Broadcast Info: NBCSW; WJFK, Capitals Radio 24/7
And here we are – Game 82 of the 2022-23 season. The last time this Capitals’ squad will take the ice until the fall.
It’s not a completely meaningless game, though, as the Metro Division crown still remains unclaimed and tonight’s opponent is looking to seize it. Here’s Vogs with the preview, as we wait to see if the Caps have one more bit of spoilin’ left in them.
So, for the final game this season…
Let’s. Go. Babes.
capitals is much hard working team. that’s I support team
I think devil is a good tram to support. it has gut to win
This day is complete
And it’s done. I’m so happy.
Sounds like he was as desperate to leave as you wanted him out.
Yeah it seems like our arguing this season was pretty much pointless! Oh well, you landed some good ones. ????
He knows team is no longer a contender and probably wants to coach a winning team. maybe wants to wait for some playoff team to fire their coach after they flame out. Looking at you Toronto.
https://www.hertl.app/
Familiar Face today
Pens wasting no time – Burke & Hextall fired.
That makes them better
More than a few Caps fans want to see that happen to Mac and Lavi but I think circumstances are a little different. Believe Pens have newish owners too who didn’t hire Hextal and Burke.
Mac was able to see the team wasn’t going anywhere and he needed to get rid of expiring (and expensive) contracts. Hextall & Burke went the other way. Caps are going to get a better draft pick (don’t blow it) and Pens still need to dump salary.
Agree.
Both were brought into make changes and hard choices and they did neither-they more or less just kept trading draft picks and offering extensions to current veterans.
A lot of people are focused on the 8th pick with the chance to move up to the top spot, but according to tankathon.com (really cool graphic here: https://www.tankathon.com/nhl/pick_odds) the Caps only have a 54.4% chance of picking eighth and of course a 6.0% chance of picking first. They’ve also got a 6.4% chance of moving up to pick second. So that’s a ~1/8 chance of moving up. But they’re at 30.0% to pick 9th and 3.2% chance of picking 10th, so they’ve got a ~1/3 chance to move down. To use least common multiples, if you were to run the lottery 24 times, they’d be expected to move up three times, stay put 13 times, and move down eight times. Given the Caps historical track record in May (2018 notwithstanding), I know which way I’m betting it turns out…
Caps fans are going to be in for a rude awakening when the new coach has similar results next year. Caps are at best a bubble team now. That is just what this roster is right now.
Honestly, I think a healthy Caps team is better than what we saw this year. Hopefully this year was an aberration in that regard, but I suppose given how old the core is getting, maybe it’s closer to normal than I’d like to think.
Granted, I agree the days of competing for the Presidents’ Trophy are behind us, but I do think they’re still a playoff team.
Though I also don’t think Laviolette is as awful a coach as some here make him out to be.
Idk what to tell you. It’s not just about wins. It’s about not losing this way.
It’s about not running young players out of town for dinosaurs like Chara. It’s about finding a coach that won’t overplay a 38 year old. It’s about finding a coach that won’t start a goalie on both nights of a back to back when we have a great backup. It’s about finding a coach willing or smart enough to fix the power play (and NO that is not just Blaine’s job and lol and anyone who thinks that’s the case).
The guy is an abysmal coach. There’s a reason he’s has a reputation for wearing out his welcome in a few years wherever he goes.
I don’t know what to tell you in that changing coaches isn’t a silver bullet at this point but if that helps you cope then let’s go with it. Frankly this team was showing signs if being old and over the hill back in 2020 but then we said it was because Todd Reirden was a bad coach (and he certainly wasn’t very good) and so HCPL may have gotten as much out of this team s possible. Injuries and just the fact that the Eastern Conference now has too many good teams is really working against Caps and Pens too regardless of who is the coach. But I know fans like simple solutions to complex and structural issues.
I’ve never, ever, claimed a coach would be anything magical or would fix the team. Im happy to debate you on this if you don’t put words in my mouth.
