Post-Game Talk: Boston Patriots @ Champs - 12:30pm

[Brucelenok]

Anyone else noticed Ovi had one of the best games today in recent memory in terms of playmaking? His passes were sick today. Too bad Boyd and Oshie couldn't convert them into the goals...

 

[Capsman]

Oshie isn’t asked to do a hell of a lot but perhaps put away prime scoring chances. Bringing absolutely nothing to the team for months now. That last opportunity about sums him up. A spike in his playoff play does us no good if we don’t make the playoffs.

Just not crazy about going through Reirden’s growing pains on a team that has 2 years max to win another SC, but it is what it is.

 

[maacoshark]

I don't think they didn't care. I think they just didn't know how to play. The time for not caring is clearly over. The 3rd period is when the sense of urgency has played it's part but it's obvious that this team has deep systematic problems in its game.

Late in the game they started getting pucks deep and forechecked aggressively. Earlier in the game they tried to carry the puck in the zone with little success.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

I slept in so I missed the game....

Bruins finally won? WoW

 

[Melkor]

Late in the game they started getting pucks deep and forechecked aggressively. Earlier in the game they tried to carry the puck in the zone with little success.

You can't win games by just playing a freakin dump and chase all the time. The fact that they can't carry the puck and make plays right of off zone entrys is a part of whats killing them this season.

 

[Sam Spade]

Anyone else noticed Ovi had one of the best games today in recent memory in terms of playmaking? His passes were sick today. Too bad Boyd and Oshie couldn't convert them into the goals...

Great game for sure. Chances for 28, against 14, shots for 13, against 5. Really is too bad he (and his line) didn't get rewarded.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

On RMNB it says Kuzy was benched for taking a penalty, I hope the same same courtesy will also extended to Backstrom. Or will he escape the fire like always?

 

[StrikingDistance]

Oshie isn’t asked to do a hell of a lot but perhaps put away prime scoring chances. Bringing absolutely nothing to the team for months now. That last opportunity about sums him up. A spike in his playoff play does us no good if we don’t make the playoffs.

Just not crazy about going through Reirden’s growing pains on a team that has 2 years max to win another SC, but it is what it is.

 

[Revelation]

Stone would be a good fit on any team. He is a solid player.

Biggest issue with getting players at the deadline is they cannot adjust to the new system/linemates/icetime/responsibilities in time for the playoffs and end up making gaffes and being a negative (Shattenkirk) or playing a safe/conservative/ineffective 3rd liner level replacement game. Stone is probably up there with Bergeron as far as the most cerebral player in the league, so I see him quickly getting the hang of all those things and playing a high end two way 1st line W game for us. On the other hand if we got Duchene and tried to fit him as a 3C/2C/2W whatever I can see it being a dud like he was the first few months in Ottawa where his timing and reads are all off and he cancels out his linemates. So I'd overpay for Stone as much as I'd underpay for Duchene. Or you can get a guy like Ferland and just tell him to crash and bang so there's no ambiguity about his role and deployment.

That would be something to consider, but imagine that he'd want something comparable to his current salary of 7.3 come next year, ouch! Still the lines next year could look something like:
Ovechkin - Kuzy - Wilson
Vrana - Backstrom - Stone
? - Eller - Oshie

There'd be no need to bring back the likes of Dowd, DSP and Connolly. Fourth line could include Boyd, Jaskin, Stephenson, Barber.

If Boyd keeps it up Eller could be expendable (he's inconsistent year to year as well, so far 1 for 3 good years for us), also one of Orlov or Niskanen with the glut of D we have coming up (and each of them could return a solid cheaper D as well). Orlov makes a lot of mistakes and is a streaky player and Niskanen while much more dependable is the oldest, makes the most and could start falling off at any moment. Also Holtby's contract is ending soon and the next contract he gets will probably be bad and we may be better rolling off with Samsonov. Also if Oshie keeps falling off with his contract and age he should be under consideration to be moved.

At this point the league is gravitating towards as many star players with high cap hits as possible complimented by ELCs/European UFAs/smart league min signings with middle of the road 2-7 million dollar players phased out unless they're incredibly effective or a brilliant RFA signing like Wilson/Pastrnak. Basically what Pittsburgh has been always doing

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

Let’s face it. The players aren’t really respecting Reirden’s authority. And it doesn’t help that he benches Kuzy a whole period for a hook but then not Oshie at the end of the game which negated our PP.

 

[John Price]

Fort Dupont funding for new facility in jeopardy, DC council could vote to save it on Tuesday

hopefully they continue to get funding

 

[John Price]

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[AtNightWeFly]

Let’s face it. The players aren’t really respecting Reirden’s authority. And it doesn’t help that he benches Kuzy a whole period for a hook but then not Oshie at the end of the game which negated our PP.

