Post-Game Talk: Caps @ Habs | 4/2/15 | Caps Win 5-4 (SO) [MOD NOTE TO HABS FANS IN OP and #71]

[SpinningEdge]

Nov 26, 2014 Washington 2, New York 3 (OT) caps 1 isles 2
Nov 28, 2014 New York 2, Washington 5 caps 2 isles 0
Dec 29, 2014 Washington 3, New York 4 (OT) caps 1 isles 2
Feb 21, 2015 New York 2, Washington 3 (SO) caps 2 isles 1
overall points caps 6, isles 5

Thanks for this!

ESPN.com has the Caps in 3rd place. NHL.com just updated and has us in 2nd place.

SUCCESS! Since we beat Pitt 3 of 4 times too we own the tiebreaker VS them too.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

I'll just choose to think Caps would have won in regulation if not for the unfortunate call.

As to the point about hockey being difficult to officiate, I agree. But I think it's one thing to miss an infraction--that's totally understandable. But calling something that just didn't happen--that's not nearly as understandable to me.

That kind of deal is kind of a little of both--the ref sees part of it but not all of it, and feels pressure to call it one way or the other because of the end result. I'll give the ref the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to not seeing something rather than seeing something that wasn't there, I guess. Definitely could use replay for that kind of play to at least give the ref a second look.

Too bad Boston and Ottawa won. If you assume Caps lose to both of them in regulation--unlikely but if you knew that was what was gonna happen--it'd still look pretty dicey right now. I'm still nervous.

Habs also got a goal on the terrible Orpik call. A well officiated game, and the Caps win it easily in regulation.

 

[Bladerunner]

Price's Hart Trophy interview there didn't go as planned

A near lock according to insiders

 

[Raikkonen]

All in all, I like this "killer schedule". Team's alive. Everybody trying to step up. Go Caps!

 

[hockeykicker]

All in all, I like this "killer schedule". Team's alive. Everybody trying to step up. Go Caps!

played on the road at the top 2 seeds in the east and got 4 points. hard to do this late in year

 

[tycoonheart]

Jonny C with 51 points.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[artilector]

Caps still have a legit window of opportunity with cheap Bura & Kuz contributing in the next few years (would've been pretty amazing with Not-Erat).

They just need maybe one or two good moves and a few decent/no-brainer ones (to make room).

 

[artilector]

Also.. I like Carlson shooting on the PP. Maybe you get fewer nice set-ups, but I think it's more robust against the better PKs and maintains better momentum overall, PKs spend less time doing hero work and more time just getting shelled.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Also.. I like Carlson shooting on the PP. Maybe you get fewer nice set-ups, but I think it's more robust against the better PKs and maintains better momentum overall, PKs spend less time doing hero work and more time just getting shelled.

Yup. It also opens the lower seams for Ovie feeds if he's a threat.

 

[txpd]

Habs also got a goal on the terrible Orpik call. A well officiated game, and the Caps win it easily in regulation.

I think that the league gives the refs high marks for that game. the Glencross penalty was the closest thing to a penalty they could find to get Montreal one after the three penalties in succession on Montreal. Price was not supposed to shoot the puck over the glass. it was the only penalty they couldn't ignore.

The Orpik penalty was bad but it was time to call one.

I think the NHL has fallen back to where the penalties that happen in the game don't matter as much as managing the game.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Another HUGE win.

They didn't play well in the first half of the game and had only 2 shots for in the first 28 minutes or so. Things didn't look good.

Ovie continues to be incredible and it was doubly awesome seeing him do it on Price.

Saturday night in Ottawa. Win and you're in. (In regulation that is.)

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

I don't feel like I've ever taken 8 for granted. Some like to rag on whatever when it comes to the dude.

But really. We're watching one of the greatest players to play in the NHL. Ever.

Please get the guy a ****ing Stanley cup. It's not even about me or any of us fans to me anymore...it's about that guy. Get him what he deserves.

Indeed. Well said.

 

[Calicaps]

Some Ovie love from a Habs writer

 

[CapsJunkie]

thanks Cali that was a good read

 

[RandyHolt]

DVRd the ending, watching the shootout, recording ended as Nick was driving the net.... HF saves the day

I am really starting to hate montreal. I am not sure if its Subban doing whatever he wants, their fans, or their plethora of diminutive players.

It's all about Ovi tonight though. As usual for the last 10 years now.

We can moan about the GlenX call but Tex is right. We have reverted to the times when the home team down a goal late, gets a PP.

 

[g00n]

Trotz has been rolling 4 lines all year and drastically shortened the bench in this game. Latta and Wilson only saw 6 shifts and under 5 minutes each. Meanwhile, Subban had a free pass to manhandle, tackle and otherwise obstruct anyone he wanted with the culmination being the baloney penalty on Glencross he forced followed by the power play goal he scored on a deflection. Booo.

So what gives? I'm assuming Beagle comes back and Trotz goes back to rotating 4 lines again. If Trotz doesn't trust Latta and Wilson, who both have been playing very well, then we're a 3 line team in the playoffs if anyone gets hurt. Additionally, all the talk as been about "being built for the playoffs" and I don't know who else on this team epitomizes that kind of "jam" more than Wilson and Latta.

