Capitals History Pt. 1 (former players & coaches, past seasons, etc.)

[BrooklynCapsFan]

bottom line is that with all of that the penguins only survived on the strength of two overtime power play bank shots off Caps skates.

the Erskine penalty in ot in game 3 was pretty cheap.

oh...and this is the same series where the pens earn their calls and kunitz crosschecks varly in the neck and goes free.

I think Orpik also went unpunished for breaking Semin's wrist.

It's a 7 game series and Pittsburgh dominated offensive zone possession. Of course they're going to draw penalties doing that.

The bottom line is that the Caps only almost won that series because of Ovechkins 14 (14!) points and Varlamov's heroic play behind a non-existant defense. That TEAM was terrible and it was only "close" because of two players.

 

[BobRouse]

The way I remember the 2009 series is that Pittsburgh earned their penalties. We couldn't clear the zone at all. Which is no surprise as we had Morrisonnn, Jurcina, Green, Pothier, Poti and Erskine at the time. Go back and re-watch a game. It was nerve-wracking watching Crosby and Malkin skate around our horrible D like pylons. The only reason that series was close was because of Ovechkin and Varlamov. Which again brings up the point that it's hard to call the Ovechkin Caps cursed when they were horribly built teams with too many major holes to be considered contenders.

It wasn't so much that our penalties (for the most part) weren't deserved. But that we could have gotten several more PPs but didn't. It was very one sided overall.

bottom line is that with all of that the penguins only survived on the strength of two overtime power play bank shots off Caps skates.

the Erskine penalty in ot in game 3 was pretty cheap.

oh...and this is the same series where the pens earn their calls and kunitz crosschecks varly in the neck and goes free.

Oh...you missed the WORST one.

Game 6...1 minute left in the 3rd period of a tie game.

Schultz gets called for a slash.

On replay the Pens player had his stick snap just by trying to play the puck. Schultz was 5 feet away from him and didn't even make a motion towards the guy.

To call THAT penatly in an elimination game with 1 minute left to go in the 3rd in a tie game...WOW...

I remember Doc saying something to the effect of "if the hockey gods are watching the Penguins will not score on this PP"

It was the most brutal phantom call I've ever seen in that situation.

EDIT: How about Malkin's winner in game 5....

Pens got a PP late in OT in game 5. It carried over to the 2nd OT.

Caps kill PP (or just about to) and dump puck in. Boyd Gordon gets cleaned out when his NOWHERE near the puck!!

 

[g00n]

The way I remember the 2009 series is that Pittsburgh earned their penalties. We couldn't clear the zone at all. Which is no surprise as we had Morrisonnn, Jurcina, Green, Pothier, Poti and Erskine at the time. Go back and re-watch a game. It was nerve-wracking watching Crosby and Malkin skate around our horrible D like pylons. The only reason that series was close was because of Ovechkin and Varlamov. Which again brings up the point that it's hard to call the Ovechkin Caps cursed when they were horribly built teams with too many major holes to be considered contenders.

Of course 100% of their calls weren't bogus. But it wasn't called the same both ways. I don't think it was an anti-Caps conspiracy so much as maybe unconscious bias based on the perception that the Crosby/Malkin Pens machine was going to roll over everyone and they were deserving of any calls they got, whoever the opponent.

edit: we've definitely veered from "league news" so I'm going to move a lot of this to the Caps History thread...

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Of course 100% of their calls weren't bogus. But it wasn't called the same both ways. I don't think it was an anti-Caps conspiracy so much as maybe unconscious bias based on the perception that the Crosby/Malkin Pens machine was going to roll over everyone and they were deserving of any calls they got, whoever the opponent.

edit: we've definitely veered from "league news" so I'm going to move a lot of this to the Caps History thread...

It's pretty hard to draw penalties when you don't have the puck. My recollection is that we were thoroughly outplayed in terms of possession/offensive zone time. Were there missed calls? Probably, but there always are.

