Post-Game Talk: Caps @ ducks 930

[bur and 666 others]

being one of the top teams in the giveaways and penalties taken will do this to you at this time in the season. everyone has strengthen their game, rounding to the playoff form and the caps... start with simple, cut the slack! i'm glad they were scored 5 times yesterday, the mistakes they did yesterday are unacceptable at this time in the year. maybe they have been figured out, but it's hard to tell while they are committing so many brain farts resulting to the primary scoring chances and goals.

on the bright side: low expectations, we are prepared to failures lol this board must be an enjoyable read for our rivals' fans... but we haven't lost a single playoff game yet! anything can happen at the playoffs and chockers for life can win the championship.

 

[Capsman]

So, we have May saying that its coaching and we have Orpik saying its priorities. I love Alan May but I am going to go with the guy that doesn't believe in drinking Coca Cola.

He did't blame coaching to this point, he said the solution lies with the coaches.

 

[g00n]

So, we have May saying that its coaching and we have Orpik saying its priorities. I love Alan May but I am going to go with the guy that doesn't believe in drinking Coca Cola.

I think the message is the coaches need to get control of the roster and get them focused again. It's probably no coincidence that this slide coincides directly with their captain having one of his worst stretches as a pro.

 

[Blades of Steel]

I think the message is the coaches need to get control of the roster and get them focused again. It's probably no coincidence that this slide coincides directly with their captain having one of his worst stretches as a pro.

Maybe Ovie has been binge watching march madness, we know he loves some brackets

The whole team needs an awakening, maybe Wilson needs to get faces punched to get some players to wake up.

 

[tycoonheart]

Trotz said if we can't score, we are gonna have to start playing tighter.

Here comes the dump and grind.

 

[Capsman]

Trotz said if we can't score, we are gonna have to start playing tighter.

Here comes the dump and grind.

I think we need to think in terms of scoring opportunities and ditch the "we are snakebitten" mentality. The Pens may go through a period of being snakebitten, but the opportunities and control of play are still there. This is why Flyers fans were saying we are not that great of a team; we have no room for having low shooting percentages or blown opportunities. We are not snakebitten, we are simply not getting a lot of opportunities. At its crux, we need to practice, practice, and practice. And if there is no time to practice now, then we are screwed.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I think we need to think in terms of scoring opportunities and ditch the "we are snakebitten" mentality. The Pens may go through a period of being snakebitten, but the opportunities and control of play are still there. This is why Flyers fans were saying we are not that great of a team; we have no room for having low shooting percentages or blown opportunities. We are not snakebitten, we are simply not getting a lot of opportunities. At its crux, we need to practice, practice, and practice. And if there is no time to practice now, then we are screwed.

We are still getting some opportunities. Just go back to the Stars game, we had the puck on our sticks for the entire second half of the game. We've seen Ovi miss two empty nets, one empty net by Wilson, a few shots off the post by Backstrom and Vrana and two missed breakaways by Oshie.

I don't give a **** what Flyers fans think about us. Nobody has room for having such low shooting percentages. It was insanely high and now it's insanely low. What concerns me is that we're not playing with speed like we used to, therefore our passes get picked off in the neutral zone.

Trotz is right about one thing. Facing adversity before the playoffs is a good thing. We will know everything we need to know about this team in the last remaining 15 games. Either we snap out of that slump and come out as strong as we were before, or we crumble under pressure and lose early in the playoffs.

It's not like last year where losing the last few games didn't bother us at all because we had a 20 point lead over the second place in the standings. We risk losing our first place.

I don't enjoy what's going on right now with this team, I'm very worried but it sure makes things interesting now.

 

[txpd]

Trotz said if we can't score, we are gonna have to start playing tighter.

Here comes the dump and grind.

that's not what he said. per say. tighten up doesn't mean dump and chase....unless you are playing a trap team. by tighten up I would bet he means the opposite of loose. I think he is talking specifically about "being detailed". Make the passes on the tape. Make the right reads. Don't turn the puck over to the opposing top goal scorer 10 feet from the net. Stuff like that.

This is a team that was scoring 5 g a night while holding the best gaa in the league. Tighten up. Pay attention. Focus.

 

[trick9]

I hope the team enjoyed their California -vacation because they completely tanked the games.

 

[Roughing]

We were better when Ovechkin was alive.

