Pre-Game Talk: Caps at Canes, G4

Stickpucker

Playmaka
Jan 18, 2014
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Call this guy up and have him challenge all the Caps to a fire.

CheckersHockey


Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) | Twitter
 

Anton Dubinchuk

aho
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Jul 18, 2010
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Honestly is Ferland doing more injured than Saku would be?

I'm hopeful Svech is back soon but I can't imagine that means Thursday. I suppose it's still technically speculation that he has a concussion, but the dude landed in textbook fencing response and its tough to pretend it's anything else. Still, as we all know, concussion recovery is as unpredictable as goaltending from year to year. I doubt we see him again this series, however.

If both are out its a tough dilemma for RBA. Do you call up Clark Bishop and ice a lineup with an even larger talent dearth when compared to Washington? Or do you throw in a Necas and risk him getting completely overwhelmed by the ramped up intensity/physicality of this series?

The other option is icing Saku and letting Jake Bean see some time as a 7th dman. We frankly played better with fluid lines after Ferland and Svech went out, and RBA said as much in his post-game presser.



Having said all of that, I disagree with you kev. The biggest questions isn't about health. It's about whether last night's game finally woke Rod up to the notion of Dougie Hamilton on PP1. As silly as it sounds, if he maintains his level of play he may singlehandedly bring our PP back to respectability.
 

GoldiFox

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Apr 21, 2014
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Honestly is Ferland doing more injured than Saku would be?

I'm hopeful Svech is back soon but I can't imagine that means Thursday. I suppose it's still technically speculation that he has a concussion, but the dude landed in textbook fencing response and its tough to pretend it's anything else. Still, as we all know, concussion recovery is as unpredictable as goaltending from year to year. I doubt we see him again this series, however.

If both are out its a tough dilemma for RBA. Do you call up Clark Bishop and ice a lineup with an even larger talent dearth when compared to Washington? Or do you throw in a Necas and risk him getting completely overwhelmed by the ramped up intensity/physicality of this series?

The other option is icing Saku and letting Jake Bean see some time as a 7th dman. We frankly played better with fluid lines after Ferland and Svech went out, and RBA said as much in his post-game presser.

Having said all of that, I disagree with you kev. The biggest questions isn't about health. It's about whether last night's game finally woke Rod up to the notion of Dougie Hamilton on PP1. As silly as it sounds, if he maintains his level of play he may singlehandedly bring our PP back to respectability.

I was wondering if the fluid lines might have been causing problems for Rookie head coach Kevin Malone. The Caps strategy appeared disjointed as the Canes lines constantly churned. If there was any matching strategy that Reirden had going in it went to pot pretty quickly.
 

Cardiac Jerks

Asinine & immoral
Jan 13, 2006
23,353
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Long Sault, Ontario
Honestly is Ferland doing more injured than Saku would be?

I'm hopeful Svech is back soon but I can't imagine that means Thursday. I suppose it's still technically speculation that he has a concussion, but the dude landed in textbook fencing response and its tough to pretend it's anything else. Still, as we all know, concussion recovery is as unpredictable as goaltending from year to year. I doubt we see him again this series, however.

If both are out its a tough dilemma for RBA. Do you call up Clark Bishop and ice a lineup with an even larger talent dearth when compared to Washington? Or do you throw in a Necas and risk him getting completely overwhelmed by the ramped up intensity/physicality of this series?

The other option is icing Saku and letting Jake Bean see some time as a 7th dman. We frankly played better with fluid lines after Ferland and Svech went out, and RBA said as much in his post-game presser.



Having said all of that, I disagree with you kev. The biggest questions isn't about health. It's about whether last night's game finally woke Rod up to the notion of Dougie Hamilton on PP1. As silly as it sounds, if he maintains his level of play he may singlehandedly bring our PP back to respectability.

Ferland isn’t really doing much of anything. Threw a few hits and taken a few penalties. Throwing a hit seems to be what injured him last night. I’ve now lost track of how many games he’s left with an injury.
 

AD Skinner

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Mar 18, 2009
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bubble bath
Having said all of that, I disagree with you kev. The biggest questions isn't about health. It's about whether last night's game finally woke Rod up to the notion of Dougie Hamilton on PP1. As silly as it sounds, if he maintains his level of play he may singlehandedly bring our PP back to respectability.

I don't think it sounds silly at all. When Hamilton was on the ice the PP was holidng the zone and moving the puck around better than it has all year. That second goal he couldn't have been out there more than a few seconds before wiring it. He was phenomenal yesterday.
 

Finnish Jerk Train

lol stupid mickey mouse organization
Apr 7, 2008
4,035
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Raleigh
Whatever Ferland is playing through, it's pretty clear he shouldn't be. I won't be the least bit surprised if he schedules some kind of surgery the day after our season ends.

He can't be counted on to finish a game or to be a factor when he does. He introduces a high risk that we have to finish a game without a full complement of forwards, and his play doesn't make up for that risk anymore. It makes him a liability. At this point, Maenalanen brings just as much to the table, if not more.

