GDT: Capitals @ Sabres | 10/1/14 | 7PM | CSN

maybam

Registered User
Mar 30, 2010
523
0
Was that the Sabres full lineup? Our D seemed very outmatched skill and speed wise.
 

artilector

Registered User
Jan 11, 2006
8,351
1,187
Bleh. Terrible game to watch.

And impossible to properly criticize, since it's still preseason.

Bura looks promising. I fear for Kuz.
 

Zip15

Registered User
Jun 3, 2009
28,120
5,400
Bodymore
Was that the Sabres full lineup? Our D seemed very outmatched skill and speed wise.

Pretty much, yeah. The lines were a little mixed up--e.g., Moulson-Ennis-Stafford will start the season together, but were split up tonight--but almost all the regulars were in tonight. Grigorenko and Dalpe will be in Rochester, and Mitchell and McCormick will be in the lineup. On defense, take out McCabe and Zadorov and insert Meszaros and Ristolainen and you have the Opening Night lineup.
 

Burakovsky95*

Guest
Alex Prewitt ‏@alex_prewitt 3m3 minutes ago
Trotz: "There’s some guys that played themselves right out of a chance to stick with us, no question."

Interesting
 

Brian23

Registered User
Dec 3, 2011
5,655
2,462
Alex Prewitt ‏@alex_prewitt 3m3 minutes ago
Trotz: "There’s some guys that played themselves right out of a chance to stick with us, no question."

Interesting

I'm curious who this could be. Only "name" I could think he'd go after is Erskine
 

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
32,267
8,894
I'm curious who this could be. Only "name" I could think he'd go after is Erskine
Meh. He's just frustrated. None of the Hershey bubble guys in the lineup--Carrick, Wey, Mitchell, Newbury, Conner and Wellman--had much of a chance or had put together an argument coming into this game. It wasn't on them, though. They just weren't collectively ready to play at the pace needed from the very beginning.

Eventually hopefully the Caps will have a coach and GM that once again pay attention to the finer points of possession, support and teamwork with the puck. Maybe then they'll be entertaining again. The thing about last year is they actually ranked lower in 5-on-5 GF/60 (23rd) than GA/60 (20th) and yet there's not much emphasis placed on 5-on-5 offense aside from the "freedom," integrating youth and more aggressive D play. This may be where trades are needed most if no across the board habit improvements can be made.

The disappointing thing with not just Kuznetsov in the preseason but also Vrana in limited action is that you know there's high-level skill and hockey sense that's bogged down and not being displayed for numerous reasons. They still play slow/soft as a team and for skilled players that thrive on space there aren't many openings to show that off.
 

Burakovsky95*

Guest
Wouldn't be capitals hockey unless we had overreaction from preseason games.
 

KevinM

Registered User
Feb 7, 2012
1,871
0
D.C.
I have no idea what to expect from this team once the regular season starts. Given the lineups I figured Buffalo would be driving play a little bit but the Caps just looked totally listless.
 

MrGone

Registered User
Nov 18, 2009
2,259
78
It's going to be really funny when Kuznetsov goes from Calder candidate to quietly bailing back to the KHL.

I think he will be fine. Its just clear he is not ready to carry a line. And I am sure his game is slowed down by thinking about how to play center. It seems like he is not reacting and just thinking to much.

Cody Hodgson is a player I would be ok moving next years first round pick for. And that has nothing to do with tonight's game.
 

Acallabeth

Heart ablaze
Jul 30, 2011
9,934
1,233
Moscow
Yoah, 1-6 against Buffalo :shakehead
What percentage of the time was Kuz been at C in the KHL?
Not a lot, he was a RW in most Traktor games I watched, though was occasionally used as a C on the National team.
By the way, Kuznetsov this preseason reminds me of his 1st World Championship when he was paired with Datsyuk and later admitted being too intimidated and inconfident. Honestly, I wouldn't give Kuzya a roster spot based on his preseason for now. Thankfully, I think he has a benefit of doubt.

Reading this thread makes me so happy we signed Orpik...
 

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