Post-Game Talk: team that will win cup playing against team that will be eliminated in 2nd round 7pm

[RandyHolt]

Nice post Revelation. I feel like the players are on pins and needles and still get screwed, so we either play like saints.... or embrace the dark side proper and stop trying to be something we are not. Full aerial assault and score so much the calls against us don't hurt as much. Playing for 2-1 every night, one call screws us. Last night, it took 3-5 bad calls for us to lose.

Ovi is a tank and is at his best playing that way. After Willy took a run at Sheary, our hitting all but stopped last year, and the series was over. We tried to out skate or out system Pitt and of course failed. Our best hope was to demolish their defense but we barely even tried.

I want to add Mario always had his fair share of goons and dirty players yet always cries foul. Sestito must be one of the few remaining lunkheads in the game. M'Le has to be one of the biggest whiners in league history.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

So if the pens game proved the rags are a better team, what does NY getting blown out by Dallas mean? Just curious....

As Penguins fans like to remind us, a regular season game doesn't mean much. Yesterday's game only showed that we get blown out as soon as we lose our focus and that the Pens are visibly better than us at 4vs4.

 

[RandyHolt]

This post should be pinned. Lol

Thank you.

How about that new name... PPG Paints? That has to be the worst arena name in sports.

Probably thinks 'PPG' (power play goal of course) and all the glory he got scoring goals on countless gifted power plays, made PPG rather fitting as a name.

I'd wager he wanted the arena named after himself but demanded ridonk royalties and the board told him to **** off. So he signed a 20 year count it 20 year deal for that dumb ass name, as payback. I hope someone has been auditing his books, as he has been reimbursing himself for decades now. Um, I never got that bonus.

 

[Revelation]

Nice post Revelation. I feel like the players are on pins and needles and still get screwed, so we either play like saints.... or embrace the dark side proper and stop trying to be something we are not. Full aerial assault and score so much the calls against us don't hurt as much. Playing for 2-1 every night, one call screws us. Last night, it took 3-5 bad calls for us to lose.

Ovi is a tank and is at his best playing that way. After Willy took a run at Sheary, our hitting all but stopped last year, and the series was over. We tried to out skate or out system Pitt and of course failed. Our best hope was to demolish their defense but we barely even tried.

I want to add Mario always had his fair share of goons and dirty players yet always cries foul. Sestito must be one of the few remaining lunkheads in the game. M'Le has to be one of the biggest whiners in league history.

Ovi gets away with stuff because he's a star player, refs don't seem to like Oshie much but he's still a huge asset result wise the way he plays. Orpik gets away with everything lol.

Wilson was a penalty drawing machine for a while, but now it seems refs hate him and their perception of him is rubbing off on the team. They need to do some kind of psyop on the league/refs like other teams with reputation problems do. Something to get them out of the "**** disturbers that have it coming" mental box. Then once the perception changes slowly reintroduce Wilson back but have him play a quiet non-borderline hitting game drawing penalties for us.

 

[TRASHCAT]

Oh wow I though the PPG name was a joke.

 

[Midnight Judges]

The Caps have played one (really, really) poor 15 minute stretch against the Pens this year, haven't lost to them in regulation, and have doubled them up in goals. Take away that one (really, really) poor 15 minute stretch, and they win three of four and outscore them by 300%.

Pending the Caps' performance next game, I am fine with the current state of things.

The problem is, Trotz was severely out-coached in this last game. Caps go up 3-0, and then Pittsburgh utterly dictated a change in the style of play. Trotz did a poor job of adjusting during the game.

 

[Capsman]

The problem is, Trotz was severely out-coached in this last game. Caps go up 3-0, and then Pittsburgh utterly dictated a change in the style of play. Trotz did a poor job of adjusting during the game.