Exactly. When you start doing things like this it has to be all across the board. You cant pick 1 and hope the rest will learn. Now you gotta wonder if Kuzy played more, might they actually win this game?

 

[hockeykicker]

Exactly. When you start doing things like this it has to be all across the board. You cant pick 1 and hope the rest will learn. Now you gotta wonder if Kuzy played more, might they actually win this game?

Oshie says this has been happening for a while

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

Oshie says this has been happening for a while

If that’s the case why do they continue to lead the league in stick infractions.

 

[Firsov99]

Let’s face it. The players aren’t really respecting Reirden’s authority. And it doesn’t help that he benches Kuzy a whole period for a hook but then not Oshie at the end of the game which negated our PP.

It's a fair assumption although we can't be 100% sure that the coach-players relationship has truly gone south. But to me it's evident that he can't control the team, and that a lot of players are underachieving right now. Will the coach bench 5-6 players to send a message? Will the players have another team meeting to get things straight? I don't think that this type of actions would do any good to team's poor play in the long run. I think that it's a very unpleasant situation where the core problem could bad coaching, but a lot of people still dismiss this opinion.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

Oshie says this has been happening for a while

Oshie has been benched for an entire period after taking a bad penalty?

I don't necessarily even mind this tactic but it has to be even.

 

[kicksavedave]

If that’s the case why do they continue to lead the league in stick infractions.

Most of the time stick infractions are just the result of lazy play... you get beat, you reach. If players move their legs more, then their sticks are playing pucks (or better, possessing pucks) and those lazy hooks don't happen so much. Its really all boiling down to effort.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

Most of the time stick infractions are just the result of lazy play... you get beat, you reach. If players move their legs more, then their sticks are playing pucks (or better, possessing pucks) and those lazy hooks don't happen so much. Its really all boiling down to effort.

I know but my point is why aren’t they putting in the effort. Is it on the coach? Players? Both? I don’t think Reirden can all of a sudden transform into a disciplinarian.

 

[kicksavedave]

I know but my point is why aren’t they putting in the effort. Is it on the coach? Players? Both? I don’t think Reirden can all of a sudden transform into a disciplinarian.

Hard to pinpoint it exactly but I'd say Cup hangover is real, combined with a new sense of "just barely get by" in the RS and save it for the playoffs, but that could be just wishful thinking. They can sure turn it on when they want to, but why they only want to occasionally is a mystery.

Kuzy flat out said he doesn't care much about the RS and all he really cares about is the playoffs. I suspect that mentality is more prevalent than we know but not too many others would say it out loud.

 

[Firsov99]

Hard to pinpoint it exactly but I'd say Cup hangover is real, combined with a new sense of "just barely get by" in the RS and save it for the playoffs, but that could be just wishful thinking. They can sure turn it on when they want to, but why they only want to occasionally is a mystery.

Kuzy flat out said he doesn't care much about the RS and all he really cares about is the playoffs. I suspect that mentality is more prevalent than we know but not too many others would say it out loud.

Let's assume that the Cup hangover is real, and that the players are slacking and saving themselves for the playoffs. Shouldn't this be evident to the coaching staff? What does it make of our coaches then if they can't convince players to exert more effort?

 

[kicksavedave]

Let's assume that the Cup hangover is real, and that the players are slacking and saving themselves for the playoffs. Shouldn't this be evident to the coaching staff? What does it make of our coaches then if they can't convince players to exert more effort?

It's not like they are in last place here, or the season is almost over and they are in real danger of missing the playoffs. I said earlier I the year they can make the payoffs purely on talent alone. So I'm not convinced that this effort isn't somewhat sanctioned, or at least tolerated, by the coaches who know they need to be fresh and motivated for April.

 

[maacoshark]

You can't win games by just playing a freakin dump and chase all the time. The fact that they can't carry the puck and make plays right of off zone entrys is a part of whats killing them this season.

We have to start adjusting to the way teams are playing us and dumping the puck in is where to start. No one said to dump it in everytime. Right now we are trying to carry the puck in the zone. Teams are clogging the neutral zone and standing up at the blue line causing turnovers. Our zone entries have been terrible. If we start dumping the puck in and forechecking hard then teams will have to respect it and it should open things up a bit.

 

[txpd]

You can't win games by just playing a freakin dump and chase all the time. The fact that they can't carry the puck and make plays right of off zone entrys is a part of whats killing them this season.

Sometimes good teams with defensive skill play a system that dares you to carry. You have to dump it in. Challenge it and you drive right into the teeth of their defense. You know that.

Second. The Caps are or are near the biggest team in the league. Dumping it in and working over their defense wears teams down. Its how the Caps won the cup last year.

Remember Kuzy's beat the Penguins goal? That was the Caps playing the dump it or get killed defense. They didn't dump it in and they died for it

You seem to be saying that a good passing team can throw right into the teeth of the coverage and beat it. That's nuts