Sunday Caps Clips: Caps @ Rangers Game Day

by EmilyB on Feb 12, 2012 8:00 AM EST in Caps Clips

Your savory breakfast links:

Previews of today's 12:30pm matinee at Madison Square Garden from Vogs, NHL.com, SB Nation DC, PHT and CSNW (video,blog), and be sure to check out our SB Nation partner Blueshirt Banter and friend o' the Rink Scotty Hockey for more coverage from the other side of tonight's match-up.
Notes and assorted whatnot from yesterday out at Kettler:
- In general. [Caps365 video (Hunter)]
- Nicklas Backstrom met with the DC press corps for the first time since his injury. [Caps365 (video), WaPo (and again), WashTimes (with transcript), 106.7 The Fan, NHL.com]
- Mike Knuble also spoke with the press, to address his changing role on the team. [Dump 'n' Chase, WaPo, WashTimes, CSNW]
Tale o' the Tape, Caps/Rangers edition. [PHT]
The Caps and their fathers (and brothers and mentors) took the train up to the Big Apple yesterday. [CSNW, KOL, Examiner]
Shot blockers? The Rangers haz 'em. [WashTimes]
A look at Dale Hunter's season, a couple months in. [NHL.com]
What the trade deadline might mean in the Southeast Division. [NHL.com]
A few more pix from Caps Casino Night. [Glittarazzi]
Baby Halpy. All together now ... awwwww. [Caps OT (and again)]
A two-minute penalty for tripping was great news for Caps prospect Stanislav Galiev, since it meant he was playing in his first game since early October. [Station Nation]
Finally, they've marked down Rod Langway. The Secretary of Defense is now 50% off. [Groupon]

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Another big game today (aren’t they all?). With Ottawa and Toronto on the fringe of falling out of the playoff picture, it looks there might be room for two SE teams this postseason. While 3rd would be nice, 7th or 8th is better than nothing…

by David C. Rothman on Feb 12, 2012 9:42 AM EST reply actions

Really hoping for the scenario that has two SE teams in the playoffs, just to quiet down some of the “Southleast” chatter (I know, won’t happen).

"You can want to get to April but when you get to April you may not like the answers you get, so you might as well enjoy the ride while it's going on." - Brian McNally on JRR, 8/29/2011

by bagace on Feb 12, 2012 10:48 AM EST up reply actions

Join the club here. I looked at the standings and say, if Boston went into an extended slump, the Northeast Division as a whole would not really look that much better than the Southeast.

Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.

by CapsFan75 on Feb 12, 2012 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

AGrossRecord

Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier with a press pass waiting for him here at the Garden for today’s Rangers-Capitals game.

You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!

by EmilyB on Feb 12, 2012 10:44 AM EST reply actions

I’m sure it’s not to rub up against Larry Brooks.

Cross check and all call.

by bigonetimer on Feb 12, 2012 10:50 AM EST up reply actions

Gormley’s “Trade Knuble?” article is the gift that keeps on giving:

@JacobWare95

@FedFedRMNB Schultz and Knuble for a guy like PA Parenteau maybe. Would you do that.

You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!

by EmilyB on Feb 12, 2012 10:49 AM EST reply actions

The fact that anything Gormley writes gets any traction irks me. Every time I read or hear his name, I hear his voice and wince.

Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.

by STLSpidey on Feb 12, 2012 10:54 AM EST up reply actions 4 recs

Agreed…a visceral reaction, like food poisoning. Like I got nailed with last night. Oy.

Cross check and all call.

by bigonetimer on Feb 12, 2012 10:55 AM EST up reply actions

Definitely it’s painful.

"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."

by gfcaps fan on Feb 12, 2012 11:04 AM EST up reply actions

Best results of the day:

Caps over Rangers
Islanders over Panthers
Bolts over Pens
Red Wings over Flyers
Blues and Sharks play 65 minutes of knock-down, drag out hockey and a freak snow storm traps the Sharks overnight in the STL.
Ducks and Jackets play a three-pointer to inch closer to the Avs
and I couldn’t care less about the Kings at the Stars.

