure on the coal we’ve received and make diamonds. Will the futuristic version of the expression “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” be “when you get coal, make diamonds”?)
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
When life gives you lemons, you say “fuck that” and find a new God.
The guy is Peter Schumpmaker. Lord knows what a schump is, but you can bet your bippy his ancestors made them. What he's doing is far worse than crafting fine schumps.
by Steckel Me Elmo on Dec 10, 2010 12:31 AM EST up reply actions
When life gives you lemons you make apple juice.
Lobbies: Green, Carlson, Orlov
by CapsFan2020 on Dec 10, 2010 12:38 AM EST up reply actions
Fuck you, Jobu, I do it myself.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Dec 10, 2010 12:39 AM EST up reply actions 5 recs
Rec’d for giving me a chuckle on a night when I needed one.
The Artist Formerly Known as CP2Devil.
Links guy at Five For Howling.
by Carl Putnam on Dec 10, 2010 12:50 AM EST up reply actions
Is it time for one of us here to volunteer to wear a Sid Crosby jersey if the team doesn’t win by a certain point?
(When Shaggy offered to wear a Crosby jersey, Ovi got out of his scoring slump. Except the team hasn’t done anything since.)
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
If the Caps fail to win in regulation by the end of the 3rd on Wednesday December 15th, I will wear a Sidney Crosby Team Canada jersey to Caps vs. Pens on 12/23.
Just to be clear, with Sidney Crosby (who I despise) in the building, I will wear his jersey if the Caps so much as fail to win a game IN REGULATION in the next 6 nights. OT wins don’t count, talent show wins don’t count. Regulation wins.
Avs, Rags, Quacks. All mediocre hockey teams. Surely we should be able to produce a regulation win against one of the three.
I might regret posting this when I sober up.
I am a hockey fan first, and a Caps fan second.
by iwearstripes on Dec 10, 2010 3:52 AM EST up reply actions
Where are you going to find that jersey?
Lockout talk makes me want to go out and choke an old lady - Elliotte Friedman
If he finds it, and wears it, I say we beat him up.
(FYI, all, don’t get your undies in a wad, I’m not actually going to beat him up.)
And I hear you talk the talk, but I don't see you walk the walk and I still don't believe a thing you say.
I have a roommate from enemy territory who is more than pleased to provide the apparel should this pan out.
0-1….
I am a hockey fan first, and a Caps fan second.
by iwearstripes on Dec 12, 2010 3:07 AM EST up reply actions
I see that the team is keeping you awake at night. (I noticed the time of posting.)
That will be quite the site, wearing a Crosby jersey at VC and rooting FOR the Caps! That being said, I hope the Caps win by then.
Anyway, thanks for taking one for the team.
Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.
Some things
1)
it’s hard to feel like there’s really been much of a change in approach when Alex Ovechkin’s in the realm of ten minutes of ice time and an average shift of ninety second in the first period of December game against Florida. Yes, it was one period in one game, and, yes, it was because the Capitals spent almost half the period on the powerplay – but that’s still an awful lot
This shocked me (although it shouldn’t), since OV was only on the ice for half of the first PP. It seems like after that first failure panic immediately ensued, MP85 got yanked from the first team (maybe rightly so since that was a questionable move to start) and OV was on full PP from there on out.
2) I’m with J.P. that the sky isn’t falling yet. While I’m bummed about the recent stretch I’m also fascinated that this team, which is so similar in makeup offensively to last year’s squad, is struggling so hard right now to score. A regression to the mean from last year was obvious but this is beyond that right now. Something is just off and I’m placing my bets that they get things figured out.
3) This sets an interesting stage for the Winter Classic. Pens are scorching hot and we’re slumping. If I had to take that or the other way around I’d rather have it this way. I’d love for this team to have a chip on their shoulder heading into that game and to make a statement.
by M Root on Dec 10, 2010 3:20 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Observations from Section 421
I paid money to watch that????
1) Vokoun was all that he is cracked up to be in the first period. He made a lot of great saves and looked every bit the deadline deal in the making top notch goaltender he is. The guy does deserve better although he was on some pretty good teams in Nashville before landing in Florida
2) Eric Fehr gets 5 shots on goal in the first, then gets put down to the 4th line by games end.
3) Not good when a play by Erskine was the highlight of the evening. His hit on Reasoner (more like Reasoner bouncing off Ersk) was the top moment for the Caps.
4) Varly had a pretty good game, but he could have been better. A little better rebound control and they don’t give up the goal at the end of the second. When the Caps were called for the penalty down 2-0 late in the third, you could see Varly just sort of do an “I give up”… not good.
5) Nice to see the Caps getting chances on the Power Play. Not nice to see them doing with them what they did vs. Montreal last spring.
6) During Warm Ups, most opposing teams have a few fans hang out in the area by their bench and runway. No one there for the Panthers. I kinda felt sorry for them.
This four game losing streak that the Caps are on is against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last year, and half of them definitely won’t be in the playoffs this year (Toronto and Florida won’t be there…) During the four games, the Caps have scored a grand total of six goals…
This is not good, but better to get it out of their system now, then have to figure it out in April…
Washington Capitals 2009-10 = Quebec Nordiques 1994-95
--- D'ohboy
blech
I’ve definitely been in the “let’s not panic/stay the course/there are ups and downs” camp for quite some time. Most Cup-winning teams do go through tough stretches during the season. But these are some truly ugly performances. 5-0 losses to Atlanta and the Devils, getting shutout by FLA, blowing a 3-goal 3rd period lead to the Leafs . . . you keep waiting for evidence that the Caps have learned some lessons. I was mildly surprised when the team lost to ATL again the next time they met because I thought they’d be out for revenge. Could is possibly be that they just need to work harder? (as opposed to relaxing and letting their talent “take over?”) Maybe to be a good team you kind of have to play like you think you’re a bad team. I know it’s early. I’m not saying change everything. But get your work rate up, boys! You don’t have to panic, but a sense of urgency would be nice.
by Leonard Masters on Dec 10, 2010 11:19 AM EST reply actions
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