The Noon Number

by J.P. on Feb 6, 2012 12:00 PM EST in The Noon Number

5 - Number of NHL forwards who are averaging more than two-and-a-half minutes of shorthanded ice time and two minutes on the power-play per game - Tomas Plekanec, Jordan Staal, Shawn Horcoff, Matt Read and Brooks Laich.

Laich has also faced the toughest competition of all Caps skaters (and among the hardest competition in the League) and has taken 30% of the team's faceoffs on the season.

Tough minutes to replace, those.

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if his injury is serious and long term, I think we’re pretty solidly locked into selling at the deadline and not buying

RAMPAGE

by JediChewbacca on Feb 6, 2012 12:05 PM EST reply actions

I agree.

What I find most troubling about the attitude we share is that in the end, this team is two injuries away from being a non-playoff team. That is an unacceptably shallow talent pool.

"You do that, you go to the box, you know. Two minutes, by yourself, you know and you feel shame" -Denis Lemieux

by leacha on Feb 6, 2012 12:40 PM EST up reply actions

or just a horrible streak of luck through the core of the team. I agree that some of the depth on this team is not performing up to their salaries coughWardcoughSemincough, but not many teams are going to do that well without 2 important centermen and a top defender out

RAMPAGE

by JediChewbacca on Feb 6, 2012 12:47 PM EST up reply actions

except the Pens who just draft down the middle

RAMPAGE

by JediChewbacca on Feb 6, 2012 12:50 PM EST up reply actions

Upon a quick glance, the Pens are 4-4-0 when playing w/o Crosby, Staal and Letang this season.

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

by J.P. on Feb 6, 2012 1:02 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, that wasn’t too great, even if a small sample size. But during the period when they had played so poor under Therrien, the coach they fired and replaced with Bylsman, Fleury had missed a bunch of time. There was much gnashing of teeth among Pens fans about the Pens poor play because of that.

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 6, 2012 6:39 PM EST up reply actions

The horse we beat to death the past five years is that the trick isn’t drafting an Alex Ovechkin. A chimp with a sharpie could have checked that box. Not even a Nicklas Backstrom. The trick has always been what you build around an Ovechkin. We might be getting a clear-eyed look at just how good the talent evaluation has been in these parts the last five years. I’m not saying that a team without Backstrom, Green, and Laich should be considered a shoo-in playoff team, but will they be at least competitive?

We’ll see.

If you've read this far...seek help.

by ThePeerless on Feb 6, 2012 12:51 PM EST up reply actions

The 2011-12 Capitals definitely seem thinner than the same players looked not long ago:
Knuble, Semin, Alzner, Carlson, Ovi…for starters, are all playing notably beneath the level we’ve come to expect of them.

My concern was that Bruce played dumb candy bar hockey: fun to play, entertaining to watch, but not a lot of solid meat there, not much to feed long-term growth. I see the current lapses and weakness as the inevitable result of that system as a long-term implementation. Playing/relearning disciplined hockey is the medicine. Quick rash cures/moves are not long-term solutions. That said as is stated below, GM’s been working on the 2C problem for years now and I think we’d all like to have a little more strength there to show for it.

I used to be a hockey player, but then I took an arrow in the knee

by Icebat on Feb 6, 2012 3:21 PM EST up reply actions

This blows.

by aaw6848 on Feb 6, 2012 12:31 PM EST reply actions

As in, instead of just being down a 2C like in Oct-Dec, we are now down a 1C and a 3C as well…maybe that golf club the team gave away last week was a divining rod as well. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

by capcup12 on Feb 6, 2012 12:31 PM EST reply actions

Your center depth chart

Mathieu Perreault
Marcus Johansson
Jeff Halpern
Keith Aucoin

You want to go up against Philly or Pittsburgh (or Altoona) with that?

