GDT: 5/13/18 - 8:00PM EDT - #1M Washington VS #1A Tampa Bay [ECF GAME 2]

[Bolt 45]

that mysterious "some reason"

That quote's concerning.

 

[DFC]

We’re actually in the upper half for average age in the NHL. I think we were the 2nd or 3rd oldest team of the 8 last round.

Kunitz.

Our oldest core player is Stamkos, who just turned 28, unless we count Stralman. All the major roles are filled by guys in their mid-twenties, or even early twenties.

 

[Antiramie]

Kunitz.

Our oldest core player is Stamkos, who just turned 28, unless we count Stralman. All the major roles are filled by guys in their mid-twenties, or even early twenties.

And Orpik and Chara do the same to their respective team average. And Pitt’s oldest player is Malkin lol. Half of our D is older than him. And most of the top tier Western teams are younger than we are to boot.

 

[DFC]

And Orpik and Chara do the same to their respective teams. And Pitt’s oldest core player is Malkin lol. Half of our D is older than him. And most of the top tier Western teams are younger than we are to boot.

Chara's still a core player. (Although, yeah, Boston is definitely trying to get younger.)

Malkin, Crosby, and Kessel are all 30 or older.

Our three best forwards are all 28 or younger. Our top scorer isn't 25 yet, our #1D is 27, and our #1G is 23. We're still very young. But, especially this past off-season, we added some experience/age to the lineup. We don't have anybody older than 28 in our top-9.

 

[Antiramie]

And half our D will be 32+ next season. Our forward youth doesn’t mean squat when you’re giving up 5 goals a game.

And just because we’re young doesn’t mean other teams aren’t either...or younger.

 

[LonLon Lei]

I asked Cooper about the defensive coverage in this game during his presser and he was adamant that their defensive structure wasn’t the issue in this game. He was more concerned with the odd man rushes and turnovers Tampa Bay allowed.
......
No one asked any questions pertaining to lineup changes but I would assume Cooper makes some kind of change.

some good analysis here
Washington Capitals outplay Tampa Bay Lightning once again en route to 6-2 win; lead series 2-0

I,too, am curious to see what kind of change may take place.

 

[LonLon Lei]

At least our netminder will be the same

 

[LightningStrikes]

 

[Hoek]

Vinik isn't the one that is firing Cooper, Yzerman is. And the moment he does, his ass is on the line as well. GMs usually don't get more than two coaches, though Yzerman has probably done enough to be an exception and get one more shot at it.

 

[Flat Ronnie]

Anything from Yzerman or Cooper?

 

[Flat Ronnie]

On a more constructive note: could they habe thought no adjustments were needed heading into game 2 - just play better? And now they realize they are going to have to make some big adjustments?

 

[DrMartinVanNostrand]

No kidding. 2-6 in eight Conference Final home games under Jon Cooper. That's pathetic.

 

[God King Fudge]

This sums it up perfectly:



Full credit to the Caps, they are absolutely destroying TB and it's not even been remotely close, but TB hasn't even been bothered to show up. The effort level is completely bewildering to me. There isn't one. They're just laying down and dying.

It's one thing to lose in 7 in closely contested games. It's completely different to get dominated at home twice and TBH, after what I've seen in two HOME GAMES, I don't see any reason to believe this series goes more than 4 games right now.

If it plays out like it sure looks like it going to, there needs to be big changes to the staff. On the ice and on the bench.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

Vinik isn't the one that is firing Cooper, Yzerman is. And the moment he does, his ass is on the line as well. GMs usually don't get more than two coaches, though Yzerman has probably done enough to be an exception and get one more shot at it.

Yzerman has built this team/franchise to where it is. Vinik isn't going to fire him he will get a few more shots.

 

[Fabiobest]

Today, after yesterday game, is a really bad day.
I'm very very sad cause I believed that our team could be competitive for real, to win our second Stanley Cup.
But...what have I seen in these first 2 games?
I've seen 10 goals against, 6 periods played but only one played in a good way.
I've seen a poor offensive effort: yesterday we made 30+ shots to score only two times. And the second goal arrived thanks to a bad call of the refs.
I've seen that Capitals have played a good hockey, but they seems unbeatable at my eyes. I've neved has the feelings we can win a game....neither in game 1 nor yesterday.
It's like one big team against one bad: the big team controls the game, maybe concedes some goals and some periods to the bad team...but when the bad team decrease his intensity, the big team wins the game.
But we are NOT a bad team.
I cannot think that Stamkos, Hedman, Kucherov, Point, Gourde, Callahan, Kunitz, Stralman, McDonagh, Miller, Sergachev, Vasilevskiy are non enough neither to win nor to play a good hockey.
I'm really scared about game 3, to be honest.

