Recap: Canadiens 4, Caps 1

Great job, Becca.

I couldn’t agree more with this:

Maybe it was the new lines Boudreau concocted to start this game (or the thousands of combinations that would be thrown out there as the night went on) but for whatever reason the whole team looked out of synch. You have to think mixing something up that’s worked for 82 games and most of the postseason is not the way to win – and reeks of desperation.

Best see 8-19-22 together all next game. Go with who brought ya. Except Flash.

BELIEVE

It’s all we can do. See you all Wednesday night.. I’m going to be loud and proud in sec. 426.

I expect nothing less than VC to be insane Wed night and the team to come out and dominate the game like tonight. Will they go the extra mile and do all the little things they need to in order to solve Halak if he’s out of his mind again? Will the PP show up?

I have to believe yes. Although winning a 3-2 game with us going 0 fer on the PP again wouldn’t shock me in the slightest.

Was that 3 unsportsmanlike penalties on the Habs for diving? I recall at least 2 on Lapierre (throwing himself into the boards and faking getting high sticked I believe), but am blanking on if there was a third one.

we all have to sweat another OT in Game 7?

What if…John Carlson leads a rush then.

I feel like a terrible fan, but I’m having a lot of trouble being optimistic about Wednesday. I’ve been spewing optimism left and right this whole series, I don’t know that I have any left…

There is almost no chance the Caps win Wed night. I’m selling my tickets in the morning.

I’m wondering when the “fire Boudreau” chants begin and a loud chorus of boos cascades upon the Phone Booth.

This is Boudreau’s third playoff series - he has won 1 of 3 seventh games.
If “the Cup is all that matters”, we need a complete overhaul.

Gone: Green, Semin, both Morrisson’s, and Flash.

Let’s shake it up folks - if we come back for a 4th year with another “pat hand”, we will surely lose to more…..“inferior teams”.

The regular season is totally different than th eplayhoffs.

Starting to question gabby’s ability to get the team past this level. His adjustments have been odd and his unexplained loyalty to Flash is almost a deal breaker for me.

Win one game. That about sums it up. I don’t blame Ovie, certainly not for lack of trying, in game 6. He and the Caps just didn’t get the results they deserved. And as I posted on another thread, in my ideal world Ovie will take the team on his back and single-handedly carry his team to victory and round 2 on Wednesday night. I hope Verizon Center is rocking the loudest it’s ever been. I hope Ovie scores a hat trick in a stirring and rousing Caps victory, and the disappointments of the game 5 and 6 losses will be a distant memory in the rear view mirrors of all Caps fans.

Love the unbridled enthusiasm after game 4. Yeah, this is a different team from past Caps teams. It’ll be different. Right. They’re still the Capitals. It’s 1986 all over again. And 1992. And 1995. And 2009. And the nightmare won’t end. Every year, I say this is the last one, forget it, I’m done. And every year I come back. I don’t know why.

If I see Flash in a Caps jersey again in the playoffs I’m gonna puke. And really, I can change that “in the playoffs” to “ever”. If you are worthless in the playoffs, you aren’t worth the roster spot you take up.

Green did look a little better, but he is still really off. He was whiffing shots and bobbling pucks all game and his stickhandling was terrible. Still, his assist was sweet and he had a great shot off the post. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.

When the offense isn’t scoring you can’t blame the goalie for the loss, but Varlamov was not good enough tonight. He has to stop the 2nd and 3rd goals, and he has to be better on Wednesday.

The PP is so bafflingly horrendous. They now are scared to shoot the puck through traffic and instead looking for a pretty goal. While they did get some good looks they weren’t through traffic, and that meant it wasn’t getting by Halak tonight. If I were BB I would have just taken all of them off the PP and give some other players a chance. It couldn’t have been any worse and simplifying the PP may have been what they needed. But hey, if anything we know that BB isn’t afraid to refuse to make player adjustments in the face of overwhelming ineffectiveness.

On that point did I mention that Flash needs to be benched? But hey, I guess I can’t blame BB for not realizing that the Caps may be able to use a gritty energy guy instead of a soft invisible forward when playing in a hostile barn against a team playing desperate hockey. Why again did the Caps trade for Walker?

