Series Discussion: (M1) Washington Capitals vs (WC1) Carolina Hurricanes, Category 2

[Capitals40]

Trotz was almost fired last year during the regular season -- twice. Is that what you'd call consistent?

And of course this team had problems. Every team had problems (except maybe Tampa). I think if anything Todd did a great job having his pulse on the room and knowing when to give them their space to play through ruts on their own without trying to be a faux disciplinarian.​

4 division titles, 2 Presidents Cups and a Stanley Cup..last season if you recall lots of lineup changes and took awhile to adjust..guess he still didnt do a good enough job for u? Pushing him out the door was one of the dumbest decisions in the history of sports and I said it at the time..then we lose top assitants and Caps org is surprised..clueless on their part. GMBM can make all the deals he want s to but he wanted this change badly so he can kiss my butt.

Not to mention Trotz took a dumster fire of a team and almost one the division and will most likely win coach of the year..oh and swept the Pens..something the Caps have never done swept a series. I hope he wins the Cup after being treated like garbage and thrown out with the trash by the Caps.​

 

[AussieCapsFan]

4 division titles, 2 Presidents Cups and a Stanley Cup..last season if you recall lots of lineup changes and took awhile to adjust..guess he still didnt do a good enough job for u? Pushing him out the door was one of the dumbest decisions in the history of sports and I said it at the time..then we lose top assitants and Caps org is surprised..clueless on their part. GMBM can make all the deals he want s to but he wanted this change badly so he can kiss my butt.

I would have been happier if we had Barry coaching the team for the back to back Cup run, but it wasn't going to be. Do I think the Caps would be in the 2nd round if Trotz was coaching us? Yes. But who would we be facing - that's the interesting question. Maybe the Pens.

 

[BallardEra]

I’ll say what I say to my fellow Pens fans that overreacted after we lost to you guys last year.

This is what makes the Cup win so sweet. This is why you spend 800 dollars on a finals ticket to see your team win while you can.

Carolina should’ve folded after Svech went down. Instead they galvanized. Ovechkin, Backstrom, Holtby, and Carlson are legends in your city. Give them a pass. They deserve it.

You could be Toronto.

This post hurts me at the end.

 

[Lindemann]

Couple things evident:

1) we missed Kempny badly and some what Oshie

2) We were tired as hell. It takes a toll on you winning it

3) We need to get faster

4) While I’m not fully giving up on him, Todd got out coached

 

[Caps8112]

yea saw some gloom and doom a few pages back. my thoughts

Disappointing but a relief too, they were too injured to go far.

Reirden was outcoached but given its his first year hes likely to get better.

Holtby looked asleep to me in this series. Made some great saves but allowed more mediocre goals imo.

Ovi has been amazing in the playoffs the last two years.

Eller not seeing Kuzy was the biggest gaf of this game.

 

[Sam Spade]

Yeah but Caps were up 2-0 in the game, and 3-1. It's home. No one has lost at home.

Caps were never up 3-1 in this is series. If they had been I might be slightly upset that they lost.

Also people are REALLY overrating Trotz, whom I love and who I will cheer on going forward. Korn was the guy to lament losing, all the proof is in the goalie stats being put up by Lehner and Greiss.

 

[RandyHolt]

Random thoughts
It may be an easy pill to swallow because we could see Carolina had no problem hanging with us, and was better than us overall in this game.

I didn't like Todd's coaching this series. From moving up Hagelin to line 2 in game 1 and then again in game 7, to not rolling 4 lines in OT when the team was visibly gassed, to thinking the time sapping sling shot could cure entry woes, Carlson at LD. He was a rookie coach and I think it showed.

I am glad Kuzy scored so the series loss is not pinned on him for not going balls to the wall all preseason. If you didn't like his regular season effort, ultimately that is on coaching. Ovi and countless other stars coasted in the regular seasonS without scrutiny after Montreal. I am not sure Kuzy would survive physically giving 100% the entire year, nor any player.

Eller flipped a switch and became quite the puck hog.

Carlson was close to invisible offensively and defensively, wasn't much better. There was no reason to lay down on that shortie which let Aho walk around him to the fat rebound. Did he even throw 1 hit?

We didn't hit nearly enough. Orpik probably had a shoulder as he dialed back the boomers. Willy and Ovi did their thing but they always do their thing. Siggy was our hit leader last night.

I thought for sure one of the Finns was going to win it for Carolina. It's like they never left the ice. They alone likely gassed our boys. I aged a year watching TT in OT. We need to draft a Finn, dammit.

We are still choking dogs in game 7 at home. Lucky for us we finnished out teams in 6 last year.

 

[tycoonheart]

Rierden reminds of me of Jay Gruden. Perhaps an excellent assisistant coach, good with Xs and Os, but not a head coach material.

He made zero adjustments throughout this series. Even when we were up 2-0 in the series, a lot of us said Caps weren't really playing well. It was more so obvious in all the away games. We looked like we had no answer to Carolina. And Rierden did nothing to counter what they were doing.

