ECQF: (1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC1) Columbus Blue Jackets | Caps Lead Series 3-2

[smokingwriter]

Ovechkin makes his teammates have assists.

I consider Ovechkin the 2nd-best LW of all-time, just behind Hull (who mostly gets the nod since he was somewhat better away from the puck, and was much better in international competition than Ovechkin has ever been, while being a comparable gunner). But just posting up and blasting away doesn't seem the optimal strategy for helping your club win - neither does throwing out the occasional big hit that takes you well out of position. He's just never been able to integrate his individual game into a team game. You have to let your great stars do what they do best, but Ovi plays a pretty static, predictable game and there's not much else on offer when he isn't scoring goals.

You never saw him, and you never will see him, remodel (or try to remodel) his game the way Crosby did. Don't think that example doesn't have an impact upon teammates. I am no Pittsburgh fan, but the players in that room watched Crosby come back from multiple concussions (and a neck fracture) that would have ended the careers of numerous other players. They've seen him take hits to make plays, and sacrifice personal stats to help the team win. I'm not sure that Ovi (who could be a great guy for all I know) has ever been held in the same esteem by his teammates, or been the same leader.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

I consider Ovechkin the 2nd-best LW of all-time, just behind Hull (who mostly gets the nod since he was somewhat better away from the puck, and was much better in international competition than Ovechkin has ever been, while being a comparable gunner). But just posting up and blasting away doesn't seem the optimal strategy for helping your club win - neither does throwing out the occasional big hit that takes you well out of position. He's just never been able to integrate his individual game into a team game. You have to let your great stars do what they do best, but Ovi plays a pretty static, predictable game and there's not much else on offer when he isn't scoring goals.

You never saw him, and you never will see him, remodel (or try to remodel) his game the way Crosby did. Don't think that example doesn't have an impact upon teammates. I am no Pittsburgh fan, but the players in that room watched Crosby come back from multiple concussions (and a neck fracture) that would have ended the careers of numerous other players. They've seen him take hits to make plays, and sacrifice personal stats to help the team win. I'm not sure that Ovi (who could be a great guy for all I know) has ever been held in the same esteem by his teammates, or been the same leader.

Yeah, you're right. I'm just saying Ovechkin helps the team get better 0.001% of the time.

 

[illpucks]

Burakovsky is done for the series. Bye bye Washington

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Burakovsky is done for the series. Bye bye Washington

What?

 

[g00n]

Caps have more talent, but there is something fundamentally wrong with the culture in that dressing room. Is it because of too many years of coddling Ovechkin? Is it something else entirely? I don't know. But this club has arguably possessed more talent than Crosby's Penguins over the past decade, and has nothing to show for it. For some reason, Crosby makes those around him better than they would be otherwise, while Ovechkin does not.

Uh huh. Nice first post.

I consider Ovechkin the 2nd-best LW of all-time, just behind Hull (who mostly gets the nod since he was somewhat better away from the puck, and was much better in international competition than Ovechkin has ever been, while being a comparable gunner). But just posting up and blasting away doesn't seem the optimal strategy for helping your club win - neither does throwing out the occasional big hit that takes you well out of position. He's just never been able to integrate his individual game into a team game. You have to let your great stars do what they do best, but Ovi plays a pretty static, predictable game and there's not much else on offer when he isn't scoring goals.

You never saw him, and you never will see him, remodel (or try to remodel) his game the way Crosby did. Don't think that example doesn't have an impact upon teammates. I am no Pittsburgh fan, but the players in that room watched Crosby come back from multiple concussions (and a neck fracture) that would have ended the careers of numerous other players. They've seen him take hits to make plays, and sacrifice personal stats to help the team win. I'm not sure that Ovi (who could be a great guy for all I know) has ever been held in the same esteem by his teammates, or been the same leader.

This one's a beauty, too.
LOL

So much CONCERN.

 

[Bladerunner]

Caps have more talent, but there is something fundamentally wrong with the culture in that dressing room. Is it because of too many years of coddling Ovechkin? Is it something else entirely? I don't know. But this club has arguably possessed more talent than Crosby's Penguins over the past decade, and has nothing to show for it. For some reason, Crosby makes those around him better than they would be otherwise, while Ovechkin does not.

