Post-Game Talk: Caps @ Golden Knights, 8PM

[BobRouse]

Do you believe Marchessault was admiring his pass too much? Wilson still got a penalty and was at risk for suspension despite the opponent being dumb.

Do you blame Orpik for Paquette hit?

Just curious. I think that’s fine if people want to “victim blame” but they better be consistent about it.


Also Strahlman should have been suspended for leaping elbow from behind on Wilson that was premeditated. Wilson would have been suspended indefinitely for a hit like that

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Bob Rouse and Randy Holt as refs tonight?

 

[bur and 666 others]

I didn't see any issue with Orpik last game. I thought he did well.

I saw Vegas was all over him in the D-zone, especially behind the goal. He didn't cause any issues the last game, bu they were faster than him to the puck resulting in the O-zone pressure. Only thing he could do fast dump the puck, so not transition game from him and fast get away from the D-zone.

 

[EroCaps]

Let me guess, after that shitshow of officiating in Game 1, they'll call everything tonight and it'll somehow benefit Vegas.

Get the win, Caps. Ovechkin and Kuzy are up.

 

[Misery74]

Let me guess, after that ****show of officiating in Game 1, they'll call everything tonight and it'll somehow benefit Vegas.

Get the win, Caps. Ovechkin and Kuzy are up.

Tight game benefits us IMO. Vegas special teams are “special”.

Caps 4
Knights 1

 

[HunterSThompson]

I don't want to blame the victim but Carlson turning his back on Reaves in front of the net wasn't smart either. He completely lost Nosek on the GWG and didn't even realize that lane had opened up. Just way too much lazy puck watching from him. It's in large part why he put himself in the position to be cross-checked by Reaves to begin with. Why square up with the puck handler behind the net there? Niskanen apologized for his G5 performance last series but this was far worse on a fundamental level IMO. It's a big stage, he plays a lot and Vegas really brings the pace but he absolutely must be smarter and more aware.

You'd hope they went to school on the video and will have learned their lesson in terms of the defensive firmness, awareness and the general second effort needed to stop them. It's not going to be easy but puck watching in a man defense really can't happen. Certainly not to that extent. A split focus, sure, but not to the point of being mesmerized. Do your job.

I disagree somewhat there. I think there were different decisions that could have been made that might have played better, but some of the goals were exactly how the Caps are designed to play them and others weren't exactly his fault.

Goal 1: He is going for the shot block which is what that defender on the Caps PK does all the time. Good shot beat a Holtby that was leaning the other way.

Goal 2: I don't have an excuse for him. He should not have gone out that side of the net other than since he is a right shot, he is usually on that side of the ice.

Goal 4: He is caught a bit out of position between going for that loose puck and staying home, so he is a bit late to the net front. He goes for the box out instead of engage face-to-face. Caps D try not to engage in front of the net too much as they prefer their sticks to be free to sweep rebounds away. If he had not been cross-checked to the ice, he was in prefect position to cancel any net front play.

Goal 5: Wow, he was on the ice for a lot of goals against. This is the classic turnover leading to a goal. Carlson is in position for a shot block expecting the center or other D to be there for the cross-ice pass as that is his job there. Eller flies the zone expecting DSP to get it out. Beagle sticks to wing instead of covering for Eller, and Kempny picks up the man passed to him from Beagle and goes for the stick lift on Reaves rather than play the puck (that is the big mistake on this goal IMO).

 

[HunterSThompson]

I saw Vegas was all over him in the D-zone, especially behind the goal. He didn't cause any issues the last game, bu they were faster than him to the puck resulting in the O-zone pressure. Only thing he could do fast dump the puck, so not transition game from him and fast get away from the D-zone.

His John Biebe feet led to Smith's goal.

 

[CapsGr8]

They're agile but definitely stoppable. Fleury gets flustered by unconventional shots. If we can get a few of those in, he'll have the type performance he had in G1. I think we got this. We're coming home 1-1.

 

[Langway]

Just curious. I think that’s fine if people want to “victim blame” but they better be consistent about it.

Yes to varying extents on all of them. The main exception are blindside hits in certain situations. These are still penalties, just situations where with better awareness they maybe don't happen.

My take on the Karlsson goal was similar. He's not used to being the LD and just didn't know what to do there really. Still not smart but a bit more understandable. Carlson wanted to block the shot there but you can't just pass off a player in a man defense and act as though it's someone else's responsibility. Kempny could have tried to get in the way of both that passing lane while keeping in front of Reaves but it shouldn't be on him to cover both It was a bad shift for DSP as well failing to clear and not closing on Theodore better. Catching Washington sleeping a bit defensively can't continue to happen. Their second effort to create scramble plays really tests their coverage and they need to hold up better.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Do you believe Marchessault was admiring his pass too much? Wilson still got a penalty and was at risk for suspension despite the opponent being dumb.

Do you blame Orpik for Paquette hit?

Just curious. I think that’s fine if people want to “victim blame” but they better be consistent about it.