If you've read this far...seek help.

by ThePeerless on Feb 6, 2012 12:48 PM EST reply actions

hopefully it’s a wake up call to GMGM that WE NEED A 2C

RAMPAGE

by JediChewbacca on Feb 6, 2012 12:51 PM EST up reply actions

Who would, at the moment, be a 1C.

by capcup12 on Feb 6, 2012 12:53 PM EST up reply actions

right but would help the team keep its head above water more then that bunch

RAMPAGE

by JediChewbacca on Feb 6, 2012 12:55 PM EST up reply actions

Not if (at least) three of our remaining “assets” come from that group.

by capcup12 on Feb 6, 2012 12:57 PM EST up reply actions

Again. Easy to say/recognize a need. A helluva lot harder to acquire one.

by Yoshietree on Feb 6, 2012 2:02 PM EST up reply actions

This. And if we’re looking at a GMGM philosophy, he’s not going to give up a truly valuable asset (a Carlzner) unless they’re legitimately a piece away. Thus, you’re left dealing from weakness. If you do want to deal, you best not miss.

"My favorite fan base in D.C. Is United's. Period. The end." - Steinberg

Which DC sports team has the Most Valuable Players? That would be DC United, a team being pushed out by the city. Help Keep United in DC so they can receive a fair deal on a lease and help develop a path to build a stadium with local investment and incentives.

by Bald Pollack on Feb 6, 2012 2:13 PM EST up reply actions

Forgetting the fact that 1/2 centers don’t grow on trees and that legitimate ones come with a crazy high price tag. It’s not like GMGM hasn’t tried to fill the need….see Belanger and Morrisson. The only position that has a higher price tag is 1/2 Dman….and the Caps could use one of those also.

by Yoshietree on Feb 6, 2012 2:38 PM EST up reply actions

He’s tried to fill the need, but has been shopping the remainders section to do it. One way or another, if it’s a valuable position, you’ll need to pay for quality—either with assets, or with a draft pick + time.

The Ted + GMGM’s philosophy seems to be to make the Caps good enough to be a perennial playoff team and hope to get hot/lucky in the playoffs rather than to load up and take a couple big runs at a Cup.

by kingbonehead on Feb 6, 2012 3:46 PM EST up reply actions

So…a Winger, a Bear, a retread Face-Off Specialist and MP85— I’m not sure I am comfortable with this group centering an area rug.

by capcup12 on Feb 6, 2012 12:52 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

rec for that

by d3n1x on Feb 6, 2012 1:34 PM EST up reply actions

philly? no.

Pens? Sure.

by aaw6848 on Feb 6, 2012 12:53 PM EST up reply actions

I’ll take those against the now-defunct Johnstown Chiefs

by RossingtonCollins on Feb 6, 2012 2:14 PM EST up reply actions

Any updates on the injury?

I don’t have much tolerance for stupid. Or cheese on food that doesn’t need it. -duck

by twistedlogic on Feb 6, 2012 1:38 PM EST reply actions

Sees the doctor this afternoon.

"My favorite fan base in D.C. Is United's. Period. The end." - Steinberg

by Bald Pollack on Feb 6, 2012 1:44 PM EST up reply actions

Day to day, meaning you can pencil him in for LTIR retroactive, said transaction to come in about 2 weeks.

Patron saint of quality footwear.

by fat_daddyo on Feb 6, 2012 2:22 PM EST up reply actions

Probably true. Fuck.

Campaign Promises fantasy team: Hamrlik To Fall

by CapitalCentre on Feb 6, 2012 2:47 PM EST up reply actions

All of you saying the team should abandon hope of making the playoffs should be fucking ashamed to call yourselves Washington Capitals fans. As of this writing we are currently, 2…T-W-O points out of 8th place with 30 games to go. Are you kidding me? If we are in Edmonton, Raleigh, or Montreal, you’d be right. We’re not, so grab your sack and stop the damn whining. Yes it sucks not cruising into the playoffs, yes it sucks not laughing from the top of the SE, yes it sucks that we have injuries…but this team is more than capable. A few Caps’ shots dip or veer a few inches inwards against the B’s and we’re having a much different conversation today.

by David C. Rothman on Feb 6, 2012 10:01 PM EST reply actions

Chillax, bro.

