Post-Game Talk: Boston Patriots @ Champs - 12:30pm

[Carlzner]

Kempny is not a top 4 defenseman. Plain and simple. He is a glorified 5 that in a limited role can a even strength minutes with a Norris Trophy level partner.

Normally I like your posts but you are really jumping off the deep end today.

 

[traparatus]

Teacher's pet is an understatement. He can play like **** for more than a month, lose in OT pretty much on his own and never even get a blemish forget about a benching. It's the story of his career.

Kuz wins the last game and gets benched in this one for taking a penalty.

I assume there have been internal discussions and mandate has been given from coaching stuff to stop taking lazy stick penalties.

I don't think Kuznetsov got benched for taking one penalty. He got benched for been one of worst penalty takers in the whole league and none of them are what I would call 'good' penalties. It wasn't much of benching, anyway.

Also, while I agree with you that Backstrom has greatly under-performed over the recent stretch of games, it's most definitely not 'the story of his career'.

 

[Portable Mink]

Lot of drama in here. I get it. But I think a lot of what is being said is reaching for reasons instead of accepting the simple fact that we are not playing consistent, high tempo, playoff hockey.

Think back to dumping it in and Wilson being on the forecheck scaring the bejesus out of defenders. Same for Ovi and even DSP. Enough of the cute hockey! That hockey opens up when you grind out leads and play heavy to put opposition on their heels.

Get back to playing heavy CONSISTENTLY. Not patches or after an intermission chat.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

I don't want to state the obvious here but you did watch the Caps last season correct?

I know what you are trying to say, but I have concerns with comparing last season to this season. Especially since we know how things played out last season - it's etched in the history books.
This season is a different beast, IMHO.

Last season the Caps had two occasions when they lost 3 in a row. Interestingly, it was OT loss, Reg loss, SO loss, and OT loss, Reg loss, OT loss. Hmm, look at that, they actually gained a point in FOUR of those six losses.
What is my takeaway from the above? Well, even when they were losing they were very competitive and and four of those six losses could easily have been wins.

This season they have put together one 3 game losing streak - Reg loss, reg loss, OT loss.
They also just emerged from a - ugghh - 7 game losing streak, of which only 2 games were OT losses.
Other things that make this season different: the coach is TR, and whether people here like it or not, there are question marks. How does he differ from Trotz, how do the players respond, what does he do / not do to shake things up? I can't answer that and nobody
else here can - and rightly so. But it has to be noted as a difference between last year's team and this year's.
Finally, and most importantly (again IMHO): last season's Caps had accomplished NOTHING. They had everything in the world to play for, to motivate them, and that is why they won a Cup.
They can't say that this year - they'll have to say something else or find something else to motivate them and find that spark, that drive. I imagine that is extremely difficult to do, and that's why back to backs are very rare these days.
Chicago and LA both needed a losing season in order to come back and win another Cup.

So there you go. Sorry for the long-ish post - but that's why I don't necessarily believe THIS season's team can just "flip a switch" when it's time for the playoffs. But hey I could be wrong, and happy to be if that's the case.

 

[Bananas]

I don’t think anyone would argue that the Caps, as they are playing right now, are winning diddly pooh.

They seem to be rebuilding their game somewhat but have a ways to go before it’s anywhere near where it needs to be to have any chance to contend.

I personally have faith that the Caps will be playing reasonably well by the time this season’s over and the playoffs begin. At that point I imagine they’ll be a pretty tough out.

I could definitely be wrong though...

 

[Sam Spade]

I should preface all of my Capitals posts with I know they aren't winning the Stanley Cup this year so maybe I come at it differently than some other posters.

My expectations/hopes are Ovie scores 50, Ovie wins Rocket, Caps make the playoffs. That's it. And the the playoff thing is only to avoid "they won the Cup and missed the playoffs the following season" narrative.

My passion for the Caps will always be high but I feel like the pinnacle has been reached and it's all down hill from here.

 

[Melkor]

Sometimes good teams with defensive skill play a system that dares you to carry. You have to dump it in. Challenge it and you drive right into the teeth of their defense. You know that.

Second. The Caps are or are near the biggest team in the league. Dumping it in and working over their defense wears teams down. Its how the Caps won the cup last year.

Remember Kuzy's beat the Penguins goal? That was the Caps playing the dump it or get killed defense. They didn't dump it in and they died for it

You seem to be saying that a good passing team can throw right into the teeth of the coverage and beat it. That's nuts

I'm talking about a systematic problem with zone entries, not particularly about this game. You can play the way you talking about in a short playoff type of tournament but you cant just bet on dump and chase in a long regular season run. They have this problem both on the PP and ES. This team might be big but its also pretty slow. Only Wilson can dump it and give opposition's defense a run for their money in terms of speed to get that puck first. Vrana has the speed but his game doesn't suit for dirty areas well. Overall, it's a slow team and the key for success in a long season is exactly the crisp passing and smarts, it's not the team with a young core or elite skaters to play 100 games in seek and destroy style. It's also not that teams suddenly smartened up this year and started clogging up neutral zone and all that shit. If anything, everyone is scoring at a higher pace this year. Something is not working in the Caps own game and that doesn't have anything to do with other teams imo. Nothing can change that drastically in approach of opposition in a span of one year.

