Post-Game Talk: Caps vs Bruins 7pm ET Jan 10

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Brutal goaltending and horrible special teams. They were actually very good at 5-on-5 but that’s hockey; the Bruins were very opportunistic and punished them every time they made a mistake.

7 goals against on 31 shots is…. not good. If they get average goaltending the outcome is likely very different. Also if Lars buries that layup from Tom to make it 3-0 who knows.

Force feed Sammy minutes and if he’s not up to it make a trade. Fucale and Vitek are not #1s.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Brutal goaltending and horrible special teams. They were actually very good at 5-on-5 but that’s hockey; the Bruins were very opportunistic and punished them every time they made a mistake.

7 goals against on 31 shots is…. not good. If they get average goaltending the outcome is likely very different. Also if Lars buries that layup from Tom to make it 3-0 who knows.

Force feed Sammy minutes and if he’s not up to it make a trade. Fucale and Vitek are not #1s.

Not sure Sammy is either but we can pretend I guess.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Not sure Sammy is either but we can pretend I guess.

Sammy is their best option and I don’t think it’s remotely close. He’s the only one who could be an actual #1. That said, that doesn’t mean he’s a good option but he’s the best of what they have. His game has slipped recently though. And, not surprisingly, their recent losing streak coincides with their worst goaltending stretch of the season.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Sammy is their best option and I don’t think it’s remotely close. He’s the only one who could be an actual #1. That said, that doesn’t mean he’s a good option but he’s the best of what they have. His game has slipped recently though. And, not surprisingly, their recent losing streak coincides with their worst goaltending stretch of the season.

Never say never....

He might be their best option, but he's not tracking like a great option.


When he's not pitching a shutout, how good is he really?

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Never say never....

He might be their best option, but he's not tracking like a great option.


When he's not pitching a shutout, how good is he really?

No arguments here. I think it’s more and more likely they go get a goalie with some of Mantha’s cap space. With even average goaltending this team is a legit contender but they’re not even getting that on a consistent basis. I know goaltending is finicky but average is not a high bar to want to clear. They are a really strong 5-on-5 team, especially defensively, and I think the adventures in net are overshadowing some good things being done by this team.

 

[Neil Racki]

We dont play until Saturday ... bad stretches come and go.

Rest up, get ready for Saturday.

We have 15 games in April, Ill worry then.

 

[twabby]

I still think Halak would be the most sensible option if he’s willing to waive and Vancouver doesn’t do something crazy like keep him for a playoff run. He’s a hardened veteran with some playoff experience and he profiles similarly to John Gibson in terms of boxcars like save percentage and quality start percentage.

Oh and he’s only on a $1.5M contract, which would give them plenty of maneuverability to go after a forward as well.

 

[John Price]

Shame Fucale imploded like that. Never seen this team give up 6 straight goals

 

[aonb]

>goaltending is not an issue this season

said it multiple times, i have absolutely no faith in sammy. he is so f*** shaky all season long and honestly i'm slowly losing patience. If he is our best option right now (and he is), you all know we are screwed big time.

 

[HanTykje]

Goalies are big issue for Caps, Should VV and Samsonov get renewed contracts? I cant support that, Ilya have some glimse of a great goalie, should be more consistent at his age.

 

[TheLegendOfPatPeake]

Sammy is their best option and I don’t think it’s remotely close. He’s the only one who could be an actual #1. That said, that doesn’t mean he’s a good option but he’s the best of what they have. His game has slipped recently though. And, not surprisingly, their recent losing streak coincides with their worst goaltending stretch of the season.

Samsonov is a head case and not nearly consistent enough. The Caps win in spite of him, not because of him.

 

[TheLegendOfPatPeake]

>goaltending is not an issue this season

said it multiple times, i have absolutely no faith in sammy. he is so f*** shaky all season long and honestly i'm slowly losing patience. If he is our best option right now (and he is), you all know we are screwed big time.