You can only improve from that.
Pitt has possessed at least as much talent as the Caps plus have the edge in the ref department. Which is usually enough to tip the balance between competitive teams. In the Philly-Pitt thread a fan showed a clip of the "great" Crosby with an amateurish and cringe worthy dive that, of course, drew no call. You'd think with all the practice 87 has had his diving "skills" would be better. For some reason, St Sid thinks he has to play that way. Why not, he gets away with it.

Anyway I think Malkin makes Crosby better. Just about every 87 goal in their series has been when the game was out of reach in garbage time

Back to what might be the best first round series in the NHL

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Caps dominated game 4. Jackets looked sluggish and the passing was bad. Let's hope the away team winning trend continues into g5.

I've been pleased with Bob's play. Team needs to help him out more.

Tsk. Only thing that matters is the Caps. Jackets are mere bystanders in this series. If Caps play bad, they lose. If Caps play good, they win. Has nothing to do with the CBJ. Game 4 had nothing to do with Jackets giving a poor effort but everything to do withCaps finally establishing their true dominance.

 

[traparatus]

Tsk. Only thing that matters is the Caps. Jackets are mere bystanders in this series. If Caps play bad, they lose. If Caps play good, they win. Has nothing to do with the CBJ. Game 4 had nothing to do with Jackets giving a poor effort but everything to do withCaps finally establishing their true dominance.

Finally someone in this thread is making some sense.

 

[CanuckCity]

Best series of the playoffs by far (and only really good one tbh). Will be extremely disappointed if we dont see a game 7. Should probably go to OT too.

 

[Fataldogg]

A rested, sharp play Holtby is the difference maker. He has outplayed Bob in this series. Good goaltending duel. I think the Capitals win this. When Holtby is on in the playoffs, the Capitals are a tough team to beat.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Finally someone in this thread is making some sense.

What do you mean? I learned all that stuff in this thread.

 

[kmart]

A rested, sharp play Holtby is the difference maker. He has outplayed Bob in this series. Good goaltending duel. I think the Capitals win this. When Holtby is on in the playoffs, the Capitals are a tough team to beat.

i would argue that bobrovsky had to do more than holtby, he was making split saves vs ovechkin and got beaten by deflections while holtby saved pucks with his shaft... the caps had the luck on their side today, they will need more than holtby to beat a team in a series.

 

[Sam Spade]

Caps have more talent, but there is something fundamentally wrong with the culture in that dressing room. Is it because of too many years of coddling Ovechkin? Is it something else entirely? I don't know. But this club has arguably possessed more talent than Crosby's Penguins over the past decade, and has nothing to show for it. For some reason, Crosby makes those around him better than they would be otherwise, while Ovechkin does not.

For some reason? I can tell you the reason, his name is Evgeni Malkin. Do you seriously think the Pens have a Cup without Malkin (or Malkin has a Cup without Crosby)?

Two of the best players that have played in the NHL in the last twenty years play on the SAME TEAM. If they could have stayed healthy they would have another Cup or two.

 

[JeremyTB]

I can't believe there is still a Crosby vs Ovi debate. Speaking as a neutral fan since I am not a Caps or Pens fan there is no debate on who the better player is. When Crosby is at his best he is almost impossible to stop. You never see that with Ovi when he is at his best. He's a nightmare for goalies but not defenders. Ovi is not a hard guy to defend like Crosby is. You can get the puck off of Ovi pretty easily when he is not shooting it. Then you can take everything else into consideration such as defensive responsibilities and faceoffs and such and it becomes more lopsided.

 

[Tofveve]

Congrats Caps! Feels good they won in OT in their own house. Good for the fans.

 

[CarolinaBlueJacket]

I can't believe there is still a Crosby vs Ovi debate. Speaking as a neutral fan since I am not a Caps or Pens fan there is no debate on who the better player is. When Crosby is at his best he is almost impossible to stop. You never see that with Ovi when he is at his best. He's a nightmare for goalies but not defenders. Ovi is not a hard guy to defend like Crosby is. You can get the puck off of Ovi pretty easily when he is not shooting it. Then you can take everything else into consideration such as defensive responsibilities and faceoffs and such and it becomes more lopsided.