If Theo lays an egg Boudreau will be second-guessed forever. Flash must sit (he should have this game) I’d rather see Perreault & Walker right now over Flash & Stecks.

One slight problem-
Any of you who can’t believe this is happening have not been Caps fans long enough We have the record for blown 3-1 leads, esp with home ice advantage.
I’ll tempted to shave before Wednesday but since I started the beard after we lost game 1 I’m still tempted (afraid not to) to keep it on.

When will the Caps open the TM exchange? I don’t trust the other ticketing sites.

Lapierre could be a bigger tool if he were actually Sean Avery

One thing: Halak was terrific tonight, there’s no denying that. But good lord we did not make it that difficult for him. There seemed to be a notable lack of pressure in front of the net, I don’t know if the line changes were partly to blame or what. But there is no reason he should have that clear of a view on that many shots. Someone has got to be getting in his face. Despite the resulting penalty, I really applaud Fehr for trying to do just that in the third…just wish it had come a little sooner.

The magic of this team: when Fehr ended Halak’s shutout bid with just under five minutes left, how many of you were leaning forward a little bit, thinking perhaps – just maybe – something miraculous was about to happen? I know I was.

You know it, Becca. I always believe with this team.

Has anyone learned anything about Poti’s status? Is he injured? Hopefully there’s no facial fracture involved or anything

Win one [Franschetti] game
For the love, just do it.

What happened with Lapierre? I stopped watching after the third goal as I was getting way too riled up for my own good.

Sorry, guys for being so upset about this game (and the last one) have gone. Okay, I know the opera isn’t over ’til the fat lady sings.

(Can someone please stop her from singing?)

Better luck next game.

I’m not really happy with this match-up at all. The main reason I’m not is because BB is happy with how the PK system is running and playing currently. I think he’s sort of in denial on their performance and it could directly lead to losing two games.
They almost should have just gone out today and hooked someone every 5 minutes to practice tons of different PK lines in real game situations.

Forget the other cliches the media is harping on as far as weaknesses of the Caps.

I still imagine them coming out of the gate much stronger with more determination and I expect them to steam roll through in 5 games. I just think out of any of the teams in the east, Montreal is the one that could possibly upset the Caps if discipline unravels.

AND

The Capitals can solve any goaltender in the league over a 7 game series. A hot goalie is far more dangerous in one and done tournaments or against teams that don’t have an entire nuclear arsenal waiting to be unleashed.

I could have never in a million years foreseen the powerplay being as bad as it is.
Also, the hot goalie situation is now dangerous considering we’re in a 1 and done series now.

My whole world is upside down now. I really need it flipped the right way ’round on Wednesday.

Great write up Becca, and yes, they played like a team that wanted to win.

Unfortunately Montreal wanted it more, got it, and won. Plain and simple. If you win, you played well, if you lose, you played bad. This is the Stanley Cup, there are no good losses or bad wins, only wins, and tonight, losses.

• Hopefully Halak’s best game was game 6, and that in game 7 he will be the regular Halak, with a save percentage at about .925. If he had that save percentage tonight, the Caps score 4 goals, not just 1.

• The power play is now 1 for 31…unforgivable, including an extended 5 on 3. I don’t care how [Lemieux]ing hot a goaltender is, not scoring on 30 of 31 power play chances is a sin.

• The hitting has stopped… why, I don’t know. The Caps need to hit and finish checks every time someone from Montreal touches the puck. No mercy, no leniency, just hit them.

• Get in their faces, get inside in front of the goal. Go in there and don’t be afraid. If you get hit, you get hit, big deal. There are ways to get inside the defenders.

• And finally, if the opponent (Montreal or otherwise) is lined up with 4 guys on the blue line… dump the [Lemieux]ing puck in and chase it. Punish them when they go back and get it, hit them and make them pay for standing up at the line. They’ll start cheating back and then you can try the fancy plays to enter the zone.

All in all, this was a completely disheartening game. Yeah they outshot Montreal, big deal. They won more face offs, who cares. The final score is Montreal 4, Washington 1. That’s all that needs to be said. The Caps can come out and win Game 7 at home now… or else, it’s time to do something else….

most of which were perimeter shots. Gotta crash the net the whole game, not just the 3rd period.

