Post-Game Talk: Caps stumble but then bully their way to a 5-4 OTW over the Cats.

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Q has to tell Hoffman to stop passing the puck. He should be shooting 100% of the time

 

[sinDer]

Bob has been better that what his number shows. But he needs to steal games here and there during the season and he hasn't done that yet.

When was the last time we won a game 2-1 with our goalie playing over his head?

 

[pantherbot]

All you guys bitching about hoff this and hoff that. Q put him on the ice with 20 seconds left in a tie game against one of the league's best offense.

So get used to seeing him because our coach seems to trust him just fine.

 

[batting1k]

Bob has been better that what his number shows. But he needs to steal games here and there during the season and he hasn't done that yet.

When was the last time we won a game 2-1 with our goalie playing over his head?

again, which goal was he supposed to steal? I must’ve missed some goals last night because 4 of the 5 goals we allowed last night that I saw were lucky bounces/redirects that he or any goalie would’ve been lucky to stop.

 

[pantherbot]

Oh and all you guys who hopped on the malgi train early, he hasn't done much of anything in 5 games. Missed a sure goal last night. Guess he's back to not finishing his chances. It's great he continues to work hard and make the little plays, but he needs to finish his chances. Bet you hoff doesn't miss that.

And I'm not even saying we should keep hoff. Or that he's a perfect player. Just that the criticism on him is ridiculously over the top.

 

[GrumpyKelly]

I don’t think the d men are as bad as you guys make it out. A lot of this is a team defense thing, especially the forwards and committing bad plays at both blue lines. Upgrade Brown, easy enough to do, and we have a solid d core that is good enough to not consistently be giving up 3.5 goals a game.

One good d-man would help but isn’t going to make a big enough difference imo. Gotta let Q and kitchens fix this.

I think one steady defenseman like Stralman would make a big difference. It's not just Brown playing 10 minutes per game, he's also dragging down Yandle on that pairing. And let's face it, Yandle doesn't need any dragging down. It would also allow them to roll all pairings without worrying about match ups on the road.

All you guys *****ing about hoff this and hoff that. Q put him on the ice with 20 seconds left in a tie game against one of the league's best offense.

So get used to seeing him because our coach seems to trust him just fine.

Q rolls four lines though. He had Toninato out there with minute something left too.

 

[GrumpyKelly]

And I'm not even saying we should keep hoff. Or that he's a perfect player. Just that the criticism on him is ridiculously over the top.

I'm not sure it is, he's absolutely useless 5v5. When is the last time you saw him make a play? I can't even remember.

 

[PanthersHockey1]

We could have easily won 2 out of our 5 OTL and be 9-3-3. That looks a lot better. We are doing well.

 

[PanthersHockey1]

Also barkov has emerged from what injury was plaguing him. He looks great again.

 

[pantherbot]

I think one steady defenseman like Stralman would make a big difference. It's not just Brown playing 10 minutes per game, he's also dragging down Yandle on that pairing. And let's face it, Yandle doesn't need any dragging down. It would also allow them to roll all pairings without worrying about match ups on the road.



Q rolls four lines though. He had Toninato out there with minute something left too.

I'm not sure it is, he's absolutely useless 5v5. When is the last time you saw him make a play? I can't even remember.

Every player has a role on a team based on their skill set. I'm pretty sure Q just tells hoffman to not get scored on and be a weapon on the power play, and that's it. Don't give away the puck, don't take dumb penalties, don't get scored on, don't get hurt, and be available on the power play. He's usually in the right spot defensively. Last year hoff gave away the puck too much, this year not so much.

Hoffman isn't a complete player, not sure why that's such a shocker to everyone here. He's here to do his job and that's it, he's not going to give you more than that. He's not an extra effort player, he is what he is. If Hoffman sucked as much as you guys claim, he wouldn't be getting his shifts.

Yeah Q rolls his lines, but he's not a robot about it. I doubt with 20 seconds left he's thinking "ok, it's time for hoff's line to go. yeah he's sucked all night, but it's his turn so he goes anyways". No way, this is the same coach that benched hubs/dads when we were pressing in the avs game (I think it was avs game). He is going to put out guys he trusts. Toni had a great game last night and deserved to be out there with the game on the line. Then he had Malgin's line take the offensive draw. Then he had hoffman and boyle out there at the end.

I'm not saying we have to sign him or he's worth $8M/year or whatever, but he's a great asset to have on our team, especially at $5M/year. I hope Tippet can replace him, but it's not realistic to expect he can step in right away and score 30 goals. People saying hoff needs to go are being unreasonable.

 

[pantherbot]

Also barkov has emerged from what injury was plaguing him. He looks great again.

He looks great offensively, but defensively I find his line doesn't do very well. But maybe I'm only noticing it when his line is out there with yandle/brown.

It's interesting to see that Barkov''s line has 80% offensive zone starts while Acciari/4th line gets the complete opposite. I like that Q is using his guys like that.

 

[ProjectPanthers]

Years of mediocrity have made this fanbase content with almost anything.