 

[Melkor]

Kempny is not a top 4 defenseman. Plain and simple. He is a glorified 5 that in a limited role can a even strength minutes with a Norris Trophy level partner.

That is a bad take if you watched this team this season. A really bad take.

 

[shtorm2005]

I know what you are trying to say, but I have concerns with comparing last season to this season. Especially since we know how things played out last season - it's etched in the history books.
This season is a different beast, IMHO.

Last season the Caps had two occasions when they lost 3 in a row. Interestingly, it was OT loss, Reg loss, SO loss, and OT loss, Reg loss, OT loss. Hmm, look at that, they actually gained a point in FOUR of those six losses.
What is my takeaway from the above? Well, even when they were losing they were very competitive and and four of those six losses could easily have been wins.

This season they have put together one 3 game losing streak - Reg loss, reg loss, OT loss.
They also just emerged from a - ugghh - 7 game losing streak, of which only 2 games were OT losses.
Other things that make this season different: the coach is TR, and whether people here like it or not, there are question marks. How does he differ from Trotz, how do the players respond, what does he do / not do to shake things up? I can't answer that and nobody
else here can - and rightly so. But it has to be noted as a difference between last year's team and this year's.
Finally, and most importantly (again IMHO): last season's Caps had accomplished NOTHING. They had everything in the world to play for, to motivate them, and that is why they won a Cup.
They can't say that this year - they'll have to say something else or find something else to motivate them and find that spark, that drive. I imagine that is extremely difficult to do, and that's why back to backs are very rare these days.
Chicago and LA both needed a losing season in order to come back and win another Cup.

So there you go. Sorry for the long-ish post - but that's why I don't necessarily believe THIS season's team can just "flip a switch" when it's time for the playoffs. But hey I could be wrong, and happy to be if that's the case.

Also, I remember, Holtby was letting softies left and right. This year he's not bad which means it's overall game that is not working.

 

[maacoshark]

I don't want to state the obvious here but you did watch the Caps last season correct?

Dude the Caps had over 100 points and won their division. Its not like they just coasted through the regular season. They did have some struggles throughout the season but nothing like this season.

 

[maacoshark]

That is a bad take if you watched this team this season. A really bad take.

Why is that a bad take?

 

[maacoshark]

Kempny is not a top 4 defenseman. Plain and simple. He is a glorified 5 that in a limited role can a even strength minutes with a Norris Trophy level partner.

I actually agree with that. I think he has benefitted being paired with Carlson. He didnt look good when he was paired with Niskanen.

 

[Melkor]

Why is that a bad take?

Because Kempny is absolutely the top-4 D on the Caps' depth chart and he's proving it this season. I'd say he's the second best D on the team both offensively and defensively.

 

[Portable Mink]

I'm talking about a systematic problem with zone entries, not particularly about this game. You can play the way you said in a short playoff type of tournament but you cant just bet on dump and chase in a long regular season run. They have this problem both on the PP and ES. This team might be big but its also pretty slow. Only Wilson can dump it and give opposition's defense a run for their money in terms of speed to get that puck first. Vrana has the speed but his game doesn't suit for dirty areas well. Overall, it's a slow team and the key for success in a long season is exactly the crisp passing and smarts, it's not the team with a young core or elite skaters to play 100 games in seek and destroy style. It's also not that teams suddenly smartened up this year and started clogging up neutral zone and all that ****. If anything, everyone is scoring at a higher pace this year. Something is not working in the Caps own game and that doesn't have anything to do with other teams imo. Nothing can change that drastically in approach of opposition in a span of one year.

Disagree. Of course you can dump the puck in every game when they opposition is stacking the blue line? It’s situational and we are not making situational decisions, we are trying to get what we want over and over and not adapting to a scenario.

Only Wilson? He’s our best sure but Vrana is deceptively good at board battles and stealing the puck and making it very hard for defenders to get a clean play. Kuzy has the ability when he wants to, Bing does, DSP does as we saw in playoffs and Line 3 is the only line missing here to do that. Burky tries. To say we aren’t quick is silly when we’d have speed on every line.

 

[txpd]

Normally I like your posts but you are really jumping off the deep end today.

How am I jumping off the deep end? Explain that. He looked nervous and defeated. I was not expecting that when I went to look at it.

 

[txpd]

Because Kempny is absolutely the top-4 D on the Caps' depth chart and he's proving it this season. I'd say he's the second best D on the team both offensively and defensively.

Well we all have our opinions. Don't we?