Mac is sitting on cap space. Acquire a goaltender.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Orlov's absence really felt last night. He's the Caps player best able to play with serious pace at both ends of the ice, and plays 1/3 of the game. On a team still short of guys that can consistently play a high-quality up-tempo game, we really can't afford to have him missing from the lineup.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Samsonov is a head case and not nearly consistent enough. The Caps win in spite of him, not because of him.

What are you basing your assertion of his mental status on? Snippets of things you read?

He may not be consistent enough but your last statement is generally false, except for a few games where the team has carried him.

And again, I’m not saying he’s a great option but he’s definitely their best option.

 

[itsjustsurvival]

I still think Halak would be the most sensible option if he’s willing to waive and Vancouver doesn’t do something crazy like keep him for a playoff run. He’s a hardened veteran with some playoff experience and he profiles similarly to John Gibson in terms of boxcars like save percentage and quality start percentage.

Oh and he’s only on a $1.5M contract, which would give them plenty of maneuverability to go after a forward as well.

I wonder what the 5 or 6 Capitals that played with Halak when he was here before think about him as a teammate.

I know there's more to the story than we probably know, but I still think it's crazy he didn't want to play that one Blues game after coming to the Capitals. Probably Oates just being a terrible coach and making everything worse, but if it was legitimately the fact he didn't want to play his old team, that's pretty lame.

 

[Firsov99]

So, it has come down to goaltending. As expected. We should have addressed this issue earlier. We aren't going anywhere with the current goalies.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

If there's one thing I AM down on GMBM about....it's that he's allowed this goaltending situation go on for too long.

 

[TheLegendOfPatPeake]

What are you basing your assertion of his mental status on? Snippets of things you read?

He may not be consistent enough but your last statement is generally false, except for a few games where the team has carried him.

And again, I’m not saying he’s a great option but he’s definitely their best option.

No, I haven’t had long talks with Samsonov to know whether he is a head case. I am basing that off his inconsistency and lapses in games where he makes unbelievable stops and then let’s in an exquisitely soft goal.

And no, the last statement is not generally false. He has had some of the best offensive support in the league. He has given up three or more goals in 13 of the 20 games he has played. Not good Bob, not good. He is lucky his team can score. Sammy ain’t it.

 

[g00n]

If there's one thing I AM down on GMBM about....it's that he's allowed this goaltending situation go on for too long.

Seems like a combo of wanting a prospect to work out plus cost control at the position so they could afford spending elswhere. They banked on Sammy developing quickly. If this is still a problem by the TDL they might have to jettison some salary among the skaters.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Seems like a combo of wanting a prospect to work out plus cost control at the position so they could afford spending elswhere. They banked on Sammy developing quickly. If this is still a problem by the TDL they might have to jettison some salary among the skaters.

Frankly, it will be too late by the TDL. The Caps need to seriously address this now. If they lose a couple more games, which is possible, then they fall into a wild card spot with the Pens/Bruins both, most likely jumping ahead of them. This could all happen in less than 2 weeks from now. I expect the Isles to start making a push closer to the last wild card spot, despite their goal scoring challenges.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Seems like a combo of wanting a prospect to work out plus cost control at the position so they could afford spending elswhere. They banked on Sammy developing quickly. If this is still a problem by the TDL they might have to jettison some salary among the skaters.

this is slowly turning into a scenario like when McPhee refused to address the D (or just failed at it).

 

[kicksavedave]

Seems like a combo of wanting a prospect to work out plus cost control at the position so they could afford spending elswhere. They banked on Sammy developing quickly. If this is still a problem by the TDL they might have to jettison some salary among the skaters.

Also they signed HAnk without expecting him to have a broken heart... But that was last year and the pair of kids showed enough to get a shot this year, but both have seemingly regressed.

 

[TheLegendOfPatPeake]

Frankly, it will be too late by the TDL. The Caps need to seriously address this now. If they lose a couple more games, which is possible, then they fall into a wild card spot with the Pens/Bruins both, most likely jumping ahead of them. This could all happen in less than 2 weeks from now. I expect the Isles to start making a push closer to the last wild card spot, despite their goal scoring challenges.

Do you really want to give Murray more time to ruin whomever we acquire?