Post-Game Talk: win 7:08

[4thTierSport]

I have no idea why they keep playing Kunitz with Crosby, the play dies every time the puck is on his stick. Certainly not a player you want to have next to one of the best players in the world, but that's none of our business.

I feel like some players on this team are becoming complacent. Having locked a playoff spot a month ago and winning the PT 2 weeks ago put some players back in their comfort zone.

I'll start with the captain. Ovi turns the puck over on the PP, doesn't hustle to take it back from Cullen, SHG for the Pens. Cullen is not faster than Ovi, he should've caught him and stripped him of the puck on the back check.

Backstrom looked like a pylon, if he's not healthy enough to move around, sit him out.

Williams, 3vs3 OT. Gets a partial breakaway, doesn't get the shot off, Letang strips him of the puck and sends Crosby on a breakaway to win the game. If Williams shot that puck earlier, maybe it's game over for the Pens.

Wilson, just a brutal game and a dirty hit. I hope Trotz plays Latta next game.

Schmorlov sucked, especially #88. A 3vs2, Orlov already had the puck carrier covered, but Schmidt leaves his position to cover the same player

Holtby didn't play a bad game, but it didn't scream Vezina winner to me.

On a positive note, I liked the play of the top 4, MJ, Bura and Osh. Chimmer and Beagle were meh.

Because time and time again Crosby has proved that he isn't what you think he would be with other high caliber players. Then Kunitz is a special case on top of that because those two click for whatever reason.

 

[Hivemind]

Schmorlov sucked, especially #88. A 3vs2, Orlov already had the puck carrier covered, but Schmidt leaves his position to cover the same player

Watch the replay. That's not what happened.

Orlov massively over committed to the player along the boards, leaving Schmidt out to dry in a 2-on-1 scenario. Schmidt was forced to switch to the player in the slot, since he was both the puck carrier and the player with the higher quality shot at the time. Schmidt made the right play in a crappy scenario.

The fault there lies with Orlov and the forwards for getting beat on the backcheck leading to an odd man rush.

 

[HecticGlow]

Mojo has an assist on each of Ovi's four April goals, and Ovi only had four in March apparently.

I'm just not convinced it's a coincidence that the Ovi who was skating and dekeing hard against the Islanders - who seemed the most genuinely invested and emotional about getting Holtby the record before last night - had lost that spark and enthusiasm when Backstrom returned.

I wonder as well if part of it is about opposition research. 8-19-77 and 65-92-14 are known quantities by this point, whereas 8-90-77 was entirely new.

(By the way, if the top line isn't going to be a scoring one but you won't move NB, put Oshie next to Mojo on the third. They were getting good chemistry and 8-19 hasn't helped him one bit. Top line Beagle would help it stay dominant defensively and in possession, wouldn't it?)

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Watch the replay. That's not what happened.

Orlov massively over committed to the player along the boards, leaving Schmidt out to dry in a 2-on-1 scenario. Schmidt was forced to switch to the player in the slot, since he was both the puck carrier and the player with the higher quality shot at the time. Schmidt made the right play in a crappy scenario.

The fault there lies with Orlov and the forwards for getting beat on the backcheck leading to an odd man rush.

I'm sorry, but after analyzing it, that's not what happened. It starts out as a 3vs2, Cullen is trailing Kuhnhackl and Fehr. Schmidt's man is Kuhnhackl, Orlov's man is Fehr, Cullen is Wilson's man.

Kuhnhackl cuts to the middle at the red line, Schmidt thinks he's going to split the D. Orlov should've been a bit closer to Schmidt, but not too much, otherwise Fehr scores.

Kuhnhackl sucked Schmidt in at the middle, Orlov still has Fehr covered. Once Schmidt commits to the poke check and Orlov commits to Fehr, the deadly pass is delivered to Cullen who was 10 ft ahead of Wilson. Goal.

Orlov didn't recognize the play until it happened, poor awareness by Schmorlov, poor positioning by Schmidt in particular.

The face-off was even worse. MJ wins it back but it doesn't have enough speed to get to Schmidt. One of Chimera or Wilson should've gotten to the puck ahead of Kuhnhackl. Instead, Chimera goes in the other direction and Wilson doesn't do anything on the play.

 

[John Price]

https://capitalstoday.monumentalsportsnetwork.com/2016/04/08/rtr

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, April 13, at 2 p.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser, Events DC and the Capitals, including owner Ted Leonsis and alumni Rod Langway and Alan May, will come together to celebrate a historic regular season and the upcoming playoffs during a Capitals #RockTheRed Fan Rally at Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square.



Capitals fans are invited to Carnegie Library from 1-3 p.m. to participate in the fan rally. In addition, the Capitals’ Rock the Red Ride of Fame bus will be on-site as well as Red Rockers, mascot Slapshot and food trucks. The event also features giveaways, music and other surprises.

