GDT: Caps vs Pens 3pm Apr 9

[traparatus]

Yea, would be cool to do that and put CMM in his spot and just see? depends on the standings, etc… I dunno

I think this is exactly what needs to happen. It would be very nice to have Eller playing better and he could then fill in at 2nd line center but it's just not happening.

Backstrom is too far behind play right now. Put CMM on the 2nd line, give him high end wingers and see what happens.

 

[McVechkin]

Is it just me or was Ovies goal louder than normal?

 

[McVechkin]

Magic number 12 points? Soon to be 10 when islanders lose tonight?

 

[twabby]

Orlov and Jensen were great. Carlson appears to be rounding into top tier form too. Nothing spectacular from him today but a lot of the junk appears to be gone from his game.

I can’t really add much else to the Backstrom conversation. He’s not right and he’s dragging down the second line. 6% xGF today. And he’s staring down regular matchups against the likes Barkov, Huberdeau, Stamkos, Malkin, or whoever else. Teams are going to be salivating about matching up against him.

I think you need to ride or die with McMichael as the 2C down the stretch and into the postseason. Give him good wingers and hope for the best I guess. If nothing else it’ll help prepare him for next season and will help the team establish if they need to get a top 6 C or if McMichael can fill that void. Giving him 7 minutes a night isn’t going to do anyone any good.

I liked Mojo’s game today. Aside from the goal which was nice, he’s seemed to form a decent chemistry with McMichael.

 

[HTFN]

Was that “low hockey IQ or average hands” Tom Wilson?

I had to catch the highlights but it looks like “supportive friend” Tom Wilson to me.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

The sad part is you know Backstrom knows he is hurting the team right now.

 

[twabby]

The sad part is you know Backstrom knows he is hurting the team right now.

I think they just need to ignore his contract. It’s a sunk cost, and they need to maximize what they have on the roster. It’s hard to make the case the Backstrom isn’t the 4th best ES center on the team right now. There’s a lot of pride that needs to be swallowed in order to give a $9.2 million player 4th line ES minutes but it’s almost surely the optimal thing to do.

 

[HTFN]

It's just becoming clear that he needed the surgery he didn't get. Whether he's willing to or not from here on out will remain to be seen but hopefully he's seeing right now that the "lesser" option to rehab and enter when ready was not close to good enough.

There's no shame in not wanting the surgery again either, it's his body and his life, but I think if you're going to pass you should probably be relatively happy with the minutes you get while the Caps make up the difference where they can to win games.

 

[kicksavedave]

First this, from a Pens fan:



Then this, in response

 

[g00n]

First this, from a Pens fan:



Then this, in response

Tom Wilson has seen your ‘TRASH’ jersey and he thinks it is rude

A free-thinking Pittsburgh Penguins fan has had his brush with fame on Saturday afternoon. Joe Colosimo (his name on Twitter) has been spotted around PPG Paints Arena today wearing a custom Capitals Tom Wilson number-43 jersey with a customized nameplate....

russianmachineneverbreaks.com

A playoff avatar theme is born?

 

[twabby]

It's just becoming clear that he needed the surgery he didn't get. Whether he's willing to or not from here on out will remain to be seen but hopefully he's seeing right now that the "lesser" option to rehab and enter when ready was not close to good enough.

There's no shame in not wanting the surgery again either, it's his body and his life, but I think if you're going to pass you should probably be relatively happy with the minutes you get while the Caps make up the difference where they can to win games.

What was the reporting regarding hip surgery? Was surgery ever on the table as an option, or was rehab the only thing that was really indicated?

It’s not on Backstrom IMO. It’s clear that he’s injured and it’s on the coaching staff and management to realize this and adjust accordingly. Even if he’s asking to play big minutes (and who wouldn’t at this level?) the coach shouldn’t oblige if it’s going to hurt the team.

 

[Marshall]

Rewatching the game, the Caps scored at least two goals glove high. I wonder if that's their book on Jarry.

 

[HTFN]

What was the reporting regarding hip surgery? Was surgery ever on the table as an option, or was rehab the only thing that was really indicated?

It’s not on Backstrom IMO. It’s clear that he’s injured and it’s on the coaching staff and management to realize this and adjust accordingly. Even if he’s asking to play big minutes (and who wouldn’t at this level?) the coach shouldn’t oblige if it’s going to hurt the team.

My understanding is that he arguably needed it but didn’t want it after the experience with the last one. I think rehab is the only option he wanted to consider and the team seemed cool with trying but it clearly wasn’t enough. They’ll have to sit down when the season’s over and lay out options, at least to the tune of understanding where they’ll play him moving forward if nothing changes

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

We all know Lavi is too stubborn to let CMM lake over at 2C. Which is a shame because these last 11 games are the perfect opportunity to see what he has. It would take an epic collapse to miss the playoffs and we need to give him more minutes if they are really serious about him playing more. Instead I could see Eller or even Dowd taking over at 2C instead of CMM.