The whining started with the ZOMG Pitt had 19 penalties to our 35. Well they owned the puck 2:1 as well, so it makes sense in context.

 

[BobRouse]

It's pretty hard to draw penalties when you don't have the puck. My recollection is that we were thoroughly outplayed in terms of possession/offensive zone time. Were there missed calls? Probably, but there always are.

The whining started with the ZOMG Pitt had 19 penalties to our 35. Well they owned the puck 2:1 as well, so it makes sense in context.

How do you explain the Montreal series then?

We had a whopping 73% puck possession metric yet finished -1 in PP/PK differential....

Fact is that the call WERE lobsided in that Pens series and mostly dealing with uncalled penalties against the Pens.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Fact is that the call WERE lobsided in that Pens series and mostly dealing with uncalled penalties against the Pens.

Well who could argue against facts! Now I can sleep better at night knowing that we lost to the Pens because of uncalled penalties.

 

[BobRouse]

Well who could argue against facts! Now I can sleep better at night knowing that we lost to the Pens because of uncalled penalties.

Washington Capitals perplexed about power play disparity in series with Pens

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/26039-Washington-Capitals-perplexed-about-power-play-disparity-in-series-with-Pens.html

Another:

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2013/05/29/why-the-washington-capitals-lost/

When the score was close (and it was close for pretty much the whole series), the Capitals actually tilted the ice against the Rangers 52.8%. That’s a reversal of where these teams were the in regular season. The Capitals were the more aggressive team– more than the Rangers, and more than themselves during the regular season. Very encouraging, though we already know how it turned out.

Penalties and Special Teams

To Caps fans, the officiating in the 2013 playoffs will be upsetting for years to come. The Capitals went shorthanded 28 times in 7 games. They spent 45:48 with at least one man down, more than 11% of the series.

On the other hand, the Capitals got 18 power play opportunities, including none in game six, a 1-0 New York victory in which neither team had a decisive possession advantage.

That disparity isn’t unprecedented. Vancouver served even less time on power play, and Montreal spent longer on the kill per game. But it is a bit surprising that the Capitals committed so many more penalties despite having the puck more often. Most commonly called penalties (holding, slashing, hooking) are committed by the team without the puck, and the weakest possession teams tend to cluster up near the top of the “times shorthanded” stat. The Capitals had a decisive possession advantage in this series and still got locked up as if they got caught in Detroit with a dimebag.

This raises the specter of officiating bias and his drunk uncle, conspiracy theory. I have no patience for the latter (why would the NHL want Alex Ovechkin out of the playoffs early?), but we definitely saw some bad calls in the series, most of them against the Caps. I don’t think it was a well officiated series, but I can’t think of anything useful to do with that opinion. It’s not like there’s some forum for aggrieved fans to appeal to the league for a redo, and being grumpy all summer is a wearying thought. What do we do with outrage? Put it aside and move on, I guess

 

[g00n]

It’s not like there’s some forum for aggrieved fans to appeal to the league for a redo, and being grumpy all summer is a wearying thought. What do we do with outrage? Put it aside and move on, I guess

Or talk about it here for a few decades.

 

[BobRouse]

Or talk about it here for a few decades.

Bogus missed offsides call in game 7 of the Patrick finals in 88. The puck hit Ridley's skate and he never had control of it!!! Should have been offsides on the Devils!!!!

 

[g00n]

Bogus missed offsides call in game 7 of the Patrick finals in 88. The puck hit Ridley's skate and he never had control of it!!! Should have been offsides on the Devils!!!!

Now that's what I'm talkin bout!!

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Even strength SOG through game 6:

Pitt: 174
Was: 131

I wonder why Pittsburgh got so many more power plays?

Which is again missing the point. Pittsburgh had more ESSOG because our D sucked. They had more zone time because our D sucked. They had more PPs because our D sucked (their only play was to interfere in the offensive zone). Washington lost the series because our D sucked. That team was terrible. Ovechkin and Varly (saddled with dead weight) vs. the world. It doesn't matter if the Caps whined about it at the time.

