Post-Game Talk: Caps wake up in the 3rd win 3-0

[surixon]

Maybe just maybe that would be better, no pressure underdog situation might just be what brings this team together

If they need the pressure off then they will never sniff a cup.

Also being the underdog hasn't worked so well for this group anyhow as last year would attest to.

 

[Buffdog]

How many times have other similarly ranked teams been shut out?

I'm led to believe that other teams never play poorly or lose, let alone get shut out

 

[surixon]

I'd be very surprised if Arniel was innovating his own systems at this point in the year. The team is playing -- or not playing -- Bones hockey, whether or not the man himself is on the bench.

Managed to watch the first 2 periods of this one, thought they were in with a chance but they still seemed slow on the forecheck and a bit off on passes. Hopefully they get through March with a few more wins and find a way to turn up the burners before the first round starts.

There's no switch for these Jets to flip. They need to dig in, focus, move again as a 5-man unit, and play hard and smart.

Agreed. Scott is changing nothing with 10ish games left. They will win or not win with Bones's schemes.

 

[LucianoBorsato]

Did we at least outplay them?

Yes, until the third, then looked gassed and the Capitals...capitalized

 

[bustamente]

If they need the pressure off then they will never sniff a cup.

Also being the underdog hasn't worked so well for this group anyhow as last year would attest to.

This team didn't have a chance nor do they have a chance at winning the cup, those were the machinations of talking heads to appease us. These last 3 loses just magnify that this team as currently constructed have way to many holes in the way they play on the ice and or how they are coached. Watching the Avs right now just emphasizes how much work the Jets need to do

 

[jetsfan15]

This is probably the biggest concern we all should have at this juncture. Roughly a dozen games left in the season and we still have no idea how to answer those who innocently ask just who will form our top line come playoffs! The coach`s have focussed exclusively on making Connor/Scheifel/Vilardi a thing,(which ended when he got injured of course) but the results were not very positive. Even if he now returns before too long, there is no proven chemistry amongst these players and we`ll proceed with a hope and a prayer.

And the silly thing is, even now, when we occasionally try different line formulations, they are treated as very short term "blender" experiments, such as we saw today. How the hell can we possibly expect to assess possible chemistry amongst players without giving them a reasonable period of time together?

Yes. The other strange thing is when we do make a change to the line combos and it works well for a period or two, the coaching staff then decides to change it back to what wasn’t working (“oh, wait, this seemed to maybe work well? Better change it back so we can revert to mediocrity”).

This season has become a bit of a tale of two halves, to say the least (something we have unfortunately seen before). The second half specifically has been on-a-and-off, which is a sign of a bubble team that slots around the 16th seed overall in the league, give or take. The thing that is most strange:

- We know the Ehlers + Scheifele combo works. It’s been proven and resulted in the team winning at an elite rate. We were elite for a large sample of games this year in the first half, and that’s when Connor wasn’t with Scheifele, interesting enough.

- The coaching staff has tried this Connor in lieu of Ehlers thing on the top line and it isn’t working. It has to stop. It’s inconsistent - win one, lose one, win one, lose one. It’s not working and it won’t work against elite teams in a best-of-seven. It’s clear. When they have a bad game and then they bounce back with a win the next game, that isn’t proof that it “can” work. It’s simply reinforcing the fact that it’s a 50/50 16th seed type of team that can’t win at an elite level consistently with that line combo.

I really hope the coaching staff looks at the data. I still don’t understand Bones justifying Ehlers on the 2nd line “because he prefers him on the left”. So we prefer losing than seeing Ehlers on the right wing? It makes no sense. This the NHL and the goal is to win. I don’t know if it’s an old school coaching perspective or what the issue is there. It’s inexplicable. You’re paid millions of dollars to win games and you have a formula that works and one that doesn’t.

I hope it’ll be Ehlers-Scheifele-Vilardi come playoff time. Thankfully, Arniel kept Ehlers on the top line when he moved Connor back to it in the 3rd period, but really I don’t know why the lines were being re-shuffled after those first two periods - we were dominating through 2 periods, no change was needed. I realize we didn’t lose the game due to the re-shuffling in the 3rd - that isn’t the point I’m trying to make, to be clear. It’s more of a bigger picture perspective that concerns me and the pattern we are seeing time and time again. The coaching staff genuinely seems lost on many levels.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

Bad time of year to go stone cold. Yeah, they got some good biunces. But ita not easy to win if you score zero goals. Not a ton easier if you score only one.

We have about 2 weeks to get our shit together. Can't go into the playoffs playing worse than before we traded away important draft picks to make our team 'better'.

 

[kanadalainen]

Did we at least outplay them?

Yep.