I would argue that many coaches and certainly Todd Reirden would have done worse than Lavi with this roster and injuries. In fact, Lavi’s system was much better in 21-22 and shot suppression and defense than it was the prior two years. Goaltending let the team down. At the end of the day, you are only as good as your star players are and the top six has been a mess due to injuries, age and in the case of Kuzy and Mantha-maybe some issues around effort or commitment. Kuzy looked to have turned around things last year but clearly has struggled this year. Given that Lavi’s contract expired, I am fine with moving on from him but I don’t expect much better from a new coach although without all the injuries this team may be able to push for a WC spot next year. Caps are stuck in the middle but they aren’t able or willing to rebuild which would mean a few years of being God awful and no, it’s not just to get Ovi the goal record which sadly many Caps now believe.
I don’t know what to tell you but there’s still quite a number of players on expiring contracts that none of us have any idea of who they are going to be replaced by yet so these kinds of sweeping statements aren’t rooted in facts at all, because most of the facts needed to even begin to make assumptions about next year aren’t even available yet, not for the Caps and not for the rest of the division/conference they are in.
The Caps top six are not good enough as a group due to age and injury to really complete with the elite teams of the Metro anymore. I don’t see trading Sheary or shipping out Kuzy for a second and salary retained changing that equation.
That’s good, because Sheary doesn’t have to be traded, he’s one of those expiring contracts.
The Caps problem is more in the middle six, not the top. The top line, for as much as it was Ovi, Strome and a random third, seemed like it could hang with anyone it needed to. But the drop off between that and the Caps forth line was atrocious. Some of it was age, but a lot of that age is also being shipped out, and a lot of it was injury, some of which had nothing to do with age. maybe it was conditioning, or the franchises approach to heath, that played a part in the excessive number of injuries sustained throughout the season. maybe it was made worse by having to have guys play roles they weren’t necessarily cut out for to cover for other injuries putting them in the position to get hurt too. maybe it was just bad luck. most likely it’s a combination of factors, not all of which are things fans will even be privy to.
Team was getting a makeover by-design regardless of how the season went because of how all the contacts, coach included, were set to expire. The fact that that’s still being overlooked AND that the supreme focus is on average age when nearly every single player on the team, regardless of age, missed time, and some of those injuries, like Wilson’s and Carlson’s weren’t even age related in any way in the first place really makes that whole old trope beyond annoying. Boston’s trotting out an average team age of 29.5, and a line that features a 37 year old Bergeron and 34 year old Marchand and is completely dominating the league, while a 29.6 year old Tampa team made it to the cup finals the year and are just as old this season again. One big difference? both clubs were not riding the same kind of injury merry-go-round. This year’s Canes are 29.3, Vegas is 29.2. Minni 29.2. Seattle 29 even. Toronto spent a good part of the year at 29.1 and only recently slipped younger (28.8) with some injury transactions. I have a really difficult time swallowing the too old routine when that’s a lot of older than the league (28.4) teams making the playoffs, and in Boston’s case wiping the floor with everyone during the regular season.
Boston has two young players in Pasternak and McAvoy. I just don’t see Caps being able to rekindle the glory years after not winning a playoff series in five years now.
Chara is a hall of famer, any coach that had the choice between Chara and a rookie will chose Chara. It’s not a Laviolette thing.
And Siegs wouldn’t have been traded except for the fact that expansion draft was happening that off-season and he would have been lost there (most likely) and in a regular season he would have also played more but Chara helped Jensen come into his own and stabilized a defense that had been awful under Reirden prior to that.
And then there was golf
Thank you for posting this. I feel better.
I hate seeing it, but I miss seeing it. I totally couldn’t help myself.
Sigh….
I didn’t want to do it, but we headed out as the game was going to OT. I just couldn’t afford the extra time and I somehow knew they’d blow it.
I know, embrace the tank, but fan appreciation night – this fan would have felt more appreciated with a win.
I normally love staying afterwards for Fan Appreciation. But this year skipped the game entirely. Don’t blame you for leaving.
