Wednesday Caps Clips: More Numbers

Sounds like a crab pot to me – easy to get into, but once you’re in there, you’re stuck. And screwed.

Oh, I wasn’t aware. I stand corrected.

Laichitor is apparently still unaware of his invention…

Just makes it more amusing that it’s Laich It or Lump It missing it. A Nylanderic conclusion.

I, for one, am not hitting the “all is lost” button.

I’m definitely hitting the “this team has some fundamental structural issues” button though.

To be fair, I’ve been hitting it all year.

Well, in fairness, the last thing I would expect is for this group of players to throw Gabby under the bus publicly. I agree with you substantively that there’s a lack of introspection and accountability coming from a portion of the organization, but I wouldn’t expect – or want – the players to be voicing anything in that regard.

Yep. That sums it up nicely.

One of the worst parts for me is that had we beaten Montreal, I felt like we were well equipped to deal with Philly and that we’d beat Pittsburgh if we faced them in another series. We should have at least made it to the conference finals.

it’s things like b.orr4’s post that make me wonder what the Caps did to piss off every single higher being in the universe. It’s all just so unjust that it can’t just be random chance.

I am utterly convinced that the Penguins are the Scarlett O’Hara of the NHL, forever depending on the kindness of strangers… other teams to beat them senseless to get to the front of the line to select Mario Lemieux… winning a contrived lottery engineered (either by design or by happenstance) to minimize the competition the Penguins would get for the top pick in 2005… the league bending over backwards to give the club every opportunity to remain in Pittsburgh when the economics didn’t work (and they still wouldn’t, absent that 2005 lottery thing), and the blind stinking luck they’ve enjoyed in the draw through the first two rounds this year.

And I’m now convinced, given the coverage, that “NHL” stands for the “Nothing but Sid Hockey League.”

Bitter? Oh, a tad.

So you’re saying that Bruce should have played the entire series with his goalie pulled. I can dig it.

Which really points to the fact of how bad a matchup Montreal was for the Caps.

Of course it should say “two of those games this year,” but that would be, you know, smart.

Well, if Montreal was 2-1-1 with an OT win in there, guess who else was.

I know some of us wanted Montreal because of the lesser toll on the players’ bodies, helpful if the Caps would have advanced. Others wanted Philly/NYR/BOS because while those teams would play more physically, play less conservatively and thus are more susceptible to the Caps’ aggressive style than a team that completely shuts down offense for stretches to play D. The theory is that the Caps have little issue scoring goals on Philly, would do slightly better against NYR this season, and Boston…they might be tough, but the Caps have had success against them. Meanwhile, they’ve had trouble with the trap all season. All of two seasons now.

Plenty of people thought MOntreal was the worst possible matchup before the series started.

I completely agree.

In hindsight I can see now why MTL was a challenging match up. But I don’t think any of the other teams would have been that much better for the Caps.

Like you said, it’s the playoffs. Great goalies are everywhere. Stonewall defenses are everywhere. If you want to be champion, you’re going to have to find a way around them.

If you want to compare player to player — Hal Gill to Zdeno Chara — fine. But hockey isn’t all (or even perhaps mostly) individual matchups. Montreal (and we’ve beaten this point to death) was the worst possible matchup for the Caps because their specific strengths pointed right at the specific weaknesses of the Caps, most notably their power play against the Caps’ PK (although that was not a great factor as it played out) and the potential for a streaky goaltender, which Halak certainly is, of getting on a streak at the worst possible time for the Caps. None of the other three teams in the bottom half of the draw could deploy those specific strengths against the Caps the way Montreal could. Phily doesn’t have the goaltending (no, not even Boucher). Boston doesn’t have either Montreal’s power play skill, and Rask was an untested playoff goalie. Ottawa, who did play the Caps tough, didn’t have the power play abilities, either, and their goalie would have been coming in green to a playoff situation.

Again, should the Caps have won? Again… absolutely. But the Habs had the highest probability of the four teams in the lower half of the draw of pulling the upset.

Look at it another way… NJD swept the Penguins… the Penguins were 5-1 against Philly… Philly was 5-1 against NJD. Which of those teams would you expect to advance? It depend on their matchup. Philly beat NJD in the first round because they beat them like a drum all year.

I think you cut in line in front of me to board that train, ’cos I definitely had a ticket.

so give Brads a 1-2 year deal hoping he can pass on his knowledge to SDR

The first one I enjoyed. The next two, in the words of Bill Simmons, “never happened”

Don’t forget the stretch limo out on the frozen pond

Not to mention a broken foot last year.

It’s OK man, him and Faisal Shahzad really didn’t talk to one another.

I think the question will not be “Will Kugryshev be near puking again?” but rather “From which side of the rink is Peerless shooting it?”

For the record, Remparts coach Roy may have reached similar conclusions, as he had his team skating “Les Herbies” prior to their playoff run.

He is one fugly dude.

Mr. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

If Jokinen can generate these kinds or returns, has to make you wonder what Semin might command in a trade.

Hated Finn’s what? His looks?

Just a little joke. He traded the only two Finns in the system over the last year or so.

Just Say No to Jokinen. Hell No. Overrated. Like old incontinent folks, NHL players go to Florida to (watch their careers) die.

Too bad if GMGM does. Would have loved to see Jere Lehtinen in a Caps sweater at some point.

Jesus.

Sutter has replaced Don Waddell at the top of the worst GM’s in the league list.

Even JFJ had a better track record at the draft, just ask Boston

I watched that like 3 weeks ago on netflix instant viewing. I don’t remember that line, though. Granted, twas not a sober viewing moment, still… I liked it for the most part, but some of the cliches werre a little much. Like the hot stripper who just moved to town and falls for his buddy, who has zero charm, is an excon, has no money, and lives in a trialer park. I don’t know about you, but all the strippers I stalked were interested in guys with money who frequented strip clubs, not the guys that nursed one drink for 3 hours and had no job.

Then there are the girls that date the bouncers or DJ. Always a happy couple. Happy couples don’t take kindly to stalking. Or night vision goggles.

Or is our flogging a seasonal thing? Being made to watch the Penguins advance in post season every year while the Devils and Caps don’t advance.

Eric Fehr, who’s that?

Signed,
B.B.

I’m almost positive thats the only contact Kozlov initiated in a Caps jersey, and it was that one time.

I want to encourage the Knuble/Laich/Fehr/Chimera style of play too, but above I was thinking more the Sasha on the Shootout style of play

Eh, the puck went in before he railed Lundqvist.

Sure. But I would argue that the “pest” as an archetype will basically be extinct in 10 or 20 years, because people will realize that scoring goals is more important than shoving guys after the whistle to draw a call 20 minutes later. There’s so little value in it. GMGM is progressive and shrewd as far as GMs go, and he strikes me as just the kind to lead the way for the league by example by simply not signing these types of players.

You can feel free to think we need a pest, I would definitely disagree though. As long as we have a couple defenders like Brads, I think that covers our “tough guy” allotment.

He is definitely the least skilled player to make the Canadian World Junior team — two years in a row. That says a lot about him right there.

Sounds like he’s on the right side of the line that pests usually walk. I definitely don’t know him as a player like you do, so I now I am more excited to see him. That quote in the article just caught my eye.

Zenon?

I now feel bad for including Konopka (or any other player) in comparisons with our prospect. It was out of place and uncalled for.

Stefan’s merits (and de-merits) stand on their own without needing to denigrate other players.

I am looking forward to the Della Rovere Era.

Yea. You summed up what I’m trying to say. Without having any real evidence, I feel those guys hurts teams more than they help, in general.