I've been as critical of Trotz as anyone, but I can't complain about the last 10 games or, more importantly, the type of play during this stretch. As others have stated, there's been a clear shift in strategy over the past month, with an emphasis on faster play (skating and puck movement) and less getting bogged down on the boards. Suddenly we look like a faster team. I don't think there was anything strategically wrong in the last game and I would like Trotz to pretty much tell the team not to read too much into the defensive side of the game but stress the impressiveness of their offensive resilience. The goal blitz by the Pens was an aberration. Couple unlucky bounces, Holtby tentative on Malkin's second goal, and frankly the Pens in a crazy zone.

 

[BobRouse]

I want to add Mario always had his fair share of goons and dirty players yet always cries foul. Sestito must be one of the few remaining lunkheads in the game. M'Le has to be one of the biggest whiners in league history.

Memorable moments in Penguins history:

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Memorable moments in Penguins history:

One of the best moments I ever saw as a young Caps fan.

 

[Bananas]

One of the best moments I ever saw as a young Caps fan.

Gould must have absolutely loved that.

 

[ynotcaps]

The problem is, Trotz was severely out-coached in this last game. Caps go up 3-0, and then Pittsburgh utterly dictated a change in the style of play. Trotz did a poor job of adjusting during the game.

This was a total aberration. Wake up the next day and move on. It sucks losing after going up 3-0, and against the Penguins, no less -- but it's one out of 82, and it comes after winning nine straight. And those 9 were against mostly strong to top-notch teams.

If it's too hard to not pretend this wasn't a catastrophe, try looking at it from a P'burgh perspective: geez, after getting off the hook for a penalty (H'quist) that would have put the nail in the coffin after we were already down down 3-0, we scored SEVEN goals in regulation, one off a skate, 2 on a 4-on-4 that should have been a shorthanded situation, and with our best goalie in the game. We still had to go into OT to win on a deflection off a defender's skate, which only happened because the refs gave us ANOTHER huge break by somehow missing a blatant trip in open ice with only 6 skaters to have to track. Holy crap, if that's what it takes to beat the Caps, we're screwed.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I hate the kneejerk cries of "we were out coached" after a loss. Sometimes the players have bad nights. How about complaining about that for a change?

 

[Midnight Judges]

It's not kneejerk. It's been two days.

 

[g00n]

How many times have you ever seen a game like this in the playoffs in the last few years?

Don't worry about it.

 

[Tweedsuitcase]

Ovi sounded pissed about the officiating in the recent interview i saw on Twitter, so it's not just "us". He did mention it was a fun game too. nice to hear that from the players.
they have to shake this game off and keep doing what they've been doing, imo.

 

[g00n]

A championship team will take this game as a reminder to never take their foot off the gas pedal, and even when tired you've got to bear down for the full 60 (or more).

And Trotz did screw up. It was plain to see the momentum shifting massively after the first Pens goal and even more after the second. He needed to call a timeout and adjust his strategy to account for the fatigue on our side while slowing the adrenaline and momentum of the other side.

And that's not MMQBing or knee-jerking. I said it at the time during this GDT. It was obvious.

 

[BobRouse]

A championship team will take this game as a reminder to never take their foot off the gas pedal, and even when tired you've got to bear down for the full 60 (or more).

And Trotz did screw up. It was plain to see the momentum shifting massively after the first Pens goal and even more after the second. He needed to call a timeout and adjust his strategy to account for the fatigue on our side while slowing the adrenaline and momentum of the other side.

And that's not MMQBing or knee-jerking. I said it at the time during this GDT. It was obvious.

Disagree.

Teams almost never do this anymore b/c it will cost them a challenge.

Which infact Trotz needed! That 6th Pitt goal was challenged and should have been overturned.

Could you imagine if we didn't have a TO to challenge that or something else that could occur?

It's no longer prudent to use a timeout in this fashion. In hindsight he probably should have pulled Holtby after the 4th goal and he said as much when interviewed. So if anything you can point to that.