I’m surprised they didn’t do Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday. They usually tend to do it on the last weekend game but not this year.
We are all going to enjoy the 1st overall pick when we win the lottery. Ovie was tanking hard in OT. That’s what a team captain does!
I’m so happy that nightmare is over. Thankfully the one thing we have to thank Lavi for is ensuring the 8th pick instead of 11th. What a stain that man is on the Ovechkin era. Shameful waste of three years.
It’s bad when I have to defend HCPL because I don’t think he’s a great coach. HCPL is a top 15 coach in the NHL. He shouldn’t be the Caps coach next year since we need a coach who can properly handle young players.
He has a career record of .580. He has a ton of wins, because he’s been around forever. Let’s stop acting like he’s some guru.
Sounds like Barry Trotz, Paul Maurice, Mike Babcock, John Tortolla, and Darryl Sutter. Sounds like you want another young first year coach. Good luck with that. In a few months you will be here whining about how he needs to be fired too. This team is old and in decline and there just isn’t much that can be done-see Pens, Blues etc.
I agree with the latter part of your statement. This team is old and in decline no matter what. But might as well have a coach with some new ideas and some energy. And that hasn’t been known for years to stifle offenses.
You are so delusional. The team completely sucks. The coach is done, but it’s academic. He’s gone. You’ll get your wish. Stop bitching about him.
Fans will be calling for the firing of the next coach by Thanksgiving.
LOL.
As they say, when you go ad hom, it’s because you have nothing real to offer.
So you think the coaches I mentioned have new ideas and don’t stifle offenses?
Have I advocated hiring anyone you mentioned?
I’m not saying he’s a genius but, we could do worse (Adam, Dale, Todd for example).
Fire him whatever. He is not the greatest coach ever. But stain on the Ovi era? Jesus dude, come on. He is lightyears, and I mean, lightyears ahead of Adam Oates. He is dealt a shit hand since he got here. Did he thrive? No. Does he need to go? Yeah probably. But a stain? Come on.
I can think definitely one, probably two, maybe three or four worse coaches in the Ovechkin era, but fans gonna fan, that’s what they do after a losing season.
Personally, I blame a big part of the problem on a string of freak injuries like Wilson’s extensive time off being complicated by Brown’s also getting injured, neither of which are really age related problems and both completely changed the complexion of the team, and Carly getting beaned in the head such that any player of any aged would have been out as well, and thus having nothing to do with age, and about a half dozen injuries to sub-30 year old guys throughout the season that constantly was shaking up the lineup even without the coach having to try. Perhaps for maybe a month there in Decemberish was something that kind of somewhat resembled an optimal lineup and even then there was a revolving door for injuries as well where, looking back, it’s pretty surprising that moth even came out as good as it did. The injury parade included just about every player on the team, regardless of age, at some point which makes this whole “the team is old and slow” trope a bit annoying at this point, because although that was a contributor it was hardly the dominating reason why the team struggled.
And, as I’ve pointed out before Hockey Reference has Boston’s average age as 29.5 and they completely tore up the regular season. Tampa this year is 29.9, last year 29.6, the prior year 28.5, and even though that last one is sub-29, it’s also in a season where the league average was the lowest it has been recently as well, meaning those cup years Tampa weren’t exacty spring chickens. This year’s Cans 29.3. Vegas 29.2. Apparently it IS possible to win with an older team, the Caps just couldn’t do it with the number of man-games lost to so many players throughout the season.
Considering the number of expiring contracts that still need to come off the books at the end of this season, and the fact that even though we might not like some of the players, some of what remains aren’t as much of damaged goods as the bellyaching about them by fans seems to imply considering they’re on what are not horrible contracts if they needed to be shuffled out too. Ultimately, the bottom six and the defense are going to be substantially different entering next season compared to this and the prior few and that’s without even considering any hockey moves Mac has up his sleeve for the offseason. All in all, I feel like the hype around the team’s collapse is somewhat exadurated and I’m feeling passively optimistic about the potential for next year with a number of new players, likely a new coach, and a bunch of teams in the division not set up nearly as well moving forward.