 

[RandyHolt]

I would suggest Trotz made some changes during vacation, only we cannot complete passes, pucks are fumbling off sticks, missing shots, blowing our scoring chances... likely our opponents made more changes than we did. I feel like they had to, after they all saw us tie a 100 year old scoring record.

Random thought, it seems like every defensemen that Ovi approaches, seems to have no trouble at all stripping the puck, blocking the shot, or pressures him enough to watch him fumble it away on his own. It's like he is facing wave after wave of Norris zombie clones.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I would suggest Trotz made some changes during vacation, only we cannot complete passes, pucks are fumbling off sticks, missing shots, blowing our scoring chances... likely our opponents made more changes than we did. I feel like they had to, after they all saw us tie a 100 year old scoring record.

Random thought, it seems like every defensemen that Ovi approaches, seems to have no trouble at all stripping the puck, blocking the shot, or pressures him enough to watch him fumble it away on his own. It's like he is facing wave after wave of Norris zombie clones.

Ovi can't burn any decent D one-on-one anymore, it's not a secret to anybody. That's why plugs like Girardi are able to play against him effectively, they know his tendencies and his lack of creativity on the rush.

That's also why he needs to be paired with Kuzy now, because Kuzy can burn any D in this league one-on-one.

Ovechkin is much better as the F3, collecting drop passes for a clear shot on goal.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Random thought, it seems like every defensemen that Ovi approaches, seems to have no trouble at all stripping the puck, blocking the shot, or pressures him enough to watch him fumble it away on his own. It's like he is facing wave after wave of Norris zombie clones.

I'd say that's more of a hockey IQ thing than a physical thing. He used to be able to beat defensemen due to his speed but his moves were often predictable. Now that he's lost a step or two, he hasn't adjusted his game. Facing Ovechkin in a 1 on 1 situation isn't really a problem at all nowadays since his move arsenal is thin. Of course, handling the puck like a grenade doesn't help things, either.

I mean, I always wondered why guys like Dan Girardi, universally regarded as pylons, were usually pretty capable when it came to containing Ovechkin.

Edit: looks like Eazy for Kuzy had the same thought as me regarding Girardi

 

[g00n]

that's not what he said. per say. tighten up doesn't mean dump and chase....unless you are playing a trap team. by tighten up I would bet he means the opposite of loose. I think he is talking specifically about "being detailed". Make the passes on the tape. Make the right reads. Don't turn the puck over to the opposing top goal scorer 10 feet from the net. Stuff like that.

This is a team that was scoring 5 g a night while holding the best gaa in the league. Tighten up. Pay attention. Focus.

He wants to do that stuff anyway. If he's talking about "tighter" as an alternative if the team can't score then logically he's probably thinking about tightening up the defense so they don't need to score as much. A la Boudreau during the losing streaks in his last 2 season.

 

[txpd]

He wants to do that stuff anyway. If he's talking about "tighter" as an alternative if the team can't score then logically he's probably thinking about tightening up the defense so they don't need to score as much. A la Boudreau during the losing streaks in his last 2 season.

yea, but I don't read it that way. I think he is saying they have been sloppy in addition to failing to finish.

but that's just my read.

Example: they were winning 5-0. If they aren't going to get the 5, they need to make sure they get the 0. They were doing both. If they are not going to get one aspect of that right, they need to get the other aspect right.

 

[RandyHolt]

Handling the puck like a grenade seems rather fitting.

#Girardi'd

 

[ovikovy817]

If it's a mental thing, why don't they (Leonsis, GMBM and the coaching staff) just hire a psychologist?

 

[twabby]

Ovi can't burn any decent D one-on-one anymore, it's not a secret to anybody. That's why plugs like Girardi are able to play against him effectively, they know his tendencies and his lack of creativity on the rush.

That's also why he needs to be paired with Kuzy now, because Kuzy can burn any D in this league one-on-one.

Ovechkin is much better as the F3, collecting drop passes for a clear shot on goal.

Good observation, and I think this is why Ovechkin and Backstrom don't work together as well any more. When they are paired together it's almost always Ovechkin who tries to gain the zone with speed with no support. Due to his speed and stickhandling dropping off it seems to result in a turnover far too often, leading to counter-attacks the other way (which may explain why Ovechkin's defensive stats have cratered this season).

He needs someone on his line to enter the zone with speed and Kuznetsov is a perfect fit for this. Even though Ovechkin hasn't scored in the past few games he has been shooting more and getting more dangerous looks while alongside Kuznetsov. I think Trotz needs to stick with 8-92 and resist going back to his comfort zone because he has looked best alongside Kuznetsov over the past two seasons.