Also, to me, what made Trotz a great head coach was the fact that he knew how to manage personalities. He knew the right things to say to right players to get the most out of them. That's a part of coaching, IMO, and my feeling is Rierden lacks these abilities.

Worst of all was how he didn't do a single thing to change this putrid PP.

Had Rierden not been handed a loaded team that just won the cup, I don't think he is making the playoffs. We will see what happens next season, but I don't expect much with him at the helm.

 

[strungout]

Losing Kempny really hurt.

Then Oshie on top of it.

Get em next year Caps.

 

[tycoonheart]

Losing Kempny really hurt.

Then Oshie on top of it.

Get em next year Caps.

Weren't they missing some key players as well?

 

[Corby78]

Trotz was almost fired last year during the regular season -- twice. Is that what you'd call consistent?

And of course this team had problems. Every team had problems (except maybe Tampa). I think if anything Todd did a great job having his pulse on the room and knowing when to give them their space to play through ruts on their own without trying to be a faux disciplinarian.

Last years team was a mess early and they fixed it. They were consistently good the second half and playoffs. Most games they lost they still played well. This year we looked good for a period and then nothing. In the playoffs in was jeckle and hyde. I don’t know how anyone can watch both teams and say they were the same because they weren’t. And yes hockey has breaks, but I don’t buy the “winning is luck” crap some talk about in here. Last year we played well and won, this year we played worse and lost, it’s simple. Time to evaluate and fix for next year

 

[Corby78]

4 division titles, 2 Presidents Cups and a Stanley Cup..last season if you recall lots of lineup changes and took awhile to adjust..guess he still didnt do a good enough job for u? Pushing him out the door was one of the dumbest decisions in the history of sports and I said it at the time..then we lose top assitants and Caps org is surprised..clueless on their part. GMBM can make all the deals he want s to but he wanted this change badly so he can kiss my butt.

Trotz has a great reg season record in Nash and here, but we were looking for a cup or bust. Looking back was it the wrong decision to cut ties before the end of the season? Maybe, but maybe if we don’t have TR helping or we don’t have berry coaching like he is leaving anyway, it may not have worked. As we sit right now I wish we had him back, but at the time we decided to replace him it’s hard for me to argue. Time to move on from him, GMBM brought us a cup and he is still here.

 

[g00n]

Canes wanted it more and played like it. They deserved to move on regardless of any officiating nonsense. This Caps team lacked the edge of last year's squad.

Other than the hit on Oshie and some back and forth stuff they weren't any more "dirty" than we were, which wasn't much at all, especially considering it was a divisional series. So no real animosity.

We are going to have issues among our defensemen and role players that need to be addressed. IMO that cost us the series, along with failure to gameplan for Carolina's quick-strike shooting off passes/shots from the perimeter which, fittingly enough, closed out the series.

 

[Capsman]

I thought Siegenthaler did admirably, but perhaps Kempny being a better puck mover and his ability to carry the puck might have helped. Who knows. As far as Oshie, the exact same patterns occurred when he was playing: birdie flying into a glass window on the PP, little forecheck beyond the first period, throwing pucks up the board to a waiting d-man.

It was weird but almost like Carolina purposely lulled us into a false sense of security in the first periods then ratcheted up the intensity. Well coached games involve adjustments and counter-adjustments. Where I feel like Brind’Amour outcoached Reirden.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Weren't they missing some key players as well?

Nobody of the magnitude the Caps were missing.

 

[Langway]

It was just a respite though. They have returned to the choker team they were and with next playoffs the anxiety and bad feelings will return.

It seemed like they were already there among many in attendance. So it goes and they'll be back for more because they still enjoy that whole experience. But I'm not there and the memories of getting it done aren't going to be eclipsed any time soon. I don't think many really ought to lose sight of that, esp. in the moment. I think it should be more about getting Ovechkin another one while he's still Great but it's up to MacLellan to revamp as necessary and for them to also have good health and a fair share of luck. It's also on the coaches to get the most out of everyone and to put the foundation in place to have team success. I'm more disappointed that a vintage and in some ways superiorly composed Ovechkin performance still wasn't enough.

IMO the dilemma going forward is properly balancing the need for fresh blood and energy with giving some players the benefit of the doubt that they'll come back hungrier and better after a longer summer. That goes mostly for Holtby & Niskanen...and I don't know how that balances out altogether. Maybe if Samsonov has a big playoff run it becomes easier to turn it over to him. Niskanen is still a guy that plays an awful lot of minutes and Jensen didn't begin to look like an equal replacement. But Niskanen has also probably peaked as a player. Beware the downswing. They're going to need better, faster and more effective depth and it's not going to be easy filling the team out in the short-term. Mahoney needs to pick it up again.

Best wishes, txmd.

 

[tycoonheart]

Couple of quick thoughts. The last year was great. The relief of shedding the choker label allowed me to enjoy the team.

It was just a respite though. They have returned to the choker team they were and with next playoffs the anxiety and bad feelings will return.