 

[Antiramie]

Coaching aside, the Caps just look like they want it more. I don’t see anyone on our team with OV’s passion.

 

[Sky04]

Go away for a weekend and this team goes to shit, I see Stamkos been stepping up though. My boi.

 

[Sky04]

@Sky04 I officially renounce ever having said "You would have had Scotty Bowman fired" call me hyperbolic again, no biggie. We both know Jon Cooper isn't Bowman. But on the other hand I truly think we've found someone who actually would have called for Bowman's head in the Red Wing years

Not sure how it's entirely on Cooper when the forwards are making dumb passes and the d-men are making dumb pinches. Cooper has his lines managed correctly and his d-men utilized right. Vasi making dumb reads isn't on him.

Already called that the Caps were going to come in hungry but I guess people underestimated them because "chokers". Big credit to Ovechkin who's playing more hungry then anyone else.

 

[The Macho King]

Not sure how it's entirely on Cooper when the forwards are making dumb passes and the d-men are making dumb pinches. Cooper has his lines managed correctly and his d-men utilized right. Vasi making dumb reads isn't on him.

Already called that the Caps were going to come in hungry but I guess people underestimated them because "chokers". Big credit to Ovechkin who's playing more hungry then anyone else.

Want to echo this as a charter member of the #FireCooper brigade.

I don't see how any of the CF performance is on him. It's clear the players aren't playing the system.

 

[God King Fudge]

Want to echo this as a charter member of the #FireCooper brigade.

I don't see how any of the CF performance is on him. It's clear the players aren't playing the system.

Not saying I disagree, but are they not playing the system because they've tuned him out? They look completely lifeless. Ultimately, that's going to fall on the coach. They aren't going to wholesale make changes to the team, so that's the easiest way to make change.

I think Bowness needs to be gone 100% without any kind of discussion or question regardless of how the rest of this series goes, though.

 

[T REX]

No kidding. 2-6 in eight Conference Final home games under Jon Cooper. That's pathetic.

That is unacceptable and very telling.

.125% winning percentage...anyone care to defend that?

 

[Todd1a]

Not saying I disagree, but are they not playing the system because they've tuned him out? They look completely lifeless. Ultimately, that's going to fall on the coach. They aren't going to wholesale make changes to the team, so that's the easiest way to make change.

I think Bowness needs to be gone 100% without any kind of discussion or question regardless of how the rest of this series goes, though.

Why do fans just always say bowness needs to go ? Cooper is the head coach he needs the blame first! Ya bowness runs the pk and defense but cooper is the boss if he wants change from bowness he tells him and he does it he is the boss behind the bench not bowness.

 

[Sky04]

Want to echo this as a charter member of the #FireCooper brigade.

I don't see how any of the CF performance is on him. It's clear the players aren't playing the system.

Love this board sometimes, Cooper plays Johnson with a broken wrist against top units, Hedman 21 minutes a game, Drouin benched for Morrow and it's the players fault. Cooper plays well rounded lines, Victor Hedman played 25+ minutes the first 2 games (27 in the first) and no Sustr this series and it's his fault. People bandwagon without actually thinking.

Players didn't zone him out or are playing unmotivated, they're playing stupid as individuals and not playing a team game. Not only that but Vasi's inexperience is showing, 10 goals against and .839 save % in the conference finals is horrific, I don't care what the D is doing a goalie is capable of standing on their head when needed, and we've seen it from Vasi before it's not like he can't do it.

 

[Goober]

Cooper's not going anywhere.

 

[Fabiobest]

That is unacceptable and very telling.

.125% winning percentage...anyone care to defend that?

I've noticed another thing. Maybe more serious.
During the Cooper era, since the 2014 season, we've done many post season appearance.
2014) Lost in 4 against Habs...In our roster there were tons of injuries.
2015) Lost in SCF, against a great team like Chicago.
2016) Lost in ECF against a great team like Penguins
2017) Shame
2018) If we'll continue like that, we'll lose in thje ECF against a great team like Capitals.
So? If our Tampa meets a very good team, it's quite sure that we'll lose the series.
Chicago-Pittsburgh-Washington.
But we were in enormous troubles also in the first round of the 2015 post season, against Detroit. And these Red Wings were not the Yzerman's ones xD xD xD
It's a serious situation because we cannot pretend to defeat Buffalo-Florida-NJ- Arizona to win the Cup.
We've to fight against hard opponent if we want to raise the Cup.
And against great team, the records are horrible.
I can accept an horrible record if we've a bad roster. But, as I've written in my last post, I think we've a high level roster.