 

[BobRouse]

Now that's what I'm talkin bout!!

How about the 5 on 3 in OT that the Lightning got in Game 3 back in 2003???

Kubina pummels Jagr, Jagr gives him a mild retaliation and BAM...PENALTY! Lecavalier scores and its a series again. (We also lost game 6 in that series on an OT PP)

In the history of the NHL there have only been a handful of OT 5 on 3s handed out.

That particular one was in the midst of the dead puck era where they hardly called penalties.

I do believe Pitt got one against Philly post lockout and perhaps Vancouver got one against Dallas at near the same time frame (circa 07 or 08)

 

[BobRouse]

Even strength SOG through game 6:

Pitt: 174
Was: 131

I wonder why Pittsburgh got so many more power plays?

Which is again missing the point. Pittsburgh had more ESSOG because our D sucked. They had more zone time because our D sucked. They had more PPs because our D sucked (their only play was to interfere in the offensive zone). Washington lost the series because our D sucked. That team was terrible. Ovechkin and Varly (saddled with dead weight) vs. the world. It doesn't matter if the Caps whined about it at the time.

We had the possession stats in our favor vs the Rangers in 2013 and Habs in 2010...yet we were -13 in those series combined. (The Habs series was especially perplexing seeing as how we DOMINATED possession)

Your assertion is that Puck Possession=Better PP vs PP against ratio

Simply not true vs the Rangers and Habs series. You will have to explain those to me for me to buy your Pens series theory.

 

[g00n]

How about the 5 on 3 in OT that the Lightning got in Game 3 back in 2003???

Kubina pummels Jagr, Jagr gives him a mild retaliation and BAM...PENALTY! Lecavalier scores and its a series again. (We also lost game 6 in that series on an OT PP)

In the history of the NHL there have only been a handful of OT 5 on 3s handed out.

That particular one was in the midst of the dead puck era where they hardly called penalties.

I do believe Pitt got one against Philly post lockout and perhaps Vancouver got one against Dallas at near the same time frame (circa 07 or 08)

I was at that game vs the Bolts and it was atrocious. Fans pelted the ice with bottles and debris after that ridiculousness.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

We had the possession stats in our favor vs the Rangers in 2013 and Habs in 2010...yet we were -13 in those series combined. (The Habs series was especially perplexing seeing as how we DOMINATED possession)

And we were still a horribly incomplete team in both cases. Maybe we would have lost more satisfyingly a round later, but it's hard for me to get upset about these horrible McPhee teams not raising the Cup.

This is the most complete team Ovechkin has had in his career. And that's pathetic given where our cap situation is today versus 3, 4, 5, 6 years ago. The only curse we had recently is George McPhee.

 

[BobRouse]

Watch at the 8:40 or 9:30 mark right in front of the Pittsburgh net.

That was us on a PK in the 2nd OT.

The intereference on Gordon opened up that play for the Pens which resulted in Malkin's goal.

The Pens were coming off yet another OT PP they had been awarded in that series.

Obvious call right in front of the ref who let it go. Remember this was a period where they were cracking down on obstruction.

 

[BobRouse]

And we were still a horribly incomplete team in both cases. Maybe we would have lost more satisfyingly a round later, but it's hard for me to get upset about these horrible McPhee teams not raising the Cup.

This is the most complete team Ovechkin has had in his career. And that's pathetic given where our cap situation is today versus 3, 4, 5, 6 years ago. The only curse we had recently is George McPhee.

Even our "horribly incomplete" teams had a distinct to severe (in the case of Monty) possession advantage...yet came up short on the PP vs PP against ratio....

Your argument as to why the Pens got such a PP disparity in 09 doesn't hold water. Possession advantage certainly didn't help the Caps in 10 or 13.

I was at that game vs the Bolts and it was atrocious. Fans pelted the ice with bottles and debris after that ridiculousness.

