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Post-Game Talk: Capitals Vs. Blue Jackets 12/11/14 Caps Lose 3-2 (OT)

tycoonheart

Registered User
Apr 7, 2010
10,710
3,032
I don't think an elite goaltender is even necessary. This system is very very very goalie friendly. The forwards are asked to help out defensively and they do a good job of it. Shot totals are always low, overall they've done a good job of not getting hemmed in their own zone. This is one year (so far) where I don't think we can complain about the job this team has done defensively.
 
artilector

artilector

Registered User
Jan 11, 2006
8,351
1,187
troyerlaw said:
In post-game presser, Trotz waxed positively nostalgic over what it's like to have an elite goalie. I am guessing he was talking about Rinne. Certainly didn't seem he was talking about Holts. Sounded like he was dipping into the foggy ruins of time to remember what a goalie-stolen game feels like for the winning team.

He even went into the Blue Jackets' heads for us, and guessed at what they were thinking as they sat on bench watching Bobrovsky make big saves.

He also sounded like a 2nd-grade teacher trying to explain the concept of elite goaltending to the students/beat reporters. With the clear implication being, 'You guys don't know about this thing called elite goaltending, since you've been here in DC.'

Which is actually unfair. We know all about it.

Having been Halak'd four years ago.
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Heh.

tycoonheart said:
I don't think an elite goaltender is even necessary. This system is very very very goalie friendly. The forwards are asked to help out defensively and they do a good job of it. Shot totals are always low, overall they've done a good job of not getting hemmed in their own zone. This is one year (so far) where I don't think we can complain about the job this team has done defensively.
Click to expand...

Sounds about right. Holts doesn't need to be elite, just more consistent (although.. that's part of being elite).

He's good enough to give the Caps a chance to win most games. But he doesn't inspire a great amount of confidence in close games right now, especially when Caps are generally pressing but can't come up with the final blow against opportunistic teams.

Hopefully he can take another step in terms of consistency. I'd also want to see Grubauer at some point, especially since current backup has been disappointing.
 
bur and 666 others

bur and 666 others

Registered User
Jun 13, 2012
1,962
795
Stole from the Pens board. Here is the look at the teams performance depending on where the score is at (red is bad, the source):

2rgweqF.png


What's up with us playing with the lead?
 
Raikkonen

Raikkonen

Dumb guy
Aug 19, 2009
10,726
3,175
Russia
Capathetic said:
One of my fave as well.

Remember the goal a few years back with flash,Backstrom and Semin that looked like they pulled off the Flying V or something? Was like a four man passing play I couldn't find it online.
Click to expand...

Try Columbus Nov 1st 2009 Backstrom goal or smth like that.
 
g00n

g00n

Retired Global Mod
Nov 22, 2007
30,673
14,840
Roughing said:
Sure seems like the effort goes away... but maybe they're being told to turtle.
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As discussed in another thread, this has been happening for YEARS. It's not just Trotz.

And if it's the players there are a few reasons this happens, beyond normal expectations of good teams sometimes coming back on you:

1) Laziness or complacency.
2) Choking.


The first cause is something that can usually be coached out of a team, but maybe not some individuals. This is the "just enough" factor Trotz talked about. It can show up due to fear of injury, wherein you do "just enough" to get to a point where you can coast. You hold back because any more "extra" effort may get you hurt and set you back. It can come from thinking you're better than you really are, or misjudging other teams. Or it can come from feeling entitled, as though you've done your job and now someone else can step up and finish.

The second cause is not related to laziness and may actually result in "trying too hard". In hockey they sometimes call it "gripping the stick too tight", and this can definitely happen with enough players that the team as a whole stops playing a loose and free style that allows for maximum performance. The other side, meanwhile, has nothing to lose and just goes for it. When an athlete chokes he's often fearful of a certain outcome and he unconsciously makes that outcome more likely by thinking too much about it, and then overthinking mechanics instead of just trusting his ability and training. If a hockey player gets up 2 goals and starts to wonder or even expect they'd blow the lead it increases the chance that it WILL happen, as he'll play differently than he normally would and react to events in ways that help that outcome to manifest. When you have enough of these chokejobs you start wanting to "get it to the clubhouse" as we say in golf, which takes you out of the aggressive "in the now" state and puts you in a defensive "when will this be over, please don't let anything bad happen" frame of mind, complete with all the negative stress reactions like muscle tightness and reduced coordination that impact your performance.


We saw the effect of the latter in Holtby over the last year as his confidence was eroded and he experience great conflicts in training and instruction that prevented him from getting into a flow state. According to radio reports, Kirk Cousins of the Redskins also has a similar performance anxiety problem, as some of us speculated here. These are otherwise talented athletes who, when lacking confidence and put under pressure, simply think too much at a time when they should be thinking even less.



tl;dr: we need a drill sergeant and a shrink
 
txpd

txpd

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
69,649
14,131
New Bern, NC
I don't think they coast with a lead. The old Ov would push to pile it on. I think they are and have been for a while, mentally fragile. they are not confident that they can slam he door on a lead and so they play soft with a lead.

I think Hunter hockey made that worse because they tried literally didn't try to get a 2goal lead. the Oates hockey was just passive in general.
 
NobodyBeatsTheWiz

NobodyBeatsTheWiz

Happy now?
Jun 26, 2004
23,422
1,973
The Burbs
I think there was definitely a coaching mandate to collapse defensively with the lead in the early part of the season. My hope was it was an approach to teach them to hold down the fort when needed, and that they'd get more aggressive once they'd gotten decent at doing so. It looks like we might be seeing that now. They've certainly pushed the pace over the last half-dozen games or so when they've gotten the lead.

It's tough to argue with Trotz's approach with the lead considering the team's record when scoring first. Now it's just a matter of getting that initial lead.
 
txpd

txpd

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
69,649
14,131
New Bern, NC
the writer from nhl.com told the caps radio guy that trotz seems to be coaching a process to grow a playoff winner. its not a game to game plan as much as a step by step process. I don't think the caps of today and the caps of February are going to be the same things
 
Langway

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
32,432
9,150
This recent piece makes it sound like turtling isn't intentional. The forwards just aren't smart and efficient to the point where they easily make other teams pay for being more aggressive. They still have very little separation ability. They're a team that's built to play a lot of tight games and it's their mentality generally.

It's a little sad that they've taken on that mentality but it's also how the team has come to be built. Maybe once their skilled young players are more comfortable that will change but for now they expect most every game to be a battle with little separation (and they largely are). They probably ought to have more of a developmental mentality that seeks to improve in every facet of the game but for whatever reason they're still kind of stuck being infatuated by sheer individual work ethic getting it done.
 
txpd

txpd

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
69,649
14,131
New Bern, NC
I think that the turtle was coach mandated after the caps blew some leads and showed a weakness. the turtling held leads and now trotz is trying to ease them out of the need to turtle. which explains the article above
 

Halpysback*

Guest
I remember when Oates was taking his time to mold the caps into some super-sentient OCD megateam and everybody bought it for a full season.
 
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