 

[surixon]

This team didn't have a chance nor do they have a chance at winning the cup, those were the machinations of talking heads to appease us. These last 3 loses just magnify that this team as currently constructed have way to many holes in the way they play on the ice and or how they are coached. Watching the Avs right now just emphasizes how much work the Jets need to do

Oh I don't disagree. They don't have the talent upfront or on the backend behind JoMo.

Ok second line players like Monohan/Toffoli don't help address the high-end talent shortage.

They really should have just focused on trying to get Cole going again and gone big game hunting on another upper echelon dmen.

Had they been able to get one they would stand a better chance being able to play that defense first game.

Anyhow we have what we have and the coaching is going to have to find a way to optimize our forward lines and hope our defense shores up.

Add to that poor special teams and there is an awful lot to fix prior to the playoffs.

 

[bustamente]

Whoever thought about putting Apples on the top line must of been having a bad day, he is a bottom six player full stop. They played better today but when you can't score it's just not good enough. Going forward we need more talent all over this roster.

 

[Jets 31]

Well we played better than yesterday, Appleton on the 1st line was hard to watch and our defense can't hit the net when shooting from the point. I would like to see Scheifele, Ehlers and Neo given a shot together although bottom line is we aren't playing the aggressive style we were playing when we were playing so good defensively. Right now we are dumping the puck in and not getting to the puck to create the turnovers needed to make that system work.

Whoever thought about putting Apples on the top line must of been having a bad day, he is a bottom six player full stop. They played better today but when you can't score it's just not good enough. Going forward we need more talent all over this roster.

Appleton looked so bad up there, not blaming him only but top 6 is way above his talent level.

 

[WolfHouse]

Put lines "back together" in the third and they played look dog sh*t.

Need to radically change things across the board but chances are the will just blame 91, 9 and 36 for the loss and not the putrid play of 55, 81, 73, 23 etc.

4th line played good minutes through two periods and the game was close. 4th played less than 2 minutes in the third. 4th line numbers were very good and 1st and 2nd lines were not.

Wow I wasn't serious when I asked if our collapse coincided with reuniting connor scheif.... that's fkn scary

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Played a good first two periods but couldn't cash. Washington took advantage of us running out of gas and capitalized.

Top 6 isn't working right now. They are bleeding goals against and not scoring. The PP is back to not scoring.

I'd move Cole back up and get KC away from Scheifele.

But will Jets coaches? Pretty unlikely given the history.

 

[surixon]

But will Jets coaches? Pretty unlikely given the history.

I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Gm0ney]

It's a byproduct of Rick Bowness' game systems. Don't score goals and be tight defensively.

They've got the first part down...

 

[johnnyonthspot]

I have nothing really to add to this. They played a much better game, but they can't score goals. Offense is so hard to come by for this team. I hate it.

Was Tofolli playing? Did NJ know somethign Chevy did not know about him?
How can he come here and lose his scoring touch so quickly??

 

[Jets 31]

Honestly if Connor isn't scoring we are in trouble , the guy is a good one way player that needs help defensively on his line. There are times watching him in our own end where you can see him thinking i don't know what to do.

 

[Stumbledore]

They always write about wanting your team to peak at the right time. On my calendar, the playoffs don't start for another month. Way too early for all the Chicken LIttles to panic.

 

[ecolad]

Y

Yes. The other strange thing is when we do make a change to the line combos and it works well for a period or two, the coaching staff then decides to change it back to what wasn’t working (“oh, wait, this seemed to maybe work well? Better change it back so we can revert to mediocrity”).

This season has become a bit of a tale of two halves, to say the least (something we have unfortunately seen before). The second half specifically has been on-a-and-off, which is a sign of a bubble team that slots around the 16th seed overall in the league, give or take. The thing that is most strange:

- We know the Ehlers + Scheifele combo works. It’s been proven and resulted in the team winning at an elite rate. We were elite for a large sample of games this year in the first half, and that’s when Connor wasn’t with Scheifele, interesting enough.

- The coaching staff has tried this Connor in lieu of Ehlers thing on the top line and it isn’t working. It has to stop. It’s inconsistent - win one, lose one, win one, lose one. It’s not working and it won’t work against elite teams in a best-of-seven. It’s clear. When they have a bad game and then they bounce back with a win the next game, that isn’t proof that it “can” work. It’s simply reinforcing the fact that it’s a 50/50 16th seed type of team that can’t win at an elite level consistently with that line combo.

I really hope the coaching staff looks at the data. I still don’t understand Bones justifying Ehlers on the 2nd line “because he prefers him on the left”. So we prefer losing than seeing Ehlers on the right wing? It makes no sense. This the NHL and the goal is to win. I don’t know if it’s an old school coaching perspective or what the issue is there. It’s inexplicable. You’re paid millions of dollars to win games and you have a formula that works and one that doesn’t.