This team is bottom 5 in goals against. Every game there seems to be some sort of excuse. "Defensive coverage, Bob should've had that, deflections off our own players".

All of these things happen to every single NHL team. Every team suffers from defensive zone breakdowns, every goalie gives up weak goals, and every team has bad luck goals go in against them.

Bottom line is it's been 15 games and we have seen little improvement in the Goals Against department. Bob 100% needs to be sharper, but the team needs to be better in front of him as well. I don't understand the space the forwards give the d-men in the offensive zone. Teams score a lot of their goals against us on point shots that are either deflected or saved for a juicy rebound....maybe it's time to implement a strategy that limits the quality of points shots?

Playoffs won't f***ing matter one bit if we get steamrolled in 5 games in round 1. If these goals against don't improve, that's exactly what's going to happen.

I am not happy about this at all. We have a $10 million goaltender and some highly paid guys on the back end, averaging almost 4 goals against per game is downright pathetic.

 

[FinlandPanther]

Years of mediocrity have made this fanbase content with almost anything.

This team is bottom 5 in goals against. Every game there seems to be some sort of excuse. "Defensive coverage, Bob should've had that, deflections off our own players".

All of these things happen to every single NHL team. Every team suffers from defensive zone breakdowns, every goalie gives up weak goals, and every team has bad luck goals go in against them.

Bottom line is it's been 15 games and we have seen little improvement in the Goals Against department. Bob 100% needs to be sharper, but the team needs to be better in front of him as well. I don't understand the space the forwards give the d-men in the offensive zone. Teams score a lot of their goals against us on point shots that are either deflected or saved for a juicy rebound....maybe it's time to implement a strategy that limits the quality of points shots?

Playoffs won't ****ing matter one bit if we get steamrolled in 5 games in round 1. If these goals against don't improve, that's exactly what's going to happen.

I am not happy about this at all. We have a $10 million goaltender and some highly paid guys on the back end, averaging almost 4 goals against per game is downright pathetic.

Truth.

 

[GrumpyKelly]

Every player has a role on a team based on their skill set. I'm pretty sure Q just tells hoffman to not get scored on and be a weapon on the power play, and that's it. Don't give away the puck, don't take dumb penalties, don't get scored on, don't get hurt, and be available on the power play. He's usually in the right spot defensively. Last year hoff gave away the puck too much, this year not so much.

Your describing a PP specialist type of player which is only useful if he's scoring goals. And he has one goal in the last 11 games.

Hoffman isn't a complete player, not sure why that's such a shocker to everyone here. He's here to do his job and that's it, he's not going to give you more than that. He's not an extra effort player, he is what he is. If Hoffman sucked as much as you guys claim, he wouldn't be getting his shifts.

Yeah Q rolls his lines, but he's not a robot about it. I doubt with 20 seconds left he's thinking "ok, it's time for hoff's line to go. yeah he's sucked all night, but it's his turn so he goes anyways". No way, this is the same coach that benched hubs/dads when we were pressing in the avs game (I think it was avs game). He is going to put out guys he trusts. Toni had a great game last night and deserved to be out there with the game on the line. Then he had Malgin's line take the offensive draw. Then he had hoffman and boyle out there at the end.

I'm not saying we have to sign him or he's worth $8M/year or whatever, but he's a great asset to have on our team, especially at $5M/year. I hope Tippet can replace him, but it's not realistic to expect he can step in right away and score 30 goals. People saying hoff needs to go are being unreasonable.

The reason why Q is able to put Hoff out there in the final minute is because he hasn't been a liability defensively. It has nothing to do with how much he sucks offensively or how the play dies on his stick.

I wouldn't call him a great asset at 5 million but an ok one. He's literally Pirri except faster, which is why he makes the cut. If his only good attribute was shooting the puck on the PP, he'd be a fringe player (like Pirri).

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Years of mediocrity have made this fanbase content with almost anything.

This team is bottom 5 in goals against. Every game there seems to be some sort of excuse. "Defensive coverage, Bob should've had that, deflections off our own players".

All of these things happen to every single NHL team. Every team suffers from defensive zone breakdowns, every goalie gives up weak goals, and every team has bad luck goals go in against them.

Bottom line is it's been 15 games and we have seen little improvement in the Goals Against department. Bob 100% needs to be sharper, but the team needs to be better in front of him as well. I don't understand the space the forwards give the d-men in the offensive zone. Teams score a lot of their goals against us on point shots that are either deflected or saved for a juicy rebound....maybe it's time to implement a strategy that limits the quality of points shots?

Playoffs won't ****ing matter one bit if we get steamrolled in 5 games in round 1. If these goals against don't improve, that's exactly what's going to happen.

I am not happy about this at all. We have a $10 million goaltender and some highly paid guys on the back end, averaging almost 4 goals against per game is downright pathetic.

So youd be happier if we were our normal 3-7-5 but only giving up 2 goals a game?

There is no strategy where you can play 100% for the entire game. Rip on the whole team as a defensive unit, not just the defensemen. The top line isnt really shining brightly in our own end.