I won't enjoy that. With that in mind I am going to give up being an active fan. I am not going back to the old ways. I have enjoyed sparring here and may miss that. Losing playoff series like this, I won't miss.

Good night and good luck.

I will respond to messages but this is my last post in the forum.

Take care

Lol, you're so drama Tex.

 

[RandyHolt]

That was a nice sign off, you future lurker. You'll be back Rockatansky, MD! I hope my dogging him for alleging Kuzy doesn't care drama card didn't push him away. I cannot imagine the hate had Kuzy gone scoreless like Hagelin Vrana etc, aka his linemates.

Structurally Todd just never seemed to get it figured out. We were just sloppy pretty much the entire year and per usual got by on our high end talent. We threw the proverbial switch and finally started showing signs of being a real team, and finished the year strong. But we had finished strong countless years and choked in game 7 many times before.

I have to say it was very odd that basically the next day after winning the cup, the smoke around Barry leaving started pouring out. Tex would always point out that Ted refuses to spend money on coaches and it held true once again. Now, Barry was under contract and obviously wanted more money, but both sides played hard ball. We theorized it was Todd that really was the difference maker in winning the cup, after the team pumped up his tires with a paper promotion after not letting other teams talk to him. It made swallowing the pill of the awkwardness of Barry leaving immediately after getting a cup, much easier. They could have told us the team was moving and we wouldn't have cared. Maybe more important than losing Barry, was losing his assistants. All in all, it was just very awkward, as I cannot recall ever seeing a coach bail on a team before the f***ing parade.

The awkwardness is compounded by Barry dominating in NY with a blue collar team. I cannot help but think Ted is wondering if he should have ponied up that 4M to keep Barry and his boys.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Random thoughts
Carlson was close to invisible offensively and defensively, wasn't much better. There was no reason to lay down on that shortie which let Aho walk around him to the fat rebound.

Yeah I think Holtby lost sight of the puck when Carlson went down, and so he couldn't control Aho's trickler, and hence the rebound.

 

[RandyHolt]

Yeah I think Holtby lost sight of the puck when Carlson went down, and so he couldn't control Aho's trickler, and hence the rebound.

Holts may have lost sight of it - a screen, indeed. Is it finally safe to say Ovi half assed coming back? I think Carlson was stuck trying to figure out if he should play it as a 2 on 1, or 2 on 2. And Holts, as well. 2 on 1 Carlson plays the pass, and Holts aggressive comes out on the shot. I just hate seeing a defensemen lay down and take himself completely out of the play. A Norris guy on a man advantage, no less. He should have stepped out and aggressively pressured him, vs laying down, with Ovi coming back.

We all have learned the long hockey season ultimately comes down to just few seemingly otherwise random plays, that just happen to end up in the net. So while it may not seem fair to focus on them, they do deserve scrutiny. And that play was the beginning of our end.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Maybe I’m completely off my rocker here, but Justin Williams is getting labeled as a hero for last night when he spent 99.9% of that game as being virtually invisible. The other .1% was throwing that puck towards the net for McGinn to tip in. I get he’s labeled Mr. Game 7, but holy hell he wasn’t great last night

 

[kogeh]

Went to bed after the first ot. it was already 5am in europe and we all knew how it would end.

After the biggest choking job in the history by Tampa defending champs said "hold my beer".

Man for man this series shouldve went 5 games TOPS.

Ovi, Nicky, Willy, Conno, Dowd, Burk and to some extent Hags (because we knew were getting good PK, speed and not much else) were fine rest completely invisible or straight up garbage.

And to think last year in the playoffs we thought after going down 2:0 to CBJ Reirden took the reins and now one coach swept the pens and the other is out in round 1 to f***ING CAROLINA.

Hags was 6:1 in G7's. Mr G7 couldnt win one here. What is the common denominator?

 

[Capsman]

Give Reirden another year, see what he’s learned. Fire Forsythe, fire Cashman.

I’m not too bent up about likely losing Connolly. Thought he looked slow and ineffective most of this series. One thing that happened early last playoffs was an infusion of young, hungry blood in the first round, like Walker. I thought it made a difference. Feel like we were too stale this postseason.

We’ll see what BM does but I’d like to trade one of our defensemen prospects for a forward prospect. Hope one of our forward prospects can make the jump and bring energy I felt was otherwise lacking (outside the 3rd line). Go forward heavy in this draft.

 

[Capsman]

Maybe I’m completely off my rocker here, but Justin Williams is getting labeled as a hero for last night when he spent 99.9% of that game as being virtually invisible. The other .1% was throwing that puck towards the net for McGinn to tip in. I get he’s labeled Mr. Game 7, but holy hell he wasn’t great last night

Williams didn’t do crap for us here either.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Losing Kempny really hurt.

Then Oshie on top of it.

Get em next year Caps.

That’s basically it. PP was done as soon as we lost Oshie. Even if we won game 7 we weren’t going anywhere.