 

[Hivemind]

I'm sorry, but after analyzing it, that's not what happened. It starts out as a 3vs2, Cullen is trailing Kuhnhackl and Fehr. Schmidt's man is Kuhnhackl, Orlov's man is Fehr, Cullen is Wilson's man.

Kuhnhackl cuts to the middle at the red line, Schmidt thinks he's going to split the D. Orlov should've been a bit closer to Schmidt, but not too much, otherwise Fehr scores.

Kuhnhackl sucked Schmidt in at the middle, Orlov still has Fehr covered. Once Schmidt commits to the poke check and Orlov commits to Fehr, the deadly pass is delivered to Cullen who was 10 ft ahead of Wilson. Goal.

Orlov didn't recognize the play until it happened, poor awareness by Schmorlov, poor positioning by Schmidt in particular.

The face-off was even worse. MJ wins it back but it doesn't have enough speed to get to Schmidt. One of Chimera or Wilson should've gotten to the puck ahead of Kuhnhackl. Instead, Chimera goes in the other direction and Wilson doesn't do anything on the play.

I'm talking about the 3rd goal, not the first.
But I already put the effort into getting screenshots, so I'm going to post them anyway.

Kuzy goes for a fly-by (and almost trip) along the boards instead of finishing his check.

Burakovsky rotates in and is beaten. Kuzy is caught trying to sneak up ice in anticipation of Bura winning the board battle, and is stuck behind the play as a result. Ovechkin decides to bail entirely and gets off the ice.

3-on-2 develops the other direction.

Orlov over commits to the puck carrier along the boards, and goes for the poke check. This leaves Schmidt in a 2-on-1 situation.

Schmidt shifts over to cover the puck carrier and attempts to play the pass. This is textbook.

The Pens get the pass through Schmidt, leaving Sheary with a break on Holtby. Sheary, a 4th liner, dangles around Holtby.

So, basically the entire team did something wrong there. Schmidt was probably the least at fault, but even he wasn't able to successfully stop the 2-on-1 pass (granted, which is difficult to stop at game speed). The play is largely the result of the forwards, and especially Kuznetsov, being lazy in the neutral zone. Orlov compounds that by reading the situation poorly, and forcing a decision too soon, giving the Penguins an easy 2-on-1.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I'm talking about the 3rd goal, not the first.
But I already put the effort into getting screenshots, so I'm going to post them anyway.

Kuzy goes for a fly-by (and almost trip) along the boards instead of finishing his check.

Burakovsky rotates in and is beaten. Kuzy is caught trying to sneak up ice in anticipation of Bura winning the board battle, and is stuck behind the play as a result. Ovechkin decides to bail entirely and gets off the ice.

3-on-2 develops the other direction.

Orlov over commits to the puck carrier along the boards, and goes for the poke check. This leaves Schmidt in a 2-on-1 situation.

Schmidt shifts over to cover the puck carrier and attempts to play the pass. This is textbook.

The Pens get the pass through Schmidt, leaving Sheary with a break on Holtby. Sheary, a 4th liner, dangles around Holtby.

So, basically the entire team did something wrong there. Schmidt was probably the least at fault, but even he wasn't able to successfully stop the 2-on-1 pass (granted, which is difficult to stop at game speed). The play is largely the result of the forwards, and especially Kuznetsov, being lazy in the neutral zone. Orlov compounds that by reading the situation poorly, and forcing a decision too soon, giving the Penguins an easy 2-on-1.

Oh you were talking about the 3rd goal, yeah this one I completely agree with you. It was a debacle, basically every Cap on the ice played like trash on that one. Schmidt did the right thing, but he didn't put his stick flat on the ice to intercept it.

As Oshie said in the post game comments, they're not paying attention to the details, and it's costing them defensively. Kuzy was incredibly lazy on that goal. Not only did he not go in the board battle, but he didn't back check to cover Sheary.

If there was any Cap yesterday who looked bored, it was Kuzy. Even his trademark pass on the second Johansson goal was half assed, but it still got out to Nisky.

 

[Raikkonen]

Goal out of nothing. They better grab their sacks.

 

[Chukcha]

i think Kuz was dog-tired after a long shift. He barely moved his feet.

 

[HecticGlow]

Note the Crosby OT goal game just moments after a Kuzy > Mojo line change - and Mojo didn't have time to get to the goal. Yes, Nisky and Holts should have managed just fine between them, but there have been at least a few OT losses this season preceded immediately by a forward going for a line change. Hopefully crisp line changes (while the caps have possession) are one of the things they'll have got right by next week - the last thing we need in a 5v5 OT is a too-many-men penalty, or an unecessary 5-on-4.

I really hope Kuzy picks up quickly. It's not just his lack of points that have been noticeable - he's been uncharacteristically unimpressive in several areas of his game this last stretch. At least Bura has been playing well even when not scoring/assisting.