Series Discussion: Round 1 (Caps vs Flyers) 2016 Playoffs (times and dates included)

[Capsman]

This series is over. Has the feel of Montreal, eerily similar. Neuvy's saves last night, with a few exceptions, were not 10 bell saves. But when needed he was ready.

Watching the game live last night really confirmed what I've been seeing on TV for much of this season. Our attack is very limited in the scope of things it does. Particularly missing is getting quality shots off the rush, including 3 on 2s. Rarely do you see tic tac toe passes, the type of thing to get a defender and goalie off balance. Guys shoot when there's no net presence, don't shoot when there is. That falls on Trotz. Period. If anyone questions the value of coaching, look at Pitt and Sullivan.

 

[RandyHolt]

Barry may likely make no changes. Chorney stays in, no line changes. Stay the course.

I think its time to break up 2. We have seen a nice big fat sample size of mediocrity at ES for the top 6. Or top 12. Move Kuzy up top. Our top line players have been playing fine, but they are not doing enough at ES to carry our team. Lines have to carry the offense. When none step up, and blind squirrels figure out that they have to be aggressive on the PK, we lose.

We need to try to score more off the rush. Once we get below the goal line, its an opportunity wasted far more often than not. We should be able to beat them in a track meet, right?

Chorney has had a direct hand in both losses. Sure he is no Orpik but from the complaints we hear about Brooks, some clearly think he is. If that was Weber late getting to white and deflecting the puck in, the board would be up in arms. I contend he would be ALL OVER White from the start. He is a maniac and going after a White is what he does best.

With the offense not clicking, our Jennings grade D has to carry the team. Weber has far more NHL experience yet is iced in a series tailor made for him, if any may be.

I think he moved Orlov to LD, if true basically making 2 changes when he didn't need to.

2 weeks 7 games

Totally recalling nightmares of playoffs past at this point.

 

[Langway]

Wait, so our goals were lucky but theirs weren't? That goal in Orpik's skates, another deflected, the one last night off of Chorney's skates as the PK ended?

We've DOMINATED them for all but 2 periods in 5 games. We're up 3-2 because of a hot goalie and a pigheaded notion that shooting through a goaltender's chest will eventually penetrate bone. That's not the roster composition, that's bad hockey IQ, and Trotz's assistants have to be aware enough to bring it to his attention.

The Ovechkin goal, that's a good skilled long range goal. But the key Chimera and Kuznetsov goals in Games 2/3 were unquestionably very fortunate and that provided them insurance. The Flyers got some in Game 4 and one again in Game 5 and that's enough. Like I've said a lot, this team has so little margin for error and it's all on them and their general approach to the game. They want to be comfortable being uncomfortable in coin flip games? Well, here's your result. Bow down before Chance and see what it decides.

The bad hockey IQ offensively is in essence why the offense sucks. Thus far from a personnel standpoint losing Ward for Williams looks to be a huge mistake. MacLellan went out to add more skill and hockey IQ but Trotz hasn't done anything different from a tactical level or in terms of overall execution to believe he's the person to get the most out of those additions

If you judge them solely in terms of effort then, yeah, that was a great Game 5. Winners stop working when the job is done. They're resourceful, creative and resilient. A lot of that effort in Game 5 was loose, sloppy, uninspired offensive hockey. Earlier in the series Philadelphia reverted to junk shots and that's what the Caps are into now rather than thinking the game better or executing in some planned fashion. They need to be able to generate quality crisp, skilled chances and that doesn't happen by working really hard but working intelligently. There's so much wasted movement/effort and that has to be draining.

To me it all comes back to their bad starts and how their preparation and mentality must not be on point. To come out and drop the gloves and want to run Philadelphia off the ice is not the plan for success. It's...something and an improvement over just sharing the same ice and thinking they'll give up but there are no real signs of killer instinct and they may have less of it than they did a year ago.

 

[NoMoreChoking]

I'm not upset cause we lost. I'm upset cause we can pretty much call that this would happen during game 4.

It's like watching a replay over and over again. I was at Game 5 and I said to my dad after the first, Nuvey is gonna turn into Halak and they will be getting tons of shots and Philly will get a fluke goal

Sure enough, it happened. It's just so frustrating that it's the same way EVERY year.