Nice guys finish first, but sometimes the season is awfully long.
Follow me on Twitter.

by STLSpidey on Feb 12, 2012 10:53 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

Anyway both the Bolts and Pens can lose?

by David C. Rothman on Feb 12, 2012 11:00 AM EST up reply actions

Obviously I hate the Pens, but Caps probably aren’t catching them, and I don’t want to see Tampa have any hope.

"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."

by gfcaps fan on Feb 12, 2012 11:06 AM EST up reply actions

Blues and Sharks play 65 minutes of knock-down, drag out hockey and a freak snow storm traps the Sharks overnight in the STL.

Taking one for the team, Spidey? Very commendable.

"You can want to get to April but when you get to April you may not like the answers you get, so you might as well enjoy the ride while it's going on." - Brian McNally on JRR, 8/29/2011

by bagace on Feb 12, 2012 11:10 AM EST up reply actions

Oh wow, I didn’t realize San Jose was also playing today.

"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."

by gfcaps fan on Feb 12, 2012 11:16 AM EST up reply actions

So both teams will be on short rest tomorrow, SJ on shorter rest and a longer plane flight. Thanks NHL schedulers!

You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!

by EmilyB on Feb 12, 2012 11:22 AM EST up reply actions

I’m not thanking anyone until I see results. But it helps.

"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."

by gfcaps fan on Feb 12, 2012 11:27 AM EST up reply actions

Can we agree that Knuble has been mismanaged? A buddy of mine states that he has lost a step. I wholeheartedly disagree as Neil’s great post Friday attests.

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:19 AM EST reply actions

Link?

I think it should be noted that both coaching staffs had Knuble out of the top six so you can’t say it’s just a matter of preference like with Jeff Schultz.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Feb 12, 2012 11:32 AM EST up reply actions

Sorry ’bout that.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capitals-insider/post/have-we-seen-the-last-of-mike-knuble/2012/02/10/gIQAi9HC4Q_blog.html?wprss=capitals-insider

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:34 AM EST up reply actions

I don’t think those numbers/graphs are mutually exclusive with Knuble losing a step.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Feb 12, 2012 11:37 AM EST up reply actions

Agreed on both coaching staffs. I think the decision was made to move 22 off the top line when 20 was acquired essentially initializing the beginning of the end for Knubs. I think 20 has more versitality and could perform on other lines better than 22. By moving 22 off that top line (where has stated time and time again that he needs to be playing with top tier players), his numbers were bound to digress significantly. Plus the losing minutes + losing PP time, am not surprised at his output. Guys like Knuble, Holmstrom, Kerr, etc don’t fall off a cliff imo. Their traits of going to the net and mucking it out are almost timeless.

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:38 AM EST up reply actions

I think Brouwer was an upgrade on Fehr. He didn’t necessarily mean Knuble was falling out of the top 6. I think if Knuble was still playing/producing better he’d be playing on a top line. But he isn’t.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Feb 12, 2012 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

Agreed on 20 > 16. I would have liked to see 20 more on th 2nd line and keeping the 8-19-22 line together which never really happened.

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:44 AM EST up reply actions

But has he really been given an opportunity on top 6? I would submit no.

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:56 AM EST up reply actions

Not sure what you mean by ‘chances.’ It seems to me that he had plenty of opportunities. Unfortunately, he just didn’t produce. We all like Knubes, and it is hard to think of him not playing, but it is necessary.

by Wilderthing on Feb 12, 2012 12:18 PM EST up reply actions

He was the incumbent. They didn’t just demote him for no reason.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Feb 12, 2012 1:25 PM EST up reply actions

And his advanced metrics like Corsi are also pretty bad, so it’s not all just puck luck.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Feb 12, 2012 11:42 AM EST up reply actions

So are you paying no merit to Neil’s exhibit C? (btw…in listening to his interview yest. he almost stated the exact same thing without the #s).

