Post-Game Talk: Bloos @ Capz preseason 10/3/16 7pm

[g00n]

Begin discussion of this pivotal preseason game.

Click to read more...

 

[NoLookPass]

Ovi, Backstrom and Oshie are all in. Looks like this is the turning point of the preseason.

 

[Capagonia]

Lines
Ovi-Backstrom-Oshie
Burakovsky-Eller-Sanford
Winnik-Beagle-Connolly
Walker-Sill-Carey
Alzner-Niskanen
Orlov-Carlson
Schmidt-Chorney

 

[John Price]

Will be there tonight. Hoping for good win

 

[txpd]

very interested to see how Orlov-Carlson works out once the games count

 

[Raikkonen]

Alzner-Carlson isnt an idea so far. OK.

Interesting Beagle line. Like solid 4th line prototype. Could be a nice line maybe.

Still doubt Sanford is here for any games in RS.

 

[RandyHolt]

I am thinking Sill is my darkhorse candidate to take slot 14. Fits the Latta mold, for one. And 2, I hope we are not dumb enough to scratch a guy that needs the reps, like we did with Stan last year.

 

[trick9]

Alzner-Carlson isnt an idea so far. OK.

Interesting Beagle line. Like solid 4th line prototype. Could be a nice line maybe.

Still doubt Sanford is here for any games in RS.

I actually think Sanford as of now has the best chance to be that 14th forward that gets some games early, sits some, and is given full chance to be a roster player on the 2nd half of the NHL season.

Interesting that he is on that line now. Propably gets his chance to play with Eller and show what he can do there, assuming Johansson misses some games at the start of the season.

 

[Hivemind]

Liking Sanford on the wing. Let's see how he does there.

 

[twabby]

Surprised they are trying Orlov-Carlson instead of Orlov-Niskanen. Guess it's worth trying everything but I want to see Alzner-Carlson and Orlov-Niskanen at some point during the preseason.

 

[HecticGlow]

Surprised they are trying Orlov-Carlson instead of Orlov-Niskanen. Guess it's worth trying everything but I want to see Alzner-Carlson and Orlov-Niskanen at some point during the preseason.

Depends - if they're not confident Orlov is strong enough yet to handle the harder D assignments, you're effectively left with:

* Proven shut down pair - Alzner-Niskanen
* Best offensive pair - Orlov-Carlson
* Defensive third pair - Orpik-Schmidt

Orpik has the hitting and net-front-clearing strengths Schmidt is weak on, while Schmidt has the speed and stronger breakout pass that Orpik doesn't excel at - in a sense this pairing might actually work well, because if Orpik is going to step up to make a hit and cause a 2-on-1 (as has often happened), you don't necessarily want one of your most offensively-minded D-men (more likely to be out of position) partnered with him. With focus and work, Orpik-Schmidt could actually make a good secondary shutdown pair to free up Orlov-Carlson for more offensive-zone starts.

That said, Orlov-Carlson makes me nervous. I don't want Carlson to be on a leash because his D partner can't be trusted to cover for him when he pinches, and there's not been much evidence yet that Orlov is a smart hockey D-man. But we'll see.

Alzner-Niskanen was so strong last season, it's not surprising they're reluctant to split them up.

 

[HecticGlow]

Although one pre-season option no one's suggested, if you're trying to even out the D time (as the coaches have implied), would be:

Orpik-Niskanen
Alzner-Schmidt
Orlov-Carlson

Orpik's far from at his peak, but he's not a terrible D-man either.

 

[HTFN]

Depends - if they're not confident Orlov is strong enough yet to handle the harder D assignments, you're effectively left with:

* Proven shut down pair - Alzner-Niskanen
* Best offensive pair - Orlov-Carlson
* Defensive third pair - Orpik-Schmidt

Orpik has the hitting and net-front-clearing strengths Schmidt is weak on, while Schmidt has the speed and stronger breakout pass that Orpik doesn't excel at - in a sense this pairing might actually work well, because if Orpik is going to step up to make a hit and cause a 2-on-1 (as has often happened), you don't necessarily want one of your most offensively-minded D-men (more likely to be out of position) partnered with him. With focus and work, Orpik-Schmidt could actually make a good secondary shutdown pair to free up Orlov-Carlson for more offensive-zone starts.

That said, Orlov-Carlson makes me nervous. I don't want Carlson to be on a leash because his D partner can't be trusted to cover for him when he pinches, and there's not been much evidence yet that Orlov is a smart hockey D-man. But we'll see.

Alzner-Niskanen was so strong last season, it's not surprising they're reluctant to split them up.

It's pretty surprising to me.

Alzner-Niskanen is a known quantity by now. If the team is floundering and it must be done, there's no reason they can't reunite in the second half of the season, but for now I see no reason why they wouldn't be expanding the players' comfort zones.

