Post-Game Talk: Capitals @ Flyers 12:30

[Eirikrautha]

Neither, give me Boston. I’m confident we beat the Bruins, not as confident if it’s anyone else.

Honestly, the Caps could sweep any team in the East, or get swept by any (except Philly or NJ, apparently, though their not likely to face either ). It all depends on if the goaltending gets solid and/or if the ESGs keep coming at the same pace...

 

[sycamore]

Pittsburgh. Nobody in their right mind wants a first round against the NYR. I believe Boston will get the final spot and prefer them but then again I say play whoever, have to play teams to get the title.

Pittburgh and Boston would be fine. Just want no part of the Islanders. Not until later.

 

[Melkor]

For sure. But a lot of goalies go whole games without facing a breakaway and his save % would be .917 without that goal. But I agree his entire body of work has been problematic this season. The Caps broadcast crew keeps praising Murray, but I’m feeling a little meh about Samsonov’s development. Maybe Korn’s Holtby and Gruby whispering set my expectations too high?

They will praise anybody they have a good personal relationship with on that team. Zero trust to what those guys say.

 

[Coldplay619]

Rangers terrify me.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Rangers terrify me.

Yes They need to be kept out of the playoffs

 

[SherVaughn30]

For sure. But a lot of goalies go whole games without facing a breakaway and his save % would be .917 without that goal. But I agree his entire body of work has been problematic this season. The Caps broadcast crew keeps praising Murray, but I’m feeling a little meh about Samsonov’s development. Maybe Korn’s Holtby and Gruby whispering set my expectations too high?

No they didn't. The goalies job is to stop the puck from being scored by the opponent. A goalie is required to stop pucks in many situations and a breakaway is part of that. Sammy has the NHL talent level to compete, but his mental game is not up to par yet(I wonder if it will ever reach the needed level). Frankly, I'm not too fond of Scott Murray. He was Korn's assistant in the past but I don't think he's doing a good enough job passing on what he learned from Korn. One aspect Korn always made his goalies better at was conditioning. Improving your core to become better conditioned physically. VV seems further ahead of Sammy in that regard. What I don't particularly like with how Murray is working with Sammy, is movements and reads of the play(some might not see this, but the fact Sammy communication skills in fully understanding English are still a work in progress(my guess is Sammy still needs an interpreter to understand what Murray is explaining to him in practice) in front of him. Sammy is still way out of control. When you see him making a lot of athletic saves in a game, it means he's not in good position. He's overcompensating bad angling/position technique with his athleticism. When a goalie is using too much athleticism, it can make the goalie more prone to injuries(might explain his mysterious upper body injury, unless he was under the weather a bit). The bottom line, Sammy's maturity level is not there yet to be an NHL #1 goalie. I'll add VV is not that much better, because he's a rookie and the fact that no scout/coaches are ever gonna look at him ever holding being a #1 goalie(I believe VV long term projection was/is still to be an NHL backup).

 

[SherVaughn30]

One thing I would like to add perspective wise in what the Caps D/Goaltending should be capable of. If it comes across to a lot of Caps fans that the D/Team D has to do more to help the young goalies, then doesn't that say something that the two young goalies have a low limit in what they are capable of right now? If the D/team D overcompensates too much to help their little experienced goalies, then the team play will suffer in certain situations. Case in point. Both Sammy/VV are not that good playing the puck or controlling the puck(covering the puck or putting rebounds in harmless places) so it takes pressure off the d-men having to go for the puck more. Because the Caps overall is labeled as a slower d-group, puck control/handling of the puck becomes more important of the goalies. It doesn't take rocket science to tell you, that Craig Anderson is miles ahead of both VV/Sammy in this regard. While Anderson doesn't have the youth/skill set of the younger goalies, his puck control and understanding of the game has a more positive/immediate effect on how the team executes around defending their goal. Obviously, Anderson is not the Now Solution or further down the road. We as Caps Fans have big aspirations of the team winning another Cup this coming playoffs, but there is one road block that could get in the way of it happening. VV/Sammy are not goalies you win Cups with(at least not yet).

Another example might be, the fact the Caps are still in the bottom half of the league in face-off win %, the coaches have asked the goalies to keep the puck moving more rather than holding onto a puck for a face-off. We all know whether regular season or playoffs, there are times when the goalie needs to cover the puck/control the puck to get a whistle for break and possible line change. I would really like to see both Caps goalies hold more pucks to get a whistle for a face-off and slow the game down more, especially against the faster teams.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Nice win! Always good to see Ovie with another multi goal game.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Didn't look bad at all and nearly had a goal using his reach.

I'm probably in the minority - or maybe just bad at watching hockey....

I don't see Mantha playing a very physical game.
And it does look like he floats at times - I'm just not sure if he's being lazy or if he is hesitant because he is still new on the team and finding his role / learning the system.

Just my observations so far - and genuinely interested in what others think.

 

[kmart]

Just my observations so far - and genuinely interested in what others think.

i see him more as a possession player, he rather makes plays with his big size/reach than with pure physical play. he has the ability to hold on the puck a bit longer and wait for a play to open or just dumb it in. overall i agree with u, he is not ur primary puck retriever and therefore the way he plays right now with backy and oshie is fine/great even but it probably wont work on a line with ao and kuzy.

as opposite to mantha, vrana had to work a lot more for his meals to be productive so much is clear already.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Feel you homie. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I’ve accomplished more by doing less than my run making GDTs during the Cup run. @Ridley Simon gets it.

We owned it. And we knew it. What a roll that was. Will never forget it. Best part is literally everyone was on board. Everyone knew it!!

sometimes bringing the hammer is necessary....

 

[AussieCapsFan]

i see him more as a possession player, he rather makes plays with his big size/reach than with pure physical play. he has the ability to hold on the puck a bit longer and wait for a play to open or just dumb it in. overall i agree with u, he is not ur primary puck retriever and therefore the way he plays right now with backy and oshie is fine/great even but it probably wont work on a line with ao and kuzy.

as opposite to mantha, vrana had to work a lot more for his meals to be productive so much is clear already.

Oh wow that's pretty interesting, actually. I hadn't viewed Mantha that way - I will look at him in a different light.
My expectation level was "power forward" because that is what we were told to expect - but I don't see that at all....at least not yet anyway

 

[Firsov99]

I'm probably in the minority - or maybe just bad at watching hockey....

I don't see Mantha playing a very physical game.
And it does look like he floats at times - I'm just not sure if he's being lazy or if he is hesitant because he is still new on the team and finding his role / learning the system.

Just my observations so far - and genuinely interested in what others think.

I don't think that you are in the minority. Another poster compared Mantha to Viktor Kozlov the other day, and I thought that it was an accurate comparison. Viktor was also a very big player who didn't play a physical game, but skated well and had a pretty good wrist shot. Mantha might use his frame a little bit more though.

 

[Coldplay619]

 

[Hivemind]

I'm probably in the minority - or maybe just bad at watching hockey....

I don't see Mantha playing a very physical game.
And it does look like he floats at times - I'm just not sure if he's being lazy or if he is hesitant because he is still new on the team and finding his role / learning the system.

Just my observations so far - and genuinely interested in what others think.

This is pretty apt