Fans can almost predict it to a T and the fact that everyone keeps saying "this team is different" is such bull

If they were different, they would of swept

 

[Portable Mink]

i dont understand how its possible for it to be the same every year.
its HARD for it to be this way, to get so many shots and for goalies to stand on their head like this, and even harder for it to repeat every year but it is! somehow it is!

regardless of this. if the caps seriously want to win they would have me on a private plane already flying to Philly. Never been to a game and lost.

 

[The Flying Finn]

I'm not worried, we dominated and we will dominate next game and advance.

 

[g00n]

The Ovechkin goal, that's a good skilled long range goal. But the key Chimera and Kuznetsov goals in Games 2/3 were unquestionably very fortunate and that provided them insurance. The Flyers got some in Game 4 and one again in Game 5 and that's enough. Like I've said a lot, this team has so little margin for error and it's all on them and their general approach to the game. They want to be comfortable being uncomfortable in coin flip games? Well, here's your result. Bow down before Chance and see what it decides.

The bad hockey IQ offensively is in essence why the offense sucks. Thus far from a personnel standpoint losing Ward for Williams looks to be a huge mistake. MacLellan went out to add more skill and hockey IQ but Trotz hasn't done anything different from a tactical level or in terms of overall execution to believe he's the person to get the most out of those additions

If you judge them solely in terms of effort then, yeah, that was a great Game 5. Winners stop working when the job is done. They're resourceful, creative and resilient. A lot of that effort in Game 5 was loose, sloppy, uninspired offensive hockey. Earlier in the series Philadelphia reverted to junk shots and that's what the Caps are into now rather than thinking the game better or executing in some planned fashion. They need to be able to generate quality crisp, skilled chances and that doesn't happen by working really hard but working intelligently. There's so much wasted movement/effort and that has to be draining.

To me it all comes back to their bad starts and how their preparation and mentality must not be on point. To come out and drop the gloves and want to run Philadelphia off the ice is not the plan for success. It's...something and an improvement over just sharing the same ice and thinking they'll give up but there are no real signs of killer instinct and they may have less of it than they did a year ago.

I think this is taking it too far and you may have an impossible standard here.

The Caps were clearly, easily the better team for most of the series and handled Philly's best in the early games with composure. They put together several quality offensive shifts and scoring chances but people here seem to have short memories for that based on the overall result. Early and frequent penalties cost them this game, along with a hot goaltender and few adjustments by the coaches who probably told the team to just keep shooting based on post-game comments. When they've had to play from behind they've reverted to just peppering the goalie with shots and that's what I mean by bad hockey IQ. Ward doesn't necessarily change that, and it's silly to call Williams a bust basically because of one bad game.

Instead of blowing up the entire organization, what's needed is some film study and a good practice where the Caps work on some tweaks to their o-zone puck movement and shooting choices. THAT'S IT.

 

[SaSaShi]

Flyer fan here....i still think the caps will win the series, the talent level disparity is significant, our guys are injured ( del zotto and couturier) and the ones playing are worn down especially giroux, and neuvirth cant sustain last night's game. It will probably happen game 6 i predict a 3-1 win for the caps.

But if im a caps fan, im not happy of how the team is performing. I will be rooting for them if they beat philly especially that your most likely opponent is pittsburgh in the 2nd rd. But something is missing with this caps team, not enough sandpaper ? Not enough guts? Too many pretty players?

If you guys play like this in the next series, penguins will hurt you. Are you guys feeling the same way?

The flyers have nothing left, but i havent yet seen a championship caliber killer instinct from the caps.

Have a good day and good luck for game 6.

 

[Langway]

When they've had to play from behind they've reverted to just peppering the goalie with shots and that's what I mean by bad hockey IQ. Ward doesn't necessarily change that, and it's silly to call Williams a bust basically because of one bad game.

Instead of blowing up the entire organization, what's needed is some film study and a good practice where the Caps work on some tweaks to their o-zone puck movement and shooting choices. THAT'S IT.

Where did I suggest they do so? It's not going to happen so it's pointless to think about. Yes, that prep is needed but why is that not already part of the process of what they do 5-on-5? Because they could get away with not doing it in the regular season. Same as it ever was...cut corners until it kills you. One practice is unlikely to change much. Reps are needed over time to ingrain those habits. Good luck, especially for this team, adjusting on the fly.