Was it just fear of the refs calling penalties on the young players who we believe are not targets for such calls around the league? Was something else behind this? It seems like it was serious enough that it caused massive line juggling in the process. Was benching the Hammer Brothers the driving factor in messing with the lines, or was Trotz looking for something else and they just weren't in the plans? I think the former.

I'm going to have to look for some quotes.

 

[Daishi]

A near lock according to insiders

I don't know why people aren't more upset about that. There's no way Price deserves the Hart this year, and if Ovi doesn't get it it's highway robbery and blatant good Canadian boy Crosby / Price / Habs favoritism. The last time something like this happened it was also the Habs.

Perry won Hart with 50 goals and being 8th in the scoring race. Ovi already has 52 and is 2nd in scoring and might even win scoring too. While Perry won his Hart, Tim Thomas had a Vezina and Conn Smythe year. Thomas' save percentage was .938 while Price is now at only .935. Thomas did not win Hart.

If there's any consistency or justice in the world (which there isn't) then Ovechkin is a lock for the Hart and Richard and might even get the Art Ross too, and this year and the way he's carried his team puts him above Crosby.

 

[BobRouse]

I don't feel like I've ever taken 8 for granted. Some like to rag on whatever when it comes to the dude.

But really. We're watching one of the greatest players to play in the NHL. Ever.

Please get the guy a ****ing Stanley cup. It's not even about me or any of us fans to me anymore...it's about that guy. Get him what he deserves.

Nope you haven't. Even when he was completely down and out.

Word.

All of the "trade Ovechkin" crew should be embarrassed.

Absolutely

OV is just unreal... if this is not MVP performance i dont know what is. Holtby almost gave it away for us, but the boys saves his bacon. Thats ok though he saved our ***** plenty of times. Neither goalie looked good tonight... Well, there was not much Price could've done on his goals...
Kuznetsov looked calm and collective, had couple of nice steals and backed Dman with his cleaver skating few times, just looked good, i thought.
Wardo quietly with a couple

You know...

The first goal deflected off Alzner's skate. The last goal from Subban deflected off Niskanen.

The Eller goal was an insane bounce off the boards.

The Habs certainly had some serious puck luck and officiating luck.

 

[txpd]

looks to me like Trotz gave Ovechkin those shifts that Wilson and Latta would have played. But maybe that's not it. I am going to say that Trotz was working on some playoff things along the lines of trying to get Ovechkin away from a matchup. It would explain why the personel that 8 skated with all night seemed to change. Glencross and Brouwer and Jojo skating with him. He skated with 92 and 19. It looked to me like when Willy and Latta did get on the 3rd player was different often.

In short. Wilson and Latta didn't play as a result of the line juggling to help Ov. It was not lack of trust in Willy or Latta that caused the line juggling.

 

[txpd]

I don't know why people aren't more upset about that. There's no way Price deserves the Hart this year, and if Ovi doesn't get it it's highway robbery and blatant good Canadian boy Crosby / Price / Habs favoritism. The last time something like this happened it was also the Habs.

Perry won Hart with 50 goals and being 8th in the scoring race. Ovi already has 52 and is 2nd in scoring and might even win scoring too. While Perry won his Hart, Tim Thomas had a Vezina and Conn Smythe year. Thomas' save percentage was .938 while Price is now at only .935. Thomas did not win Hart.

If there's any consistency or justice in the world (which there isn't) then Ovechkin is a lock for the Hart and Richard and might even get the Art Ross too, and this year and the way he's carried his team puts him above Crosby.

I think you just have to let it play out. A lot of voting media don't want to vote for Ov and will profess to thinking another player more deserves, but in the end they will vote for Ovechkin because they know its not really close.

 

[BobRouse]

Bobby Mac on 690 right now. He has an MVP vote. He said there is serious doubt as he assumed Price all year but now he is going to have to think about it.

He's definitely voting for Ovechkin based on some things he is saying RE: Goaltenders getting a 9 mile headstart in the definition of "most important"

He voted for Iginla over Theodore back then.

 

[billcook]

Bobby Mac on 690 right now. He has an MVP vote. He said there is serious doubt as he assumed Price all year but now he is going to have to think about it.

He's definitely voting for Ovechkin based on some things he is saying RE: Goaltenders getting a 9 mile headstart in the definition of "most important"

He voted for Iginla over Theodore back then.

Yes, and he voted for Toews over Crosby and Ovechkin in 2013 and Getzlaf over Crosby in 2014. Don't look too much into it, it's only one guy. Most of the voters are beat writers from US.

 

[txpd]

The more Ov piles it up the more ridiculous he makes the rest of the league look, the harder it is to not give him the vote.

he has 52 with Nash 2nd at 41. he scored more goals on Price than Price's gaa. that was on the road with Subban following him every where. Ov v Price and Subban and Ov gets two goals and the win.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

It'll be interesting to see how many Montreal-based writers leave Ovie completely off their ballot.