We collapse to force perimeter shots but the downfall is deflections or these bad bounce goals against.
We spread out like Boughners system to limit point shots and we will leave the slot open more.

You cant have it both ways.
At the start of the year, we would all be fairly happy with a 103pt pace.
Have some faith the D will come together as we have Matheson back now after 2 weeks and still missing our 2C.

Q even said himself itll be 20 games in before the system is fully installed.
We are built like the Leafs, sounds like you'd be happier if we were more like Carolina who can defend but will have problems scoring.

Yandle may be moved in offseason and Hoffman will likely be gone. Tallon has already hinted at getting a shutdown LD, but the one he wants likely (top 3/4) wont be available until later in the year when teams know if they're pushing for playoffs or pushing for a better draft pick

 

[GrumpyKelly]

Oh yeah and before someone says "but Hoffman scores 25 -30 goals". We can get a PP specialist type for league in minimum that will score 20. We've seen it with Pirri and a guy like Boyes, a lot of those around the league if your willing to put up with all the shortcomings.

Makes no sense to pay 5 million for a guy that gives you five more goals.

 

[batting1k]

Still waiting for someone to show me some of these goals from last night that Bob should’ve stopped aside from the first Ovi goal. Or which goalie would’ve stopped them.

 

[GrumpyKelly]

Yandle may be moved in offseason and Hoffman will likely be gone. Tallon has already hinted at getting a shutdown LD, but the one he wants likely (top 3/4) wont be available until later in the year when teams know if they're pushing for playoffs or pushing for a better draft pick

Where did you get this from?

 

[pantherbot]

Your describing a PP specialist type of player which is only useful if he's scoring goals. And he has one goal in the last 11 games.




The reason why Q is able to put Hoff out there in the final minute is because he hasn't been a liability defensively. It has nothing to do with how much he sucks offensively or how the play dies on his stick.

I wouldn't call him a great asset at 5 million but an ok one. He's literally Pirri except faster, which is why he makes the cut. If his only good attribute was shooting the puck on the PP, he'd be a fringe player (like Pirri).

Oh yeah and before someone says "but Hoffman scores 25 -30 goals". We can get a PP specialist type for league in minimum that will score 20. We've seen it with Pirri and a guy like Boyes, a lot of those around the league if your willing to put up with all the shortcomings.

Makes no sense to pay 5 million for a guy that gives you five more goals.

Very few players have a shot like hoffman. Pirri had a great shot and it's not as good. Hoff is also able to get his shot off pretty consistently, except when he's getting double teamed, which then opens it up for others on the pp. Just because he's not scoring does not mean he has no impact.

Also, I think you're under appreciating how hard it is to just "not get scored on", that in itself is an asset, to be able to put a player out there and take on minutes without overly worrying about what happens.

You guys make it sound like it'll be so easy to replace hoffman. A guy like Pirri doesn't even come close, he's a fringe player who barely gets minutes and has trouble making an NHL roster. Hoffman has been pretty consistently a 60 pt player while being defensively responsible, I don't know what else you guys want for $5M.

 

[vendetta]

Still waiting for someone to show me some of these goals from last night that Bob should’ve stopped aside from the first Ovi goal. Or which goalie would’ve stopped them.

He coukd have had any other than the ovi pp goal. That was on sceviour. Proper positioning and puck tracking helps. A deflection short side from far out that goal def doesn’t need to happen. They held the caps to 7 high danger chances. It’s simply not good enough

 

[GrumpyKelly]

Very few players have a shot like hoffman. Pirri had a great shot and it's not as good. Hoff is also able to get his shot off pretty consistently, except when he's getting double teamed, which then opens it up for others on the pp. Just because he's not scoring does not mean he has no impact.

Also, I think you're under appreciating how hard it is to just "not get scored on", that in itself is an asset, to be able to put a player out there and take on minutes without overly worrying about what happens.

You guys make it sound like it'll be so easy to replace hoffman. A guy like Pirri doesn't even come close, he's a fringe player who barely gets minutes and has trouble making an NHL roster. Hoffman has been pretty consistently a 60 pt player while being defensively responsible, I don't know what else you guys want for $5M.

It's pretty obvious that he's not a fit in Q's system. He doesn't go to the dirty areas at all while every other guy on the team does. Now, he can still get points off the PP and yeah he can make an impact if he's scoring. But for this team right now, he's nothing more than a Pirri who can skate a bit better.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Where did you get this from?

Pretty sure it was GR who had it in one of his early articles in the year.
I haven't heard Tallon say it aloud but I'll see if I can find the article.

 

[RealHumanBean]

Where did you get this from?

I remember reading it too. Cant say from where though

 

[RogerRoger]

Still waiting for someone to show me some of these goals from last night that Bob should’ve stopped aside from the first Ovi goal. Or which goalie would’ve stopped them.

First goal is an easy save.

 

[iam76]

Still waiting for someone to show me some of these goals from last night that Bob should’ve stopped aside from the first Ovi goal. Or which goalie would’ve stopped them.

There answer is Bob is playing better then his numbers. We give up scoring chances like crazy. It's just a fact. Thank God bobs here