Trotz preaches discipline but he only really means it defensively. You can take penalties, particularly aggression penalties, and generally run around as long as it's done with energy and a defense-first mentality. They have little offensive discipline as a group and it was just a matter of time before that was tested. The game has a way of finding weaknesses in the playoffs. If teams don't prepare ahead of time and have a smart understanding of what those issues are then on the fly adjustments will be that much more difficult.

It's not just one bad game with Williams, he's been a disappointment the entire series thus far.

I've had my fill of them. If they reach the Conference Finals I'll watch them again but for now I think I've already seen this episode.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Flyer fan here....i still think the caps will win the series, the talent level disparity is significant, our guys are injured ( del zotto and couturier) and the ones playing are worn down especially giroux, and neuvirth cant sustain last night's game. It will probably happen game 6 i predict a 3-1 win for the caps.

But if im a caps fan, im not happy of how the team is performing. I will be rooting for them if they beat philly especially that your most likely opponent is pittsburgh in the 2nd rd. But something is missing with this caps team, not enough sandpaper ? Not enough guts? Too many pretty players?

If you guys play like this in the next series, penguins will hurt you. Are you guys feeling the same way?

The flyers have nothing left, but i havent yet seen a championship caliber killer instinct from the caps.

Have a good day and good luck for game 6.

I think the first three games, even though the Caps won, reinforced some bad habits and thought processes. They're playing like they expect that if they put in a requisite amount of effort then the results will come and that's not how the last two games have shook out. Even though they've been dominant for most of Games 4 and 5 there hasn't been that killer instinct or that obvious level of desperation which is something a lot of fans in DC have been worrying about.

The Caps are clearly the better team, but the better team doesn't always win. You also have to credit the Flyers. Hakstol realized what they were doing wasn't working, changed his goalie, changed his system, and as a result the Flyers have squeaked out two wins to remain firmly alive in this series. Hopefully the Caps figure it out, move past the Flyers, and use this as a learning experience that they can't just show up and expect to win. If not, it's going to be another long and anxious summer in DC. Good luck the rest of the series.

 

[HecticGlow]

Put 25-90-43 back together. If there's one thing that line was prepared to do earlier in the year, it was going to the dirty places and scoring. When it's firing on all cylinders, it's the perfect mix of skill (Mojo), offensive ability (Mojo & Chimera) and grit and space-buying (Chimera & Wilson). It was also a lot faster than a Richards line, and the 26-10-83 has been very effective in the recent past too. However you achieve it, we need more crashing the net, more ugly goals than pretty ones.

Mojo thrived when it was his line - he spent more time shooting and less time passing. Like Backstrom, his instinct seems to be for deference. When Richards and latterly Chimera are your linemates, Mojo's got to be able to be 'the guy'. So either keep him on the wing and give him better talent - Burakovsky, Ovi, even Beagle - or move him back to Center.

Richards has had some impressive hits and great PKing (though Trotz seems to be starting Beagle and Winnick now - Richards was clearly the go-to guy on the PK in games 1 & 2. Wonder why that's changed? He also seems to be struggling more on the FOs than usual, unlike Beagle). Besides PKing and hits, can anyone name a thing he's actually achieved so far? Right now he's looking more like the upgraded Laich than Winnick is.

Williams is MIA, except when spotted in the penalty box. Trotz has set a bar, I think, when he said he expects Williams to have an "awesome" next game. Wonder if repercussions might come if he doesn't.

Watching Kuzy's face during faceoffs, I wonder if the pressures getting to him? Either way, the talent on that line is too great not to give them all good TOI - but don't achieve this by keeping them together. I'd be tempted to move Mojo to 2C and Kuzy to 3C - moves like that have made a world of difference in the past. Look at when Mojo took 3C - he'd been playing some of his best hockey at 2LW, and Beagle's line had been doing reasonably. After that move, though, Trotz got three impressive top lines. If it took a goaltending change to get the Flyers winning, I feel a similar change is warranted to our lines.

Especially when 65-92-14 haven't scored reliably in literally months, and there's a wealth of evidence that Richards at 3C kills offence.

 

[Raikkonen]

Wait, so our goals were lucky but theirs weren't? That goal in Orpik's skates, another deflected, the one last night off of Chorney's skates as the PK ended?