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

by J.P. on Feb 6, 2012 10:13 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs

Yea try doing less meth, watch more of the games more closely. Sounds like you’re off in lala land.

Fan of: Dale Fuckin' Hunter

by sickleandhammer on Feb 6, 2012 10:36 PM EST up reply actions

How about give reality a try? The Caps are currently down their 2 best centers and their best dman, their prized wingers are producing far below the levels they are able to, and they aren’t getting the secondary scoring to make up for everything they’re missing. Their current lineup of centers looks more like an AHL squad than NHL. Sure, they have a shot at the playoffs – but the current group is showing no signs of being able to perform at a high level. This season, this team is NOT capable – they’re getting outshot and outscored, and the only reason they’re not getting outscored even more is incredible goaltending. They have very little puck possession ability and aren’t showing any grit or heart. There’s something majorly wrong with this team, and no one has the answer right now.

Failure is always an option.

by timmyv38 on Feb 6, 2012 11:04 PM EST up reply actions

Well you guys convinced me, I’m just going to stop watching the rest of the season.

timmy…I believe you just proved my point. Ovi and Semin have been under-performing, and there’s still plenty of time for them to perform. The secondary scoring has dried up, but guys like Chimera, Ward, and Knuble still have time to step it up. Mike Green is likely returning in a few weeks…and then all of the sudden our breakout from the d-zone issues are mostly solved. The team has it them. Are they cup contenders without Backstrom and Laich? Hell no, but they can be competitive, and we all know anything can happen in the playoffs.

Oh, and McPhee can make a move for a center. If you guys want to wallow in pity and panic, that’s cool, I’m going to watch. If anything, it’s going to make the last 30 games entertaining. “Grab your sack” was a Dean Evason reference, only semi-seriously applied. But seriously…grab something.

by David C. Rothman on Feb 7, 2012 12:41 AM EST reply actions

Maybe the screaming Kirk icon makes my posts seem angrier than they really are? If so, awesome.

by David C. Rothman on Feb 7, 2012 12:41 AM EST up reply actions

If you think I proved your point, you might need to re-read what I wrote. What reason would you have for thinking that all the guys who haven’t been stepping up this season, or longer than that in the case of the 2 Alexes, will start to now? It’s not a problem of 1 or 2 players – it’s a team-wide problem. Right now, the Caps need to worry about just making the playoffs – with their current injuries, it will be extremely difficult. If Backstrom and Laich are out for a significant time, this team has no depth at center. Even if they come back, and Green as well, the team hasn’t been performing at the level they would need to at all this season. No one is saying no to watch the season, so cut out the drama. They’re just saying to take a realistic look at where the team is right now, which is barely squeaking into the playoffs – at best.

Failure is always an option.

by timmyv38 on Feb 7, 2012 1:00 AM EST up reply actions

Making a sober assessment of a teams capabilities is not wallowing.

Making a string of spastic and overly sarcastic posts is what… hmmm. Let’s see you are upset at other Caps fans for thinking the team is anything but a cup contender. Yea that makes sense.

Grab our nuts and what, not talk about anything but the Caps inevitable victory? You make about as much sense as a rabbit herding sheep.

Fan of: Dale Fuckin' Hunter

by sickleandhammer on Feb 7, 2012 8:38 AM EST up reply actions

I never once said they are a cup contender with the current set of injuries, nor did I say they will surely make the playoffs. Even with no injuries the team is flawed, but what team isn’t? Yes my post was riddled with sarcasm, but it sounded like some fans were giving up on the season/making the playoffs…which I think is ridiculous. No, it’s not going to be easy for this team to make the playoffs, but they can do it. And if they get healthy, they can make a decent run once they get there.

But Brooks Laich appears to be fine, and we can all rejoice in that.

by David C. Rothman on Feb 7, 2012 12:41 PM EST up reply actions