But his team still fought back from 2 separate 2 goal deficits despite a staggering series of bad calls/lack of calls that went against them and led directly to the last 3 Pens goals (and perhaps goals 2 and 3 on the 4 on 4 due to missed headshot on Oshie)

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

A championship team will take this game as a reminder to never take their foot off the gas pedal, and even when tired you've got to bear down for the full 60 (or more).

And Trotz did screw up. It was plain to see the momentum shifting massively after the first Pens goal and even more after the second. He needed to call a timeout and adjust his strategy to account for the fatigue on our side while slowing the adrenaline and momentum of the other side.

And that's not MMQBing or knee-jerking. I said it at the time during this GDT. It was obvious.

Then he wouldn't have been able to challenge a goal and get screwed out of his timeout!

I'm with you, I would have taken a timeout, but one decision we don't agree with doesn't mean he was out coached. I'm just sick of the instant scapegoating when we lose and little coaching praise when we win, as if the coach is only responsible for the bad things and the players for the good things.

 

[txpd]

How many times have you ever seen a game like this in the playoffs in the last few years?.

personally I cant remember a single playoff game that ended in 3 on 3 play in overtime. I also cant remember a playoff game between a rested team and one that played the night before.

 

[g00n]

Disagree.

Teams almost never do this anymore b/c it will cost them a challenge.

Which infact Trotz needed! That 6th Pitt goal was challenged and should have been overturned.

Could you imagine if we didn't have a TO to challenge that or something else that could occur?

It's no longer prudent to use a timeout in this fashion. In hindsight he probably should have pulled Holtby after the 4th goal and he said as much when interviewed. So if anything you can point to that.

But his team still fought back from 2 separate 2 goal deficits despite a staggering series of bad calls/lack of calls that went against them and led directly to the last 3 Pens goals (and perhaps goals 2 and 3 on the 4 on 4 due to missed headshot on Oshie)

If he calls the timeout at the correct moment there may not even be a need for the challenge.

 

[g00n]

personally I cant remember a single playoff game that ended in 3 on 3 play in overtime. I also cant remember a playoff game between a rested team and one that played the night before.

Well yeah, but I was talking about the absurdity of it all not the ending. The last game I can remember really going sideways like that was Toronto blowing a big lead late to the Bruins, iirc, and losing the series because of it. And even that wasn't as wacky a game as this.

 

[BobRouse]

If he calls the timeout at the correct moment there may not even be a need for the challenge.

Or if he removed Holtby after goal #4 you could say the same.

Fact is that its VERY rare for a coach to use a TO to stem the tide ever since the replay rule came into effect. I'm not going get mad at him over that.

Reality is that goal should not have counted. It was text book goalie interference.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Then he wouldn't have been able to challenge a goal and get screwed out of his timeout!

I'm with you, I would have taken a timeout, but one decision we don't agree with doesn't mean he was out coached. I'm just sick of the instant scapegoating when we lose and little coaching praise when we win, as if the coach is only responsible for the bad things and the players for the good things.

It doesn't have to be so binary. Everyone knows Trotz is a great coach.

But in-game decisions/adjustments are huge in the playoffs, and Trotz didn't do well in this particular game in this regard. I bet he would say that himself.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

It doesn't have to be so binary. Everyone knows Trotz is a great coach.

But in-game decisions/adjustments are huge in the playoffs, and Trotz didn't do well in this particular game in this regard. I bet he would say that himself.

It doesn't have to be, just feels like that's how it is. A loss and Trotz is getting crapped on or 2nd guessed, a win and he's barely acknowledged as existing.

Maybe he made adjustments and the players didn't execute? Just playing Devils advocate.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Or if he removed Holtby after goal #4 you could say the same.

Fact is that its VERY rare for a coach to use a TO to stem the tide ever since the replay rule came into effect. I'm not going get mad at him over that.

Reality is that goal should not have counted. It was text book goalie interference.

I'd question him over the non-pull after #4 more so than not using the timeout. It was clear to me after goal 4 Holtby's mental game was done.