We've DOMINATED them for all but 2 periods in 5 games. We're up 3-2 because of a hot goalie and a pigheaded notion that shooting through a goaltender's chest will eventually penetrate bone. That's not the roster composition, that's bad hockey IQ, and Trotz's assistants have to be aware enough to bring it to his attention.

1) we're close in goals for 5v5 with them - isn't it a fact?
2) we're scoring few goals 5v5, not enough to be confident in offensive abilities of current Caps team
3) if we want the Cup - this is primary source of concern

We dominated, right, in terms of advanced stats (tm). BUT we didn't score enough 5v5 good goals. Part of those ES goals were lucky indeed. It's a factor. Once there was no Mason - we didn't score any lucky goals for 2 games in a row. Do I think it's sustainable? SURE.

Roster composition is the reason too. No chemistry. We all knew Ovi is a beast in playoffs. He's a beast with any partners. It's not Trotz's creation. Barry has to find certain ways to create good chances from high danger areas and rebound/deflection goals. We don't see that.

That's why one can expect big offensive problem in next round.

I'm sure we will win this series though.


EDIT: To clarify - I don't care how Flyers score, lucky or not, I care about how Caps score.

 

[HecticGlow]

1) we're close in goals for 5v5 with them - isn't it a fact?
2) we're scoring few goals 5v5, not enough to be confident in offensive abilities of current Caps team
3) if we want the Cup - this is primary source of concern

We dominated, right, in terms of advanced stats (tm). BUT we didn't score enough 5v5 good goals. Part of those ES goals were lucky indeed. It's a factor. Once there was no Mason - we didn't score any lucky goals for 2 games in a row. Do I think it's sustainable? SURE.

Roster composition is the reason too. No chemistry. We all knew Ovi is a beast in playoffs. He's a beast with any partners. It's not Trotz's creation. Barry has to find certain ways to create good chances from high danger areas and rebound/deflection goals. We don't see that.

That's why one can expect big offensive problem in next round.

I'm sure we will win this series though.

One thing worth remembering, as well, is how good the caps have been season-long at protecting leads. That's why an early goal is so critical in game 6 - I trust them to keep that 1-0 lead a lot more than I trust them to make up a goal, or break a tie, right now.

 

[HecticGlow]

Having not followed the Kings, can anyone enlighten me on what Williams and Richards' broader roles there actually were?

We expect Williams to be a guy you lean on offensively as an individual, and whose leadership sets the tempo and attitude for the others. Is this actually akin to his role as 'Mr Game 7', or was he more of a Johansson/Beagle type (important cogs in a machine, but in no way at the head/heart of said machine) but who scored some important goals when they were most needed?

Are we expecting too much from him, essentially? Is he used to the pressure of being both the important individual player, and of the leader Trotz entrusts to get the team in shape? The number of times Trotz has said 'I trust our leadership group to get it done'...

Especially as this is an older Williams, and one presumably not worth clearing $3million in roster space for? It's also plausible that, like Chimera, the long and unrelenting season (without even time off for injury) has worn him down? I really hope not.

(Don't get me wrong, Williams has earned every cent of his cap hit this season - but that's not to say that what he brought was enough on its own to steer a group consisting of players with largely no meaningful playoff success, or who are rookies.)

 

[Portable Mink]

if we arent scoring goals, create 3 scoring lines again with MoJo at centre.

 

[g00n]

I just think we're on an island of (possibly justifiable) history-fueled paranoia. We are looking at this through the tunnel vision of fear. Every mistake or imperfection is a critical flaw that will be our downfall. It isn't rational and it sure as hell isn't any fun. The only people who aren't shocked that Philly won last night are Caps haters and Caps fans (who are sometimes the same lol). Even Philly fans are amazed, and believe the Caps have been the better team.

This is supposed to be entertainment...is it fun watching games in a state of constant fear? I'm not saying "don't be critical". I've got my complaints and theories, too. But we're still in decent shape with one or two games to play and some guys who've yet to fully wake up. Half of us picked Caps in 6 or 7 anyway.

That said, if they lose tomorrow it's going to be a looooooong couple of days.....

 

[Raikkonen]

This is supposed to be entertainment...is it fun watching games in a state of constant fear?

You can't be speaking for everyone. I feel no fear at all.