Yeah it was. That was the first time I'd ever seen something like that. I could be wrong but that marked the first time in NHL history that an OT playoff game was ended on a 5 on 3 goal. Heck it may have been the first time a team GOT a 5 on 3 in OT!!!

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Even our "horribly incomplete" teams had a distinct to severe (in the case of Monty) possession advantage...yet came up short on the PP vs PP against ratio....

Your argument as to why the Pens got such a PP disparity in 09 doesn't hold water. Possession advantage certainly didn't help the Caps in 10 or 13.

It's like you just plain don't remember Morrisonn and Erskine clutching and grabbing every Pen in 2009 (I believe both had broken feet -on top of no defensive ability of course).

Whatever. The chorus of Caps fans who whine about penalties in the postseason is pathetic, but I guess it's part of who we are.

 

[Ajax1995]

Lots of teams get derailed by horrible injury luck. There was something especially sad that they had all their injuries on D but still...

It is one thing to lose a forward or two, a blueliner or two, or a goalie or heck all of those guys as you have a reasonable chance to have NHL caliber guys to replace all of them. Sure they won't be as good as the regulars but at least they are NHLers. Nobody goes 10 deep with NHL caliber defensemen.

 

[BobRouse]

It is one thing to lose a forward or two, a blueliner or two, or a goalie or heck all of those guys as you have a reasonable chance to have NHL caliber guys to replace all of them. Sure they won't be as good as the regulars but at least they are NHLers. Nobody goes 10 deep with NHL caliber defensemen.

True. But didn't the Oilers lose their top 2 goalies the year prior? I thought they did.

We did in 2012 and were 1 game from the ECF with a trash coach.

 

[Ajax1995]

True. But didn't the Oilers lose their top 2 goalies the year prior? I thought they did.

We did in 2012 and were 1 game from the ECF with a trash coach.

Would you rather have an AHL level goaltender in net or 4 AHL level defensemen in your lineup? I'll take the AHL goaltender every time easily and it isn't even remotely close IMO.

 

[Caps8112]

2:35 mark.

This is the biggest BS play in Caps history. I know there was more time after that play for us to win. If this was legal the caps should be practicing it everyday. Goalie cant stop it if he is cleaned out. I was at the game and thought for sure they would wave it off. To the theme of the last few posts I totally expect to lose every playoff on absolute BS. Call it being whiny but with the caps it always seems to happen. Caps fans prolly get a little whiny with the routine calls. It really ramped up when Ovi got here. I remember being at verizon listening to the boos like what are you all talking about he clearly assaulted that man.

 

[txpd]

The series against the Habs exposed our biggest weakness. If we kept going with the same team the year after, a hot goalie like Thomas would've put an end to our run again.

The 2010 Caps were an offensive juggernaut. It worked well against teams that didn't have a brick wall in nets.

brick wall in nets=hot goalie. hot goalies beat anyone in the Stanley Cup playoffs. a hot goalie does not prove your team to be fatally flawed. it proves only that a hot goalies trumps everything else. you don't turn your team upside down because you got hot goalie'd because the next direction is just as vulnerable to the hot goalie.

 

[RandyHolt]

The ironic part of that painful goalie bulldozed goal.... Flash of all players tried to do that, mostly failed, and got a penalty for it, and a goal waved off to boot.

Also, Shamo had a broken jaw and had lost a bunch of weight otherwise may not have been bulldozed quite as easily.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

brick wall in nets=hot goalie. hot goalies beat anyone in the Stanley Cup playoffs. a hot goalie does not prove your team to be fatally flawed. it proves only that a hot goalies trumps everything else. you don't turn your team upside down because you got hot goalie'd because the next direction is just as vulnerable to the hot goalie.

I like what we're doing right now better than the full offense Capitals of 2010.
They wouldn't have gone very far anyway, we had to face Lundqvist in every damn playoffs after 2010.