Also Strahlman should have been suspended for leaping elbow from behind on Wilson that was premeditated. Wilson would have been suspended indefinitely for a hit like that

The use of "victim blaming" in sports really takes away from the actual concept of the term and how it exists in our society.

Marchessault broke an unwritten rule that you're taught from bantam, you are taught from every level that you need to take precautions to protect yourself and keep your head on a swivel. That's not to say it wasn't a penalty though. The Orpik hit was also penalty, I would say that given the nature of the hit and how NHL rules are written and enforced that it should have been a suspension. I think Orpik probably realized the risk he took giving up his back but he's a vet guy in a game 7. It's a physical game and it is known that guys will take every opportunity available to put you down. Pass admiring is playing with fire, you're going to get burned at some point. Where this idea developed that hockey is some sort of gentlemanly and noble sport is beyond me. Hockey is a brutal and physical sport, to paraphrase former Cap great Dennis Maruk "you've got to be a prick to be successful". At some point during the last Wilson hit I saw this absurd idea begin to float around that hitting has nothing to do with hurting. As if the entire purpose of the contact is solely to separate the player and puck, what a crock of ****. Hitting is all about what Tom Wilson does, it's about trying to make pain so synonymous with getting on the ice that players think twice about it. I'm not advocating injury, but hurting a guy and making him feel pain is a far cry from injuring a guy. Listening to former pros Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonette on the most recent Spittin' Chiclets podcast supported all of these ideas, they both said the hit was late but March shouldn't be admiring his pass, they also both gave credit to Wilson because guys are clearly panicked every time he touches the ice.

 

[BobRouse]

I agree and I’m old school. I like Wilson and don’t mind the penalties but he did deserve it on Marchessault.

I could see where Carlson could have been better but no doubt Reaves should have gotten a penalty. Refs should have got together on that one and waived it off

 

[BiPolar Caps]

View media item 2311View media item 2313Your referees for tonight's match . . . as selected by the Las Vegas Golden Knights

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Vegas ice guy basically calling every player on both sides of the that complained about the ice a mental midget...

“I’ve made ice in this town for a very long time,” said Salami, who has worked in Las Vegas since 1996. “Everything was on the mark.”

“These guys are fighting for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “It’s the hardest trophy to win on the planet. They’re digging hard and the ice is made to give. It’s not concrete — it has to give to skate on it, and they dig hard. That’s the snow getting in the way (of the puck). Sometimes when you’re digging really hard, they gouge really hard.”

T-Mobile crew works to smooth out ice issues for Game 2

 

[SpinningEdge]

Let’s see what happens tonight. Caps have won when needed all year long - and tonight is a huge game.

After tonight caps will have the majority of home games left. Tonight is huge

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Would prefer a win over a loss tonight.

 

[EternalOptimist]

Really hope willy lays reaves the f*** out tonight

 

[smd333]

“I’ve made ice in this town for a very long time,” said Salami, who has worked in Las Vegas since 1996. “Everything was on the mark.”

“These guys are fighting for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “It’s the hardest trophy to win on the planet. They’re digging hard and the ice is made to give. It’s not concrete — it has to give to skate on it, and they dig hard. That’s the snow getting in the way (of the puck). Sometimes when you’re digging really hard, they gouge really hard.”

lol he can sell that nonsense somewhere else.

 

[Calicaps]

lol he can sell that nonsense somewhere else.

He's talking to the Vegas fanbase. They don't know any better.

 

[HunterSThompson]

Haha George Salami. Is his assistant Steve Pepperoni?

 

[txpd]

"Ghostrider, this is Strike!"

 

[Bryson]

Bob Rouse and Randy Holt as refs tonight?

Tonights Referees are:

Kelly Sutherland
Chris Rooney

Linesman:

Derek Amell
Greg Devorski

Let's hope they are better than the trash from game 1.

Tonight’s NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Referees and Linesmen

 

[Fenway]

HF Sportsbook options for Game 2

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/sportsbook/category/hockey.3/?order=upcoming

 

[BallardEra]

Enough talk. Just win.

 

[BobRouse]

Ice was bad for sure. But I wouldn’t expect much improvement as Ice is always bad this time of year. Back in the day the old Boston Garden didn’t even have AC and it was brutal those 2 years they faced the Oilers juggernaught.

We just have to adjust our style to handle it better

 

[CapsDC]

Vegas ice guy basically calling every player on both sides of the that complained about the ice a mental midget...

“I’ve made ice in this town for a very long time,” said Salami, who has worked in Las Vegas since 1996. “Everything was on the mark.”

“These guys are fighting for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “It’s the hardest trophy to win on the planet. They’re digging hard and the ice is made to give. It’s not concrete — it has to give to skate on it, and they dig hard. That’s the snow getting in the way (of the puck). Sometimes when you’re digging really hard, they gouge really hard.”

T-Mobile crew works to smooth out ice issues for Game 2

The dude is acting like this happens every year because the Stanley Cup finals are tough and players 'dig really hard'. Yet this is the first time I can remember seeing a maintenance crew have to work so hard to keep the ice in one piece. If he's basically trying to say NHL players are tougher on the ice than Disney on Ice productions, then welcome to the NHL guy