 

[Melkor]

Disagree. Of course you can dump the puck in every game when they opposition is stacking the blue line? It’s situational and we are not making situational decisions, we are trying to get what we want over and over and not adapting to a scenario.

Only Wilson? He’s our best sure but Vrana is deceptively good at board battles and stealing the puck and making it very hard for defenders to get a clean play. Kuzy has the ability when he wants to, Bing does, DSP does as we saw in playoffs and Line 3 is the only line missing here to do that. Burky tries. To say we aren’t quick is silly when we’d have speed on every line.

Vrana is not that type of hockey player, plain and simple. He's the guy for a quick strike offense, I don't know why would anyone argue with that, he's not a grinder and not a 2 way player. He doesn't have a big body. Kuzy is offense only player, 'when he wants to' means he rarely does so he doesnt fit that type of player either. I don't know who is Bing, DSP is a borderline NHLer who's had his finest hour in the last playoff, I've been saying that since right after they won the Cup and stand by it. Burky is a borderline NHLer, aint good enough for both top-6 and bottom-6, doesnt have the balance to compete along the boards with big dudes, he's one of the easiest guys to push off the puck.. Also: in what world DSP is quick? He's fat and out of shape. In no universe he's quick nor he fast.

 

[Hivemind]

Kuzy shouldn't have benched. Second period was a waste of time because of that.

He was benched in the 1st period, not the 2nd

 

[shtorm2005]

He was benched in the 1st period, not the 2nd

My mistake, sorry.

 

[Calicaps]

Kempny is not a top 4 defenseman. Plain and simple. He is a glorified 5 that in a limited role can a even strength minutes with a Norris Trophy level partner.

Gotta disagree here. He's probably better suited as 3-4 than a top-pair guy, but I think he's solidly a top 4. I will grant you that he makes some goofy mistakes, but I also think one of his best skills is recovering in many of those moments.

I don't want to state the obvious here but you did watch the Caps last season correct?

Well, to be fair, I don't think it's about throwing a switch at all. It's about ramping up. They were tired and playing like crap before the break. They came back ready to get started and played a very solid game vs. Calgary. They regressed a bit vs. Boston, but still only allowed one goal against. But it's not going to be a straight line back to their A game, so that's ok.

 

[Portable Mink]

Vrana is not that type of hockey player, plain and simple. He's the guy for a quick strike offense, I don't know why would anyone argue with that, he's not a grinder and not a 2 way player. He doesn't have a big body. Kuzy is offense only player, 'when he wants to' means he rarely does so he doesnt fit that type of player either. I don't know who is Bing, DSP is a borderline NHLer who's had his finest hour in the last playoff, I've been saying that since right after they won the Cup and stand by it. Burky is a borderline NHLer, aint good enough for both top-6 and bottom-6, doesnt have the balance to compete along the boards with big dudes, he's one of the easiest guys to push off the puck.. Also: in what world DSP is quick? He's fat and out of shape. In no universe he's quick nor he fast.

Vrana is absolutely that kind of player! Yes he’s quickand agile and silky but his work down low and on the forecheck is fantastic. Has resulted in many scoring opportunities. Just because his style says skill player doesn’t mean he doesn’t have other qualities. Backstrom is our best down low, is that a natural correlation to him being ‘gritty’ or our biggest? No.

Kuzy totally has those skills too. Not sure why you are arguing that skill players can’t be good forecheckers. It’s wrong. DSP was in hard on the forecheck during the playoffs and hitting hard. Go back and watch. It’s about timing as much as pace.

 

[Melkor]

Vrana is absolutely that kind of player! Yes he’s quickand agile and silky but his work down low and on the forecheck is fantastic. Has resulted in many scoring opportunities. Just because his style says skill player doesn’t mean he doesn’t have other qualities. Backstrom is our best down low, is that a natural correlation to him being ‘gritty’ or our biggest? No.

Kuzy totally has those skills too. Not sure why you are arguing that skill players can’t be good forecheckers. It’s wrong. DSP was in hard on the forecheck during the playoffs and hitting hard. Go back and watch. It’s about timing as much as pace.

I guess we have a different view on who's a good player for dump and chase. Backstrom is slower than my granny. That puck would be out of the zone before he reaches the end board.

 

[Portable Mink]

Which is why I didn’t suggest him. He’s also a Centre. I mentioned Kuzy cos he often dumps and chases to himself which works better than carrying in when the d and F are standing up

 

[Melkor]

When an offensive player of Kuznetsov's level playing dump and chase rather than creating offense like he usually does, you know that team is in deep trouble.

 

[shtorm2005]

When an offensive player of Kuznetsov's level playing dump and chase rather than creating offense like he usually does, you know that team is in deep trouble.

I think it depends where he's starting offense. If in own zone, then he dumps because opponent team is ready, if at center, he can cross blue line with it. The reason, probably, he's not getting the puck at center ice anymore.