8th worst in the league officially. That’s depressing to type:
In a little over 20 weeks they’ll be ready for next season and I will personally enjoy 8th pick. If we’re not going to the playoffs, then this is as good as it can get.
They are a better team than their record. Not to worry!
Agreed! So glad to get that better pick and improve the odds of moving up in the draft. Looking forward to an eventful off-season and a healthy start to next season.
At least it’s supposed to be a reasonably deep draft. Hopefully, we can get at least a William Nylander caliber player. (Nylander was the 8th pick in his draft year which was the year we missed out on getting Pasta.)
I bet the Penguins wish they were in our situation. I know injuries aren’t an excuse, but they are a reality. When you lose almost 500 man-games to injury and most of them to important players, this season is what happens. With an off-season for Nick to fully get in condition for Ovi, Dowd andTJ and everyone else to heal up, for Willy to get even stronger and for Mac to work his magic and maybe some luck in the draft, the Caps should be just fine.
They had the second WORST record in the NHL for the second half of the season, only beating out the Sharks in points and points percentage. They were worse than Anaheim, Columbus, Montreal, and Chicago who are infamous for being terribad this season.
A record this terrible for the second half of the season is not just a small sample size. The decline from the first half to the second half was so drastic that I wonder if their norm for next year will be bad. (This decline is a mirror image of their rise in 2007-08 when they were near the bottom after the first half of the season and did wonderfully well in the second half to make the playoffs. And their second half that year was a harbinger of becoming a long term contender.)
Why are we the 8th? I hope we are but I thought the tiebreaker was ROW and we have 1 more than Detroit…what am I missing?
It’s just straight RW. Detroit beats us by one in that category.
Yes, depending on the Van outcome, that OT may have meant the difference between 8th and 10th – we have more RW’s than Van. Love it!
Post game comments from May and Locker, plus player comments from Backstrom in particular, and this non playoff year might wind up addressing the valid concerns of CapsFan75. Extra meaningful rest, more time to rehab and hockey train, and an opp to get healthy across the roster. I hope Sandin does some training with Backstrom.
With a retool, I figure the Caps will move on from Lavi. He’s a good coach but probably not the right one for a retool/rebuild.
I presume Kuzy and Mantha are goners. Given that Mantha has just one year left on his deal, the Caps could unload him for a minimal return and maybe take back salary. (That’s a better option than a buyout.)
Kuzy’s likely gone in a trade. We may not get a huge return.
Hopefully, some of our other injured (Ovi, Wilson, Nicky B, and Carlson) will be better with rest and rehab. I just hope 2nd half Ovi is not what we should expect to see going forward. That would be depressing. Although the word is that his injuries are nothing permanent. (But I would be seriously depressed and worried about his chances of catching Gretzky if he can’t even score 30 goals next year.)
Don’t we… don’t we kinda wanna lose? lol
Either the 8-10 range or the 9-11 range win or loss. Doesn’t really matter to me.
Edit: I believe those are the scenarios, don’t 100% trust me.
I prefer as low of a spot as possible which is 8. But it really appears that the Devils have checked out of this game.
Except they finally remembered they were the Devils. (Or the Caps remembered they were the Caps.) Then again, there’s no such thing as a safe lead for the Caps. At least no lead of less than four goals would be safe even against against one of the bad teams.
The Caps apparently remembered this, albeit late.
Absolutely. If you want what’s best for the team in the long term then it’s an unambiguous yes we needed them to lose.
Great start via Sandin and Snives
And Smith. Dylan Strome, you’re next.
https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1646644178254802950?s=20
Weird Lines
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 16-Smith
73-Sheary, 17-Strome, 43-Wilson
15-Milano, 92-Kuznetsov, 91-Snively
47-Malenstyn, 59-Protas, 96-Aube-Kubel
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 3-Jensen
52-Irwin, 27-Alexeyev