GDT: carolina @ washington - Game 7

[HanSolo]

Thanks, friend. And condolences. That was the HEIGHT of sports pain --which hits us all one time or another. Be well!

I mean. 20 years of being a Ducks fan I've never felt something so shitty. Not even when Anaheim traded Teemu Selanne to the Sharks.

But all the same I got you guys as my East team. I just gotta root for Colorado for justice's sake too.

 

[rainband]

I don't see how you could blame him for McGinn's tip in 2OT, Teuvo's laser, and Aho's rebound goal.

Interesting. On the Aho SHG it looked to me like the initial shot was a muffin and Holtby somehow managed to ladle the thing right back onto Aho's stick. Not sure if there was something deceptive about the first shot or if it was just an outright error, but he gifted that rebound to Aho.

 

[tarheelhockey]

What’s crazy to me is how stone cold they were the second OT started. Aside from the Saku penalty, they were focused and composed the whole way through. They made sure there was only going to be one team winning that one once it went to extra time.

Guess it’s easy to not be shaken or rattled in those circumstances when a barn is as quiet as it was last night.

This is one of the advantages of being a 'system' team rather than a 'talent' team like the Caps.

How many times in OT did a Cap player have the puck in scoring position and either peel back from the net or go completely wide? How many icings did they commit? It's one thing to gamble on your skillset in a low-pressure scenario, but double-OT as the defending champ about to get knocked out... anyone who's not a stone-cold psycho is going to be impacted by that. You could visibly see them beginning to overthink what they were trying to do with the puck, and it had a deflating effect as the time dragged on.

Canes were almost unconscious at times. Just sending pucks to a space, knowing that a teammate would be there to retrieve it. They're VERY good at sending the puck along the boards or through the air with just the right amount of touch to be retrievable. That was happening almost nonstop in OT, the D breaking a forecheck with a soft dump that was immediately retrieved. I think we outraced two icings in the second OT that way. Nobody thinking too much... just putting the puck in a safe place, or skating like hell to the place where the puck would arrive. That's almost pressure-proof.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

One other thing. I just perused the Caps post game thread. A number of them have called out Holtby for a mediocre playoff performance. I wonder - were we watching the same game? I thought Holtby and Mrazek were absolutely stellar all series long. Without Holtby's excellent saves and rebound control, I would wager we would have won the game much sooner in OT. I just thought that was crazy. I get that Holtby could have stopped Staal's goal, but his shot was a good snipe. Holtby misplayed the angle and wasn't well positioned, but it was a tough read. I don't see how you could blame him for McGinn's tip in 2OT, Teuvo's laser, and Aho's rebound goal.

See, I'd say if he were 100% on top of his game, the Staal goal, the Aho goal and the TT goal were all stoppable.

He played well in OT, but those three were definitely not his best work. The Aho goal, especially, was just soft. Looked like he tried to glove it, it bounced out and went right back to Aho's stick.

I can see where they're coming from.

 

[bleedgreen]

See, I'd say if he were 100% on top of his game, the Staal goal, the Aho goal and the TT goal were all stoppable.

He played well in OT, but those three were definitely not his best work. The Aho goal, especially, was just soft. Looked like he tried to glove it, it bounced out and went right back to Aho's stick.

I can see where they're coming from.

Aho's goal was a complete f*** up. He was clearly trying to feed it to a breaking TT and one of two things happened. He completely flubbed the pass and it went to Holtby first or it deflected off the sliding d off target and straight to Holtby. Either way, Holtby read Aho's intentions like everyone else did and was caught off guard when it went straight to him instead. A fluttery bouncy thing instead of a shot as well, those are hard to control.

I don't know that I would blame Holtby on that one, none of that was as intended.

Now the Staal goal, you can blame Holtby all day for that shit! It's a smart shot, really the only shot for a lefty from that space but Holtby knows that and somehow was completely off his angle.