 

[mrwarden]

Optional practice....dumb

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

I just think we're on an island of (possibly justifiable) history-fueled paranoia. We are looking at this through the tunnel vision of fear. Every mistake or imperfection is a critical flaw that will be our downfall. It isn't rational and it sure as hell isn't any fun. The only people who aren't shocked that Philly won last night are Caps haters and Caps fans (who are sometimes the same lol). Even Philly fans are amazed, and believe the Caps have been the better team.

This is supposed to be entertainment...is it fun watching games in a state of constant fear? I'm not saying "don't be critical". I've got my complaints and theories, too. But we're still in decent shape with one or two games to play and some guys who've yet to fully wake up. Half of us picked Caps in 6 or 7 anyway.

That said, if they lose tomorrow it's going to be a looooooong couple of days.....

A calm rational post. Thanks for that.

 

[Capsman]

I think this is taking it too far and you may have an impossible standard here.

The Caps were clearly, easily the better team for most of the series and handled Philly's best in the early games with composure. They put together several quality offensive shifts and scoring chances but people here seem to have short memories for that based on the overall result. Early and frequent penalties cost them this game, along with a hot goaltender and few adjustments by the coaches who probably told the team to just keep shooting based on post-game comments. When they've had to play from behind they've reverted to just peppering the goalie with shots and that's what I mean by bad hockey IQ. Ward doesn't necessarily change that, and it's silly to call Williams a bust basically because of one bad game.

Instead of blowing up the entire organization, what's needed is some film study and a good practice where the Caps work on some tweaks to their o-zone puck movement and shooting choices. THAT'S IT.

Too late for that. Should have been done and worked on a long time ago. When we were showing poor offensive zone execution the last 1/3 of the season (as opponents became more desperate) and won despite that, Trotz should have been on that. Like major focus on that area. Instead he became complacent with the results. I could see that it wouldn't fly in the playoffs.

 

[g00n]

Too late for that. Should have been done and worked on a long time ago. When we were showing poor offensive zone execution the last 1/3 of the season (as opponents became more desperate) and won despite that, Trotz should have been on that. Like major focus on that area. Instead he became complacent with the results. I could see that it wouldn't fly in the playoffs.

It's not too late to look at film from your most recent game to find out why you couldn't score.

 

[Langway]

It's not too late to look at film from your most recent game to find out why you couldn't score.

It isn't but taking those lessons into consideration by changing on-ice decision-making is another matter. It's not something they've tweaked much throughout the season 5-on-5 because they didn't really had to so the reps aren't there. They should be able to figure it out one way or another and avoid utter embarrassment but regardless it doesn't bode well for their chances this year. Not unless they adopt a very apparent evolution in smarter decision-making. Historically that's hard to find right within the playoffs on the fly.

I also wonder with Trotz praising their performance in the post-game whether that level of self-evaluation is there. Is it just a matter of getting more traffic? Isn't there more they can otherwise do 5-on-5 to generate more havoc for them defensively in coverage and generally create better quality chances? Oversimplifying on the fly kind of plays into their hunker strategy.

The problem is that expectations are so high. Every year they are and especially after a banner regular season. But they never really seem ready mentally for prime time. It's not just pressure getting to the fanbase and the history. They themselves let up early and assume what's not done to get done somehow without doing what's in their control or start feeling the pressure and rigidly go through the surface motions of strong effort without being mentally engaged and composed.

 

[NoMoreChoking]

Does Mr Game 7 for Williams mean he only shows up for game 7s?

Cause he has been awful all series and last night was garbage. 3 time Stanley cup champions should be doing that but I guess it's the Caps

 

[stanleycaps18]

As has been said, the problem last night was too many 'skate in and shoot at the goalie's crest' - there was minimal traffic and not that much sustained o-zone play. They need to get back to what was successful, and give the Flyers a lot of credit for bending.

 

[txpd]

Its time to start considering that Kuznetsov has been figured out by the league. He is the Caps leading scorer and is producing nothing and has been producing next to nothing for an extended period of time.

Flash in the pan or needs to adjust his game. Even if the Caps survive this series, they are not going very far without a significant contribution by the 2nd line.

I suggest going back to the beginning with 90 and 14 on 92's wings.

Winning this series at the minimum has become life and death for this franchise. The emotional damage done by losing to Ovechkin and Backstrom and the rest of the core will be overwhelming. Trotz will have lost his credibility.

Kuznetsov is the key. He is not seeing the best d or checking forwards. he has to make things happen