On a similar note, poor zone-entries are another reason why I think sitting Schmidt is a pretty big mistake. He along with Orlov are consistently able to threaten with their transition ability from the D, and on the third pairing Schmidt was generally able to take advantage of mismatches playing against weaker competition. He'll play again tomorrow with one game left on Shattenkirk's suspension and if he has another good game like he did against Anaheim then Trotz needs to honestly evaluate the situation and consider sitting one of the veterans, or if he's not willing to do that then I'd consider having 7D in the lineup and sitting a forward (probably Vrana). Carlson and Alzner are proving to be huge liabilities at even strength and it's tough to justify all of the ice time they have been receiving. The coaches need to play the best players, and right now Schmidt is one of their 6 best defensemen even when you include Shattenkirk. To have an option like that sitting in the press box is willfully making your team worse.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

If it's a mental thing, why don't they (Leonsis, GMBM and the coaching staff) just hire a psychologist?

Do we know they haven't?

 

[marcel snapshot]

On a similar note, poor zone-entries are another reason why I think sitting Schmidt is a pretty big mistake. He along with Orlov are consistently able to threaten with their transition ability from the D, and on the third pairing Schmidt was generally able to take advantage of mismatches playing against weaker competition. He'll play again tomorrow with one game left on Shattenkirk's suspension and if he has another good game like he did against Anaheim then Trotz needs to honestly evaluate the situation and consider sitting one of the veterans, or if he's not willing to do that then I'd consider having 7D in the lineup and sitting a forward (probably Vrana). Carlson and Alzner are proving to be huge liabilities at even strength and it's tough to justify all of the ice time they have been receiving. The coaches need to play the best players, and right now Schmidt is one of their 6 best defensemen even when you include Shattenkirk. To have an option like that sitting in the press box is willfully making your team worse.

Braintrust seems oddly vested in having Schmidt be the 7D, even though at ES he's playing better than everyone but Nisky and Orlov. Maybe that wouldn't be the case if he was forced to play against what Carlson and Alzner go up against, but since the trade deadline at ES, as between Orpik, Shattenkirk and Schmidt, Schmidt has looked the least bad.

 

[Langway]

Do we know they haven't?

They don't list one in their staff directory and reports involving individual players using one (Burakovsky, Holtby) suggest they've been unaffiliated with the organization. Nonetheless, they may employ a consultant but it's never been publicized from what I recall. It's not a mandatory thing even when teams employ them so it only pays off to the extent you have players self-aware enough to realize a benefit (or have teammates that suggest it to them and there's an openness generally). I'd guess based on their concepts, communication and ease in becoming frustrated this still isn't much of an area of focus for them collectively.

The Blackhawks list two "mental skills" coaches. Pittsburgh lists a Director of Sport Science and Performance, which may be similarly useful without the head-shrinking type connotations.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Seems more likely it would be a consulting position than a full time one. Maybe that should change?! Lol...

I feel like it's been mentioned in the press before.

 

[Langway]

They've had people talk to the group at times whether it's development camps or in the pre-season but beyond that I don't recall specific mention of someone with a permanent role. I mean, Korn serves that function with the goalies since it's such a fine-tuned position. Player development personnel and other coaches can offer similar wisdom on a folksy level but I'd guess that's it aside from a particular player seeking out a recommendation. The front office surely has the resources to help any player but, again, I don't think it's an active component beyond whatever mantras the coaching staff is using or the typical camp lecturer.

 

[txpd]

So, we are saying that Carlson or Alzner need to be scratched in favor of Schmidt?

 

[marcel snapshot]

Not what I'm saying right now, since I specifically noted that Carlzner typically face the opponent's top line, so comparison may not be apt. But as between Orpik, Shatty, and Schmidt, the latter has looked the least bad at ES since the trade deadline (admittedly he's only played 2 games, so sample size is a bit small). While he's in the lineup now because of Shatty's suspension, it feels to me like management pigeon-holed Schmidt as the odd guy out 7D - regardless of how other Ds play or irrespective of whether his skating legs and agility might be assets the group needs more at this moment (where we are not generating offense from the back or transitioning well) than, say, Orpik's grit and experience.

To me, it's like they locked onto Shatty and Orpik playing together, and they don't want to experiment with other configurations unless forced to by exogenous events.