 

[Lempo]

Aho's goal was a complete **** up. He was clearly trying to feed it to a breaking TT and one of two things happened. He completely flubbed the pass and it went to Holtby first or it deflected off the sliding d off target and straight to Holtby. Either way, Holtby read Aho's intentions like everyone else did and was caught off guard when it went straight to him instead. A fluttery bouncy thing instead of a shot as well, those are hard to control.

I don't know that I would blame Holtby on that one, none of that was as intended.

Now the Staal goal, you can blame Holtby all day for that ****! It's a smart shot, really the only shot for a lefty from that space but Holtby knows that and somehow was completely off his angle.

So my fear about moving him to center became reality, and Aho became Mikael Granlund who also accidentally scores when trying for a pass.

 

[brian_griffin]

Still waiting on that extra gear the Caps fans were telling us about

One might even say the "clutch" was broken... (pun intended)

 

[McBrockGinn]

Didn't watch the game. What'd I miss?

 

[SlavinAway]

Didn't watch the game. What'd I miss?

You're a hero!

 

[Bramskii]

Are there any highlights of this game with John Forslund commentary?

 

[Highway29]

It took me almost all day to get thru this thread but it was worth it.

I lost myself when I saw Brocks goal. My GF had prepared herself for it as she had checked out who won beforehand so she knew I'd go nuts instead being depressed the rest of the day. Oh boy I yelled and jumped..

I'll say no bad word about Brock, well at least not this year. I think Caps played real great series (annoying and tough too) as we did too and that made our players seem worse than they are at times and it's ok.

I loved the effort and now we're playing constantly on our overtime and I'll just keep enjoying the ride.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Are there any highlights of this game with John Forslund commentary?

Might want to give those a look through.

 

[MinJaBen]

 

[HisIceness]

Didn't watch the game. What'd I miss?

Some stickpuckers from Raleigh beat the defending champs or something.

 

[HisIceness]

The nation is taking notice of these jerks.

 

[RodTheBawd]

It will be changed. They don't actually schedule games 5, 6, and 7 until they are confirmed to be played.

Pshh.. what would you know about playoffs?

I was coming here this morning to ask if anyone else had noticed this. They are nearly identical. Off the same foot from the same wing to exact same part of the net. I think Eric’s may have been from a sharper angle, only difference.

I'm too lazy to embed the videos, but the releases were within 3 feet of each other. Eric's was juuuust a touch deeper and he went between the blocker and right pad, Jordan's was above the blocker. Unreal how similar they are.

 

[Ladyfan]

Bruins fan here. Congrats on beating the Caps !

 

[SlavinAway]

Bruins fan here. Congrats on beating the Caps !

Thanks for raking the Leaves!

 

[Ladyfan]

Thanks for raking the Leaves!

No problem. Better your team than the Bruins with the Caps. We always have a problem with them.
Thanks for taking them out.

 

[McBrockGinn]

Some stickpuckers from Raleigh beat the defending champs or something.

Sounds like a pretty good night.

 

[RodTheBawd]

No problem. Better your team than the Bruins with the Caps. We always have a problem with them.
Thanks for taking them out.

So you're happy because you think we're the easier out? f*** outta here. (insert half sarcasm emoji).

I look forward to the matchup with our Wild Card brethren.

 

[Svechhammer]

Tell me you wouldn't run through a brick wall for that coach. Damn, what a great hire he was.

 

[Ladyfan]

So you're happy because you think we're the easier out? **** outta here. (insert half sarcasm emoji).

I look forward to the matchup with our Wild Card brethren.

Nope. The Bruins just can't ever beat the Caps .

It has been an interesting post season. I thought Tampa would beat everyone so shows what I know.

 

[jerksforlife]

Me waking up right now. Life is so much better when the Canes are winning.

Are we really debating a porn star? Who cares.

Debating a porn star for the wrong reasons too, lol

 

[HisIceness]

Sounds like a pretty good night.

10/10 would experience again