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:45 AM EST up reply actions

I just think there’s a lot of noise in the QTeam stats. You could say it’s an unacceptable amount. I also think that between 09-10 and 10-11 he was still mostly playing on the top line but they weren’t as good as a group. That doesn’t really change his QTeam, IMO. He was still playing with Nick and AO but there was an overall decline. I think the graph may lead someone to believe he was demoted last year, which wasn’t the case.

He’s the worst on the team in Corsi On and Corsi Rel. That’s not just an accident.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Feb 12, 2012 11:50 AM EST up reply actions

Not disagreeing with the stats. However, do you not think that there is a correlation between those numbers and his linemates? For instance, how much worse are his Corsi On and Rel compared to the likes of 83, 26, 15. I may be shooting myself in the foot on this basis but…

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:55 AM EST up reply actions

Corsi On is over 7 shots per 60 worse than Beagle, 8 worse than Hendricks, and just under 12 worse than Halpern.

Corsi Rel is 11 worse than Hendricks, 16 worse than Halpern, and about 23 worse than Beagle (which has to be a typo, right? No way he leads the team in Corsi Rel…).

Link. Play around with that sheet. There’s no real way to make Knuble look good.

Please, call me F&B.

by Rob Parker on Feb 12, 2012 6:23 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks F&B…great resource there. Plus a pic of Hunington Beach pier (me thinks). As mentioned below, appreciate the feedback you all provided to me on this topic today.

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 8:07 PM EST up reply actions

He may be losing PP time but he still is getting 1:24 of PP time per game and has no goals and two assists. You mention a guy like Holmstrom who has also been sent down the the 4th line in Detroit however he still has 7 PP goals and 4 assists. Even Danny Cleary who also plays a similar game and has 1:25 per game in PP time yet he has 2 goals so it isn’t like his amount of PP time is too little to produce anything.

by icehammer97 on Feb 12, 2012 11:57 AM EST up reply actions

Good pull on the PP #s…thanks. I knew 96 was on the 4th line but with the comparables on the PP…hmm, my heart sank a bit there (as did my argument me thinks).

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 12:02 PM EST up reply actions

Now Holmstrom has still been getting 3+ min of PP time per game but when you have 11 points you have earned it. That is why I also game Cleary’s stats since he has almost the exact same about of time on the PP and is also the third option in front of the net behind Holmstrom and Franzen much like how Knuble is behind TB and Brooks.

by icehammer97 on Feb 12, 2012 12:06 PM EST up reply actions

No. We can agree that Ward and Schultz have been mismanaged, but Knuble’s deployment has legitimate rationale behind it. Sure, he’s been unlucky and isn’t going to be productive on a lower line, but he’s also been bad, to be honest. And he’d had favorable zone starts for a while to try to help him along.

Moreover, just because putting him on a top line would almost certainly help his individual numbers doesn’t mean it’d be the best way to maximize the team’s output.

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

by J.P. on Feb 12, 2012 11:58 AM EST via iPhone app up reply actions

I guess we will never know if given consistent opportunity on top 6 would have changed where we are today. That plus not converting when he has had the chance (think we all can count at least 5+ golden opps that went awry).

On your last point: so you believe that 22 on a line with (humor me here) 8-19 would not maximize the team’s output? It seems that we have an asset that can be valuable in certain equations and not others. If 22 is not on top line, his value to this team seems almost negligible (that is probably too harsh but hopefully you get what I am saying).

by ralCapsFan on Feb 12, 2012 12:09 PM EST up reply actions

But that doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for the team if the Caps have better options for the top line. Every player would benefit from playing on the top line. That doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for the team.

Release the Mackan!

by Killer_Carlson on Feb 12, 2012 1:03 PM EST up reply actions

Right, that’s what I’m saying. Play Hendricks there and he has a career year – doesn’t mean it’s best for the team. Team’s got X players to shuffle around to maximize output – what’s best for Player Y’s numbers might not maximize the overall output.

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

by J.P. on Feb 12, 2012 3:11 PM EST up reply actions