Post-Game Talk: Wilsonton Capitals vs Parallaxed Penguins - Game 2

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maybam

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Mar 30, 2010
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I just don't get why they can't play like this from the drop of the puck. That Pens D is nothing special IMO yet the Caps aren't exploiting it. They have a rookie goalie in net who should be getting peppered and screened at every chance.

This has been a weird series so far. Neither team has impressed and they both could be easily up 2-0 at this point.

It seems like the caps play with a passive forecheck until the other team scores a goal. Then they start playing aggressive, the D starts pinching etc.
 

Brian23

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Dec 3, 2011
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What I don't get is we've seen how well they play when they're the aggressor, why is Trotz coaching them like he's scared? If its not him, what is it that gets these guys switch flipped in the third?

If we played every game like we do the third period, we'd have this game over in 6 imo.
 

Ovie's Neighbor

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Jan 23, 2007
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I just don't get why they can't play like this from the drop of the puck. That Pens D is nothing special IMO yet the Caps aren't exploiting it. They have a rookie goalie in net who should be getting peppered and screened at every chance.

This has been a weird series so far. Neither team has impressed and they both could be easily up 2-0 at this point.

The Pens D does one thing well, move the puck. We need a more aggressive forecheck to take away time. And when we have the puck in the zone we need to make better passes. Our passing was some of the worst I have ever seen tonight.
 

NobodyBeatsTheWiz

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I just don't get why they can't play like this from the drop of the puck. That Pens D is nothing special IMO yet the Caps aren't exploiting it. They have a rookie goalie in net who should be getting peppered and screened at every chance.

This has been a weird series so far. Neither team has impressed and they both could be easily up 2-0 at this point.

I'm beginning to think it's at least partially by design. They're looking to wear opponents out rather than jump all over them, so the foot stays off the gas as long as Holtby keeps them in it.

I mean, if it was a preparation issue, you'd figured they'd have made some improvements over the course of the season.
 

Blitzkrieg365

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It was certainly flipped. They thoroughly outplayed the Pens in the third.

What about the 40 minutes before that? I thought flipping the light switch meant they would turn it on for the entire playoffs, not 1 period per game. They had been doing this for a few months leading up to the playoffs.
 

bWo*

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I don't like the way Trotz has us starting games. Playing like a bunch of pansies.
 

Langway

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Trotz is probably too even-keeled and old school ultimately. He needs to have guys going from puck drop and doesn't. He needs to be on top of who is going and pushing buttons to get more out of each individual. You can't on the one hand decry bad or lazy habits yet not make it clear what's acceptable and not. He needs to focus less on sheer blind effort and physical play and more on intelligent, composed hockey. They're too loose and sloppy for playoff hockey at this stage.

They'll get embarrassed if this is all they have in Games 3 & 4. Holtby is going to have to be great either way probably given how thin their scoring and overall execution seems to be.

The shutdown hockey has mostly been there and that's great but it's not nearly enough. There's an entire other side of the coin barely being shaped up.
 

illpucks

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May 26, 2011
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Game 3 has 2 scenarios.

1 - Pens didn't deserve to win this game so they lose game 3.

2 - Pens carry momentum and rout us like 6-1.

Haven't decided which one.
 

Ovie's Neighbor

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If Trotz is about accountability he needs to demote Williams to the fourth line. There is simply no excuse for his horrible decision making.
 

Capitals40

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Nov 14, 2014
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In the last few days Brouwer has the series winning goal, Ward has the game winning goal, and Fehr has the game winning goal against the Caps...aarrgghh.
 

maybam

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If Trotz is about accountability he needs to demote Williams to the fourth line. There is simply no excuse for his horrible decision making.

Yep. I don't even think the guy is hurt. He just makes absolutely awful decisions.

He's had so many horrible turnovers and never shoots the puck. At some point you have to think if the coaches just are not holding him accountable because of his resumé.
 

PucksInDeep

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Oct 1, 2014
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Trotz should consider shaking up the lines - maybe something like this?

8 - 92 - 77
65 - 19 - 90
26 - 83 - 43
25 - 10 -14
 

Capitals40

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Yep. I don't even think the guy is hurt. He just makes absolutely awful decisions.

He's had so many horrible turnovers and never shoots the puck. At some point you have to think if the coaches just are not holding him accountable because of his resumé.

He has not been good but he is not the reason we had 10 shots on goal in 2 periods.
 

Blitzkrieg365

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Trotz should consider shaking up the lines - maybe something like this?

8 - 92 - 77
65 - 19 - 90
26 - 83 - 43
25 - 10 -14

I think Backstrom has to stay on the top line because hes been dominating Crosby at the faceoff dot. I think he won 16 of 18 tonight.
 

illpucks

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The 2010 Richards doesn't miss that shot. Shame he's so bad offensively now.
 

artilector

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Jan 11, 2006
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I doubt there is a magic incantation to start games well.

Caps' effort looked fine to me in the 1st, Pens were just faster.
The biggest factor, IMO, that allowed them to get back into the game, is that Pens started to turtle more after their goal, lost momentum, and then in the 3rd probably started running out of gas playing 5 defensemen. Anyway, it sounds about right that it might take a period or two to slow down a faster opponent.

Coming out super-aggressive against a faster opponent that's good on transition is also risky -- you can find yourself down 3-0 in a period.

I mean, I'm for doing something more aggressively, but it's a tricky balance in this case, IMO. When you're the slower team, your options are limited.
 

Capsman

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Nov 21, 2008
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Not really sure what exactly the team can learn from this game. Where was the glaring mistake that can be corrected? What exactly does Trotz say to them? Chip harder? Chase faster? Shoot better? He has a philosophy that he emphasizes and they followed this philosophy pretty much to their abilities. We expecting Bura to win board battles? We expecting Richards to break free of defensemen? We expecting Kuz to successfully weave through an entire defense solo? I guess if those things happen we can improve.
 

Capitals40

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Of course not, but he certainly isn't helping.

I agree...I think the bigger issue is why does a coach have a game plan to trap while he has great offensive talent and the best goalie in the league. I think it is saying he is scared of the Pens offesnive talent and sends a terrible message to his own team and the opponent.
 

BackVechkin

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Dec 19, 2014
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We came out FLAT. I don't know what it is but our energy is no where to be found in the first period. I think trotz needs to juggle the lines a bit, williams and kuz can't seem to get going.
 

Langway

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Jul 7, 2006
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Trotz isn't going to put Ovechkin & Kuznetsov together on the road when he can't control match-ups. He's already hesitant enough putting Kuznetsov's line out against power. They mostly played against PIT's fourth line.

I don't know how you change the lines in any coherent way from an offensive standpoint when so many forwards aren't going. No one really deserves a promotion and, again, Trotz has his match-ups he's likely going to be after. The Beagle line got destroyed tonight and were basically PKing 5-on-5. Either way Trotz has to find a way to get much more out of the middle six at least. So little useful play by two vets in 14/25 thus far is very disappointing.
 

maybam

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I agree...I think the bigger issue is why does a coach have a game plan to trap while he has great offensive talent and the best goalie in the league. I think it is saying he is scared of the Pens offesnive talent and sends a terrible message to his own team and the opponent.

Yep I think it's definitely systemic at this point. It looks less and less like the caps gave up the first goal for that long stretch after the all star break by chance.
 
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