Post-Game Talk: Caps vs the weird P logo team

[Langway]

...and if no one is? Er, uh, well...

 

[bur and 666 others]

It’s cute Flyers fans think they can come here and trash talk.

It's actually amazing how confident they are considering they missed the playoffs last year and sucked prior. While we are in full panic mode with our cup being just 2 years ago.

 

[txpd]

I was thinking of saying something I figure to be unpopular but have edited myself. Hockey tomorrow?

 

[AtNightWeFly]

...and if no one is? Er, uh, well...

Translation: Kuzy is off the PP completely. Changes are coming!!!

 

[DanTHEMan71]

...and if no one is? Er, uh, well...

By personnel changes, I was hoping "Forsythe-being-canned" type changes...

 

[bur and 666 others]

The players' only meeting coming? or was it just an attribute of trotz's era?

 

[troyerlaw]

If they’re gonna switch up PP personnel, i wish they’d try Kovy or Wilson in oshie’s place, and maybe Eller along boards or in Vrana spot. Hell, i’d be fine if team sat Kovy for a game or two and let Boyd get some time on PP1. At least 72 has good hands and composure. Lately kuz/backy/vrana/oshie are all giving puck away once we finally set up in zone.

But who are we kidding? TR talks a big game about accountability, but when the chips are down and game is close, he’ll race right back to the original set-up, hoping Ovie will save the day by blasting one through.

As for accountability, Kuz should’ve been put on notice months ago that disappearing for several games at a time sends you down to 3rd line, at bare minimum, if not to nacho duty. Coaches talk about accountability, but they very rarely apply it to top-end, top-paid players.

 

[caps4cup]

One other thing that isn’t helping is that Holtby has been terrible all year. He’s currently given up 25 more goals than expected on the year, in 46 games, 20 of them at even strength. Bobrovsky is the only starter that has been worse and Jones is right there with Holtby.

I wouldn’t even blame him on any of the goals tonight but he let in 4 EV goals on 1.5 xGoals. At some point he needs to make a save. The team defense has been bad but he also hasn’t really bailed them out at all. He constantly gets outplayed by the opposing goalie. He has definitely been a little better lately, but his performance likely looks better just because he was SO bad before this stretch.

 

[SpinningEdge]

Another thing. The caps team discipline continues to kill them. Caps has a awesome first period. Led after one with good momentum - and they took three penalties in the first 5 mins of second. Which just changed everything

 

[troyerlaw]

Hockey tomorrow?

Let’s do it! See you mañana, Tex.

 

[troyerlaw]

Another thing. The caps team discipline continues to kill them. Caps has a awesome first period. Led after one with good momentum - and they took three penalties in the first 5 mins of second. Which just changed everything

The Dillon penalty was dumb too

 

[OviTaughtMe]

It’s a veteran team so this won’t ever fly (especially since they won a Cup) but I’d give anything just to see 92 be scratched for a game or two. He is the walking personification of what is wrong with this team.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

#itsallkuzysfault is back.

 

[Bladerunner]

Hope they can turn it around, and soon. However they've been in a slow fade since about mid season. Ovi's hot spell a few weeks ago that moved him into the Rocket race, and #700, have been a pleasant masking of this ongoing funk.

It's not just TRs or his staffs fault, but I don't think he was ready for prime time. Certainly doesn't seem so.

 

[peterthegreat12]

 

[bur and 666 others]

#FireReiden?

 

[DanTHEMan71]

Tactics aside, I could tell from the moment I heard Reirden speak as a head coach, that he wouldn't be as good of a motivator as Trotz or any of the other good coaches around the league. That was even more apparent when you see his body language behind the bench.

Here's a little trip down memory lane:



That wasn't even a great example of Trotz making an emotional speech. But I'd bet you a lot of money Reirden isn't as passionate and engaged as Trotz was in the locker room, at practice, or behind the bench. Even watching the bench's reaction to the two goals in the clip, everyone is celebrating except Todd. And he hasn't changed, just stands on bench with his arms crossed like he does after that Ovi goal.

Good coaches have strong and assertive traits/personalities that enable them to fire up the locker room when needed. Reirden is just way too passive a person to be a head coach because it's not just about Xs and Os, you need to be able to motivate your team with your own passion and emotion. That's not even mentioning the fact that Korn and our assistants then were multitudes more competent than the ones we have now. Somehow Forsythe is still here though.

Call it sport psychology BS or whatever, but that's just what I believe. I've been down on Reirden since October/November of 2018.

While he was an assistant coach, I don't really remember seeing any interviews or pressers of him. Also, I never really payed attention to him speak during those brief in-game, on the bench interviews. But like I said, from the moment I saw him speak in an official capacity as head coach, I could just tell he wouldn't be able to motivate this team through adversity.

 

[WanderingCapsFan]

Eller: "Everybody's pissed off right now, as it should be. Then I think you know everybody's got to do a little better. Everybody from top to bottom, the best players, the guys who are only playing so many minutes a night, we need more from everybody."

Hathaway: "We can’t keep going with it. If we keep doing that, there is not going to be a future for us. We got to figure some stuff out."

It's great that the bottom 6 care. (And they're the ones scoring the goals). But if the top 6 don't give a s--t, this team is going nowhere.

But keep up those fancy handshakes. That'll bring you a cup .

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Assistant coaches should give their resignation. They are terrible and I remember Arniel as a Jet. There is no reason for a team with all this talent to have a terrible PP. Jensen was just terrible. Caps need to get their act together quickly. Willy was a one man show and deserves kudos.

 

[Kuz]

The team are not giving the effort you want from them. Hopefully this year the switch suddenly works when the playoffs start, but I expect that Ovi is the only one switching over to playoff mode and being let down by his team as usual. I would be okay with a bad record if they every once in a while showed some effort in important games like this one or vs the Pens. Because I can understand them pacing themselves a little after the strong start, but in important matches it would be nice to see some spark in them.

 

[Carlzner]

They win this game if the PP doesn’t waste so many golden chances. Blaine is god awful

 

[Melkor]

Tactics aside, I could tell from the moment I heard Reirden speak as a head coach, that he wouldn't be as good of a motivator as Trotz or any of the other good coaches around the league.

"bUt thEy ArE prOs!! thEy dOn't nEEd mOtIvAtOrs!"... Anyone who thinks the motivators aren't needed in pro sports losing all credibility on the spot.

 

[trick9]

Piss poor PP and a pathetic effort lead by their leaders again, hard to say either came as a surprise.

 

[max21]

It's actually amazing how confident they are considering they missed the playoffs last year and sucked prior. While we are in full panic mode with our cup being just 2 years ago.

Well they should be with 7 wins in a row. They may be blowing their load a bit early though, if I were them I’d want the playoffs to start tomorrow. But yeah It’s almost like they’ve forgot we just won the cup...Wilson has that entire fan base triggered tho, they would worship him in a flyers jersey.

 

[sycamore]

Its the same story every year for the last decade (with one fortunate exception): Caps storm out of the gate at the beginning of the season to take a big lead in the East, then falter and burn out towards the end of the season. They just haven't learn how to pace themselves like the Penguins, Lightning and other teams in the conference.

Silver lining: Flyer are back to being are #2 rivals. I've always hated them, dating back to the 80s and the Ron Hextall years. Now they're dangerous enough for us to despise them again.