Seems to me the simple solution is to put McGinn on the third line, Saku on the fourth, and bring in a high-energy guy from Charlotte to take the open spot on the fourth line.
 

DaveG

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Apr 7, 2003
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So strange take here, but I'm half way expecting the refs to try to keep control of the game early and that could be to our advantage.

That Svech vs OV fight doesn't happen if the refs last night aren't letting all the cheapo stuff away from the play (and in the play for that matter) go on. You can bet that one of the last things Gary wanted to see last night is one of the games true superstars going toe to toe with one of the games future superstars. And the last thing is the resulting concussion that happened.

If the caps come out and try to make a statement early physically we may be able to break things open on the pp if the refs are calling things as they should.
 

Boom Boom Apathy

I am the Professor. Deal with it!
Sep 6, 2006
48,174
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Thing is, Svech has been as much of an instigator in the cheapo stuff as any of the Caps. Don't get me wrong, I like that he has that fire, but I've seen him cross checking guys, whacking them with his stick, etc.. He's done it all season and amped it up in the playoffs, as you would expect. I realize the Caps were also trying to get under his skin as well.
 

SlavinAway

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Thing is, Svech has been as much of an instigator in the cheapo stuff as any of the Caps. Don't get me wrong, I like that he has that fire, but I've seen him cross checking guys, whacking them with his stick, etc.. He's done it all season and amped it up in the playoffs, as you would expect. I realize the Caps were also trying to get under his skin as well.

I think most of what you've seen Svech do in this series is just retaliatory. He's had a target on his back the whole time. They showed a graphic after game 2 I believe that showed he had been on the receiving end of more checks than anyone; and that's not counting all the cheap shots. Kid is tough and I think it's good that he's got some fire and is showing that he's not just going to willingly take the cheap shots away from the play.

If he instigated that fight it was a bad move on his part but I just don't see it. Leading up to the play Ovi instigated the slashing that went back and forth. Ovi said something and I did see Svech nod his head but Ovi had his gloves up and was engaged way before Svech. I think Tripp was overreacting to driving him into the ice but Svech was well on his way down before the last punch was initiated.

If you replace Ferland with Svech and replay that scenario exactly no matter what was said Ovi wouldn't have engaged.
 

DaveG

Noted Jerk
Apr 7, 2003
51,016
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Winston-Salem NC
Thing is, Svech has been as much of an instigator in the cheapo stuff as any of the Caps. Don't get me wrong, I like that he has that fire, but I've seen him cross checking guys, whacking them with his stick, etc.. He's done it all season and amped it up in the playoffs, as you would expect. I realize the Caps were also trying to get under his skin as well.
Oh no doubt. It was anything but one sided in that regard. Svech, McGinn, and surprisingly Fleury have been getting at guys all series. It's to be expected in the playoffs. I just think with what happened last night if the caps try to come out and impose their will with physicality it's going to backfire as i think game 4 will be called surprisingly tight for a playoff game.
 

Boom Boom Apathy

I am the Professor. Deal with it!
Sep 6, 2006
48,174
97,100
I think most of what you've seen Svech do in this series is just retaliatory. He's had a target on his back the whole time. They showed a graphic after game 2 I believe that showed he had been on the receiving end of more checks than anyone; and that's not counting all the cheap shots. Kid is tough and I think it's good that he's got some fire and is showing that he's not just going to willingly take the cheap shots away from the play.

Some of it is definitely retaliatory, but some of it is initiated by Svech for sure. He did a lot of the same stuff during the season so it's not a surprise to me. As I said, I like that he has a bit of snarl to him so I'm not complaining about it, just that I see him being an equal participant in this.

If he instigated that fight it was a bad move on his part but I just don't see it. Leading up to the play Ovi instigated the slashing that went back and forth. Ovi said something and I did see Svech nod his head but Ovi had his gloves up and was engaged way before Svech. I think Tripp was overreacting to driving him into the ice but Svech was well on his way down before the last punch was initiated.

For me, it doesn't matter who instigated the fight. Both parties have to agree to fighting so whether Svech initiated or not, he could have refrained from it either way.

EDIT: Unless he was going up against Scott Walker. :sarcasm:
 

SlavinAway

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For me, it doesn't matter who instigated the fight. Both parties have to agree to fighting so whether Svech initiated or not, he could have refrained from it either way.

This is the part I'm not so sure about. Other than the two of them who knows what was actually said but Svech to me did not seem to expect it. Ovi had his gloves off and had a hold of Svech before he ever reacted.
 

WreckingCrew

Registered User
Feb 4, 2015
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This is the part I'm not so sure about. Other than the two of them who knows what was actually said but Svech to me did not seem to expect it. Ovi had his gloves off and had a hold of Svech before he ever reacted.
Yea, that's what I saw and got me the most...sure Svech may have agreed to the fight (both were jabbing at each other back and forth), but OV had his gloves off, had Svech gripped, and threw a couple good punches before Svech could even shake his gloves off to engage. To me, that's kind of a punk move for OV up against a rookie...I know fights aren't meant to be "fair" but that seemed kinda cheap.
 

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