 

[twabby]

Depends - if they're not confident Orlov is strong enough yet to handle the harder D assignments, you're effectively left with:

* Proven shut down pair - Alzner-Niskanen
* Best offensive pair - Orlov-Carlson
* Defensive third pair - Orpik-Schmidt

Orpik has the hitting and net-front-clearing strengths Schmidt is weak on, while Schmidt has the speed and stronger breakout pass that Orpik doesn't excel at - in a sense this pairing might actually work well, because if Orpik is going to step up to make a hit and cause a 2-on-1 (as has often happened), you don't necessarily want one of your most offensively-minded D-men (more likely to be out of position) partnered with him. With focus and work, Orpik-Schmidt could actually make a good secondary shutdown pair to free up Orlov-Carlson for more offensive-zone starts.

That said, Orlov-Carlson makes me nervous. I don't want Carlson to be on a leash because his D partner can't be trusted to cover for him when he pinches, and there's not been much evidence yet that Orlov is a smart hockey D-man. But we'll see.

Alzner-Niskanen was so strong last season, it's not surprising they're reluctant to split them up.

Again, seeing what works in practice will be best but I feel like Alzner-Carlson and Orlov-Niskanen complement each other better. Carlson joins the rush frequently and Alzner is a perfect match for this since he rarely joins the rush (but can distribute the puck fairly well). Similarly, Orlov joins the rush and while Niskanen can also do that, it's not really something he does very frequently.

Alzner-Niskanen is a great defensive pairing but their ability to generate offense from the backend is limited. As a #1 pairing it harms the Capitals ability to generate offense in transition. Meanwhile, both Carlson and Orlov are suspect defensively and both seem like they would prefer to be the ones to join the rush, so I imagine chemistry might be a little more difficult to develop.

It's pretty surprising to me.

Alzner-Niskanen is a known quantity by now. If the team is floundering and it must be done, there's no reason they can't reunite in the second half of the season, but for now I see no reason why they wouldn't be expanding the players' comfort zones.

This also. Hopefully it's a one game thing and they shake up the defensive pairings next preseason game. Alzner-Carlson haven't really played together for 3 seasons so while I expect they will be able to get their chemistry pretty quickly, there's bound to be a little bit of rust between them. Might as well try to get some of that out of the way during the preseason. Meanwhile, Alzner and Niskanen have played together almost exclusively for 2 seasons straight.

 

[txpd]

Surprised they are trying Orlov-Carlson instead of Orlov-Niskanen. Guess it's worth trying everything but I want to see Alzner-Carlson and Orlov-Niskanen at some point during the preseason.

Niskanen is their shutdown puck mover. They are going to use Alzner to shutdown opposing #1 lines. They are going to use Carlson, their top offensive defenseman, in more offensive situations. More offensive zone starts.

I am sure they want to see if playing with Orlov will adversely effect Carlson's production or whether it enhances it. Certainly pairing Carlson with Alzner for shutdown duty means more defensive zone starts and less focus on scoring. When Alzner and Niskanen are on the ice, their priority is not offense. Its defense.

 

[trick9]

Anyone has the Blues line-up for this one?

 

[richele]

Here is the projected Blues lineup for tonight's game:

Forwards:
Kenny Agostino, Ivan Barbashev, Patrik Berglund, Samuel Blais, Kyle Brodziak, Landon Ferraro, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jori Lehtera, Magnus Paajarvi, David Perron, Ty Rattie, Ryan Reaves and Scottie Upshall

Defense:
Robert Bortuzzo, Joel Edmundson, Carl Gunnarsson, Colton Parayko, Jordan Schmaltz, Kevin Shattenkirk, Mike Weber

Goalies:
Carter Hutton, Jordan Binnington

 

[John Price]

At game. They took all the regular season banners down time to make a statement that only playoffs matter
Quote Edit

 

[Calicaps]

At game. They took all the regular season banners down time to make a statement that only playoffs matter
Quote Edit

I endorse that move in a huge way.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

At game. They took all the regular season banners down time to make a statement that only playoffs matter
Quote Edit

Great. Screw the SE division championships and the PT. It's all about the retired numbers and the Cup banners.

Mike Weber playing for the Blues, I hope we make his life miserable for crapping the bed in the playoffs last year.

 

[Dream Big]

Can anyone point me in the direction of the box scores?

I'm looking for play by play etc. and not finding it.

 

[g00n]

nice drive-by, Chorney

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Chorney schooled by Jaskin

 

[Dream Big]

nice drive-by, Chorney

Where was Schmidt?

 

[g00n]

Where was Schmidt?

attempting a shot block higher in the slot