To me there was one shift of OV’s that sums up the series of the Caps. It came early in the second, and there was a play where he came down the left wing with speed and a full step on the dman. Rather than driving to the net and finishing it like I’ve seen him do literally dozens of times, he pulled up short and threw a pass to the middle that never connected. Later on the same shift he got the p uck in the high slot twice, once getting off a weak wrister, and the second time he fanned, fell, and broke his stick.

To me they just aren’t doing their thing, and it’s costing them. Be aggressive, get to the net, bang in some dirty goals. I think in part they could do this on the PP by playing OV in front of the net. I know it’s been successful in the past with him at the point, but it isn’t working now. Time to mix it up. With his instincts and hands I honestly think he would score even more goals if they played him there (like the goal he had in game 2 slamming home the rebound). He’d be a beast to try and move from that spot, just let him do the dirty work.

Seven reasons by Puck Daddy

Four of the seven are Halak, the other three are obvious analysis is obvious.

Bench Tomas Flieschmann. Do it one time for the duration of the playoffs.

The magic of this team: when Fehr ended Halak’s shutout bid with just under five minutes left, how many of you were leaning forward a little bit, thinking perhaps – just maybe – something miraculous was about to happen? I know I was.

Unlike other Caps squads in the past, I was actually holding out thinking if any (NHL) squad had the ability to make it happen, it was this one.

Guys, thank you for being so civil and calm tonight – it would be easy to go off and “scream” at each other but you’re not and I appreciate it, it’s keeping me grounded ;) I’m off to bed…please don’t throw a keg party in the Rink while I’m gone. And when you do, please clean up after yourselves.

Game 7 Wednesday, kids. Keep the faith. This team is special, I believe it, and they have the ability to pull this thing out.

Sorry Chris.

All right…I’m off to go get my head right. Countdown to Wed begins. Hell in a Cell match at Verizon.

couldn’t watch the game tonight and boy is this depressing. At this point I’m bracing myself for when we lose game 7. Hell even if the caps do win, philly is going to tear them up at this rate. . .

I just can’t stomach the idea of Pittsburgh getting to make mince meat out of the 6, 7 and 8 seeds if the Canadiens win on Wednesday. That just…that can’t happen.

…while adding facts to the discussion:

Fehr TOI: 10:09 (1:46 on PP)
Flash TOI: 12:11 (2:23 on PP)

Man we are going to be one of the last teams to advance.
DET-PHX is the only other active series.

I’m just so sad.

So where’s the bandwagon? Need a seat.

how many of you were leaning forward a little bit, thinking perhaps – just maybe – something miraculous was about to happen? I know I was.

I was. But then the team failed for the third time this series to snap out of it and put this mediocre, neutral-zone clogging team away.

So people are really going to give Varly a free pass for another mediocre outing, eh? Interesting. I don’t think he was the problem, but he wasn’t good either. I would have pulled him after 2 goals in the first period… for the second time in as many games.

I’m baffled that people are giving Varly such a long leash. He hasn’t had a chance to prove himself yet, and I don’t think he’s ready.

Happy birthday Varly!

One question regardless of the result Wed night. Do we look at bringing back Belanger? Besides not producing any offense is there anything else we can be upset about regarding his play?

Practice tomorrow is optional.

Why not make them work on that PP?

The Caps scored a total of ONE goal in each of the past two games. In order for the Caps to win either game, their goalie, whether it was Varly or Theo, would have had to shut out the Habs. Lack of offense, their 0 for almost forever PP, has to be at least partly to blame. Yes they fired off 54 shots against Halak tonight, but other than Fehr’s goal couldn’t score. Even the second coming of Terry Sawchuk wouldn’t have changed the outcome IMO.

What DOES Boudreau say to his PP unit when they come off a 5-on-3 with 3 shots?

For two years, he’s told them not to do anything cute, to play a simplified game on the PP. And they go right back out there and put on a passing clinic. It’s like they ALL don’t speak English, not just Semin.

Does he chew them out? Does he scream at them? What do you say when you’ve drilled 100 million times on the same thing and they go out and do it the wrong way again?