Try being the other team in the series where the Caps fans spend more time talking about the Pens than they do the Jackets.

To be a Jackets fan: It's like watching Rudy but there is no respect at the end.

 

[Licentia]

So again, the Capitals needed time to get their butts in gear. Why the motivation issues the last 3+ years? Against Toronto last year, they needed 6 games. Against Philadelphia the year before, they needed 6 games.

Actually, it's much worse than just the past 3+ years! I'm looking back through the Capitals past Playoff history right now, and it seems the team has never swept a '7 game series,' at any time in it's history. That is unbelievable! They did manage two '5 game series' sweeps in the mid 1980s though, but never a '7 game series,' not ever!

All of this suggests that for whatever reason, this team will at times lack the motivation to get the job done. They don't play hard when they should, and then it catches up with them. It's exactly similar to what is happening to Nashville right now. The Preds couldn't get their butts in gear, and now they are facing a confident Avalanche team, with a goaltender capable of stealing that series!

 

[JamieG19]

The post game with Trotz shows why the Caps won't go far.

Post game, analysts are raving about what a good game Kutznetsev played, how he was their best player, etc.

Trotz gets a softball easy question, what did you think of Kutzentsev's play today? Instead of the easy, he was good, creating lots......Trotz goes negative and says not just him but the whole line has areas they must improve and they're going to work with him on it.

Dumbo Trotz. That's how you lose your best players. That's why Washington always ends up relying on the likes of Jay Beagle and Matt Hendriks in the playoffs and why they always fall short.

Dumb dumb Trotz.

 

[Licentia]

I can see this series going to 7, and if it does... will Washington fail to show up like they did in Game #7 last year against the Pens?

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Try being the other team in the series where the Caps fans spend more time talking about the Pens than they do the Jackets.

To be a Jackets fan: It's like watching Rudy but there is no respect at the end.

It sucks for you guys. Pens fans won't shut up about their damn team.

 

[CarolinaBlueJacket]

So again, the Capitals needed time to get their butts in gear. Why the motivation issues the last 3+ years? Against Toronto last year, they needed 6 games. Against Philadelphia the year before, they needed 6 games.

Actually, it's much worse than just the past 3+ years! I'm looking back through the Capitals past Playoff history right now, and it seems the team has never swept a '7 game series,' at any time in it's history. That is unbelievable! They did manage two '5 game series' sweeps in the mid 1980s though, but never a '7 game series,' not ever!

All of this suggests that for whatever reason, this team will at times lack the motivation to get the job done. They don't play hard when they should, and then it catches up with them. It's exactly similar to what is happening to Nashville right now. The Preds couldn't get their butts in gear, and now they are facing a confident Avalanche team, with a goaltender capable of stealing this series!

Forgive me while I cry for you. You do realize that you are taking to a team that has won 5 playoff games? 2 of which were in this series. Complaining about not ever having a sweep. Haha.

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

The Columbus Blue Jackets have never allowed less than 3 goals in the playoffs.

 

[Licentia]

Forgive me while I cry for you. You do realize that you are taking to a team that has won 5 playoff games? 2 of which were in this series. Complaining about not ever having a sweep. Haha.

I'm not a Capitals fan. I'm just discussing the topic of why Washington is such a failure in the post-season. Washington finished 8 points higher in the standings than Columbus did. They are the team expected to move on to round #2, not Columbus. If Columbus was the favourite, I would be discussing them.

 

[Sam Spade]

I'm not a Capitals fan. I'm just discussing the topic of why Washington is such a failure in the post-season. Washington finished 8 points higher in the standings than Columbus did. They are the team expected to move on to round #2, not Columbus. If Columbus was the favourite, I would be discussing them.

Points in the regular season are so easy to get, records are very deceiving. Every advanced stat says the Jackets are the better team, they should be favored to win this series honestly.

 

[CarolinaBlueJacket]

The Columbus Blue Jackets have never allowed less than 3 goals in the playoffs.

Never won more than 2 games in a series. Probably the worst franchises in the NHL. Only pro team to have never won a round in the playoffs.