Post-Game Talk: Devils and caps 7:00

[troyerlaw]

Oof. Last year, kuz and/or ovie finish that

 

[AtNightWeFly]

This OT was great by entertainment standards.

 

[Capsman]

OV looks tired and just...not very good.

 

[Hivemind]

Not sure why Oshie thought he could skate through 2 men there. It's 3-on-3, use the empty space!!

 

[SimplySensational]

Congratulations to the Devils for their shootout win, Holtbys not going to stop anything.

 

[troyerlaw]

Losing every FO in OT not a recipe for success.

Gonna be tough to best Kincaid in SO, but at least we have oshie

 

[troyerlaw]

Crap

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Holtby isn't good at these

 

[troyerlaw]

Congratulations to the Devils for their shootout win, Holtbys not going to stop anything.

He definitely got outplayed tonight

 

[HTFN]

Don't get me wrong, I think the moves to bring in Oshie and Williams over Ward and Brouwer were most certainly a net improvement. I like that off-season a lot. However, this team certainly lost its "heavy game" style of play after the departure of Joel Ward (and to a lesser extent Jason Chimera this past off-season). Oshie and Williams play more a possession game than they play a grind-it-out game.

Sorry, in the context of the previous posts I conflated "heavy" and "cycling" a little too much. I don't think of Ward as a "heavy" player, personally, although that does open up a little bit of debate as to whether or not a "heavy" player is someone who brings a heavy game, or simply someone capable of playing in one. Ward is not a particularly aggressive or pro-actively heavy hitter, say, but he absorbs all hits equally, and is required to change nearly nothing in his play during heavy games in order to remain effective.

If anything, I think you inadvertently hit the nail on the head with the Chimera reference, as I think that was the final departure from the heavy game. He was a third line lynchpin whose size and speed allowed him to contest dump-ins in a way that not many in the NHL really can.

Williams v. Brouwer is kind of a wash/tossup, because Brouwer threw baby hits anyway, and probably only "earned" a lot of them by losing the puck to people and then pushing them a bunch.

 

[g00n]

The guy has been dynamite with the blocker all night. Why go there?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

It's all part of the master plan.....to get to the shootout and lose.

Wish I was wrong....

 

[troyerlaw]

Holtby not strong in skillz competition

 

[Capsman]

Holtby really isn't very good at shootouts.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Did they lose? I assume so. Not good as SO''s

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Good showing by the big guns tonight.

 

[troyerlaw]

JR sounds pissed at Caps. Love it

 

[Revelation]

Holtby not strong in skillz competition

It's almost like there's no system for him to hide behind

 

[AtNightWeFly]

So yeah...

 

[Bladerunner]

Lovely... a SOL vs NJD in the division we're in

 

[Corby78]

I hate shootouts so much. It's not hockey. Just glad they aren't in the playoffs because we suck at them. Which is ironic since we have so many skilled players and a great goalie

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Last 4 shootout attempts have gone in on Holtby. System can't cover his weakness when it's just him and shooter. Not elite.

 

[Hivemind]

Sorry, in the context of the previous posts I conflated "heavy" and "cycling" a little too much. I don't think of Ward as a "heavy" player, personally, although that does open up a little bit of debate as to whether or not a "heavy" player is someone who brings a heavy game, or simply someone capable of playing in one. Ward is not a particularly aggressive or pro-actively heavy hitter, say, but he absorbs all hits equally, and is required to change nearly nothing in his play during heavy games in order to remain effective.

If anything, I think you inadvertently hit the nail on the head with the Chimera reference, as I think that was the final departure from the heavy game. He was a third line lynchpin whose size and speed allowed him to contest dump-ins in a way that not many in the NHL really can.

Williams v. Brouwer is kind of a wash/tossup, because Brouwer threw baby hits anyway, and probably only "earned" a lot of them by losing the puck to people and then pushing them a bunch.

Ward wouldn't light people up, but he embodied the "we're going to win every 1-on-1 board battle for our entire shift and keep the puck cycling around the outside until you miss a coverage and we get a scoring chance" style of play. That, to me, is why he was a heavy player. He facilitated a style of play that allowed for the Capitals to gain advantages based on winning physical battles and exhausting their opposition. Chimera could participate in that style of play, but he didn't enable a line to play that style all by himself the same way Ward did.

 

[g00n]

 

[Capsman]

I'm sure we will score more than one on Saturday. This was a fluke.