I hope it’ll be Ehlers-Scheifele-Vilardi come playoff time. Thankfully, Arniel kept Ehlers on the top line when he moved Connor back to it in the 3rd period, but really I don’t know why the lines were being re-shuffled after those first two periods - we were dominating through 2 periods, no change was needed. I realize we didn’t lose the game due to the re-shuffling in the 3rd - that isn’t the point I’m trying to make, to be clear. It’s more of a bigger picture perspective that concerns me and the pattern we are seeing time and time again. The coaching staff genuinely seems lost on many levels.

Yup. I`d like to see the 2nd line we started with today over a few games at least to assess how they might meld. I think it`s possible that Connor might show better if lined up with two linemates who might cover his defensive deficiencies (as opposed to Scheifele).
But , no matter which line he plays on, the coach`s have got to encourage him to be F1 on every zone entry and to forecheck sufficient to create turnovers through stickwork and body position, even if he shies away from board battles.

 

[GreatSaveEssensa]

I'm led to believe that other teams never play poorly or lose, let alone get shut out

You continue making it sound like anyone who has any reservations regarding the Jets play as of late are out of their minds and all is well in Jets land. Do you really believe that?

Not one person has stated that no other team loses, or gets shutout yet here you are implying that it’s been written all over this board. Most of what you deem to be negative comments are posters raising legitimate concerns.

The Jets had been considered a top team and a serious Cup contender. Their play over the last month shows that may not be the case.

So if you want to pretend like nothing is wrong, have at it. After all everyone is free to follow their team as they see fit. But please get off your soapbox and allow those of us who actually want to have a discussion about what we feel is going wrong with the team as of late to do so without trying to imply we are lesser fans than you.

 

[jetsfan15]

Y

Yup. I`d like to see the 2nd line we started with today over a few games at least to assess how they might meld. I think it`s possible that Connor might show better if lined up with two linemates who might cover his defensive deficiencies (as opposed to Scheifele).
But , no matter which line he plays on, the coach`s have got to encourage him to be F1 on every zone entry and to forecheck sufficient to create turnovers through stickwork and body position, even if he shies away from board battles.

Yes, same, I’d like to see a longer stretch of games (a good sample) of KFC on the 2nd line with Monahan centering him. And when I say we should try to replicate what we did in the first half of the year (where we were elite), I realize there are some differences: Connor is in the lineup now, we have Toffoli now, Vilardi is currently injured, etc. Also, I do think that Connor in the line up makes us a better team, but he has to be utilized correctly in order for this to materialize because of his defensive flaws. Like you said, I think on that second line with Monahan some of KC’s defensive issues might be more sheltered. And of course on the PP you can throw him with Scheifele, totally different scenario when you’re 5-on-4 IMO. But 5-on-5 it’s not working and it’s time to acknowledge that.

 

[Jets 31]

Was Tofolli playing? Did NJ know somethign Chevy did not know about him?
How can he come here and lose his scoring touch so quickly??

Not ready to give up on him just yet, he hasn't been here long enough . And i also think Monahan has been ok so far too, would i like to see more scoring? absolutely but that goes for everyone right now.

 

[Mud Turtle]

At least the effort was there today. Can’t say that they didn’t show up to play today.
But I agree, these lines aren’t working and why the coaches keep going back to them is a head scratcher.
Watching Connor in the defensive zone is just painful. He doesn’t have a clue and really doesn’t seem to care a whole lot either.
He had several chances to easily break up plays with a little bit of extra effort today, and he didn’t do it. Many of those didn’t lead to goals, but they led to great chances.

 

[macmaroon]

I'd actually enjoy being in the Pacific more, with the historical Smythe division rivalries.

Not for me, all those late night games would disrupt my sleep cycle...

 

[jetsfan15]

Interesting stats from Scott Billeck posts on X today:

— In Jets’ first 44 games: +46 goal differential (145-99) in all situations. And their record was 30-10-4. My thoughts: That’s elite.

— In the Jets’ 27 games since then: goal differential is nil, 73-73. And their record is 14-12-1 (since their 34-game run of allowing three goals or fewer ended on Jan. 22). My thoughts: That’s mediocre, akin to a 16th ranked bubble playoff team that will likely get knocked out in the first round.

It begs the question: what are the key changes that transpired around that time where things dramatically changed? Whether that’s systematically, line up wise, etc. While the KFC thing likely isn’t the only thing, it’s a pretty significant one: Ehlers barely playing with Scheifele anymore right around that point in time onward. And KFC replacing Ehlers on that top line.

Which brings us to the next question: Given the clear data, do we want to win and make a cup run, or not? Not sure what the coaches are trying to accomplish/prove here.