Series Discussion: Eastern Conference Finals: Caps vs. TBL

[g00n]

Holtby made some incredible, game-saving stops. I don't fault him one bit for that loss. It's on Bura, Eller, Kempny, and the PK.

I also think we're losing the "game within the game" when it comes to the chippiness and hitting. This was not the case when we were rolling the opposition. Kunitz is getting away with murder, as are a few others. We have to shit or get off the pot and decide whether we want to draw penalties or punish the opposition. We either start going down when these cheap shots happen or we start pounding them and letting the chips fall.

That all depends on the PK.

 

[chilimac]

Bura is Bura. To my eyes, he's just Marge v2. Both guys have 'quickness' given to them by 'Nature', and bring little else to the NHL table. Both are waaaay too soft on the puck-especially for their cap hits. If they do enter the zone with the puck, defenses know to funnel them to the nearest boards and take the puck away in... 1...2....3 seconds. Lather,rinse,repeat. Ive watched it happen hundreds of times, literally.
I ask you, if Bura didnt have his 'speed' would the rest of his skill set have him in the NHL right now ?? Does he finish ? Are his passes out-of-this-world ? Any chance he's in the top defensive forwards in the League ?? ha. Anyway, he's not the only problem on this roster...but ask me if I am surprised that the Caps 0-3 in the post season when he's played the entire game(or at least it certainly seems that way).... and yes, I'm well aware Marge doesnt play here anymore, and I frankly, didnt miss his presence at all this season, not once. zero. He seems like a nice person, but.... in a salary cap world....no thanks.

But anyway....other than a little luck, and the Caps inability to get in Vski's face enough..and a few other issues.... I think Tampa's edge the last two games, has been their new 'power duo' of Kempny/Eller. I swear I dont recall Tampa adding them to their roster before
the trade deadline-at least I dont remember reading about it... but they have turned up Aces for the Lightning the last two games. Kudos to their GM for making that move for sure... it is paying dividends for sure.

Yeah,,I'm bitter, but after decades of this crap, Ive earned it...

I do think the arena in Tampa will be nuts on saturday night... and that sets the stage for....

 

[third man in]

Bura needs to sit. Bring in Walker for 4LW

Eller needs to go back to the 3rd line

Nice to see Backstrom back. Have him setting up Oshie and Vrana.

Adjustments needed on special team play. PP needs to shoot more and PK needs some work.

They can still win this because 2 of 3 are on the road. Caps have road ice advantage lol. Sigh, that's all I got.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I had a bad feeling coming home 2-0 and posed the question of how would the Capitals handle prosperity for the first time this postseason? They seem to thrive when the spotlight is on the other team. Coming home, unexpectedly in the ECF, unexpectedly up 2-0... I had a feeling it would be not great. I was hoping for a split but it didn't happen.

That said, we got this. This team has been at 2-2 in both series and in both series they answered the bell. They're at their best on the road and when everyone counts them out. Stay out of the box and get Burakovsky out of the lineup and they'll be good. Caps in 6.

 

[PB12]

Holtby, OV, and Kuzy have been our 3 best players. We need to work on better puck clearing and exiting our own zone. We need to work on our PP. And we need a little less passing. You see a shot take it.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Interesting stat that I saw on Twitter today and now of course I can't find it but the home team in the playoffs is a combined 34-39 so it's not just the Caps who have shit the bed at home.

I'm in favor of adding Walker for Burakovsky. Walker had a hell of a game 6 in the Pittsburgh series. His speed is nice added boost and that little motherf***er (kuzy voice) is a pest

 

[Blitzkrieg365]

I am actually angry at this team for pissing away this lead. I woke up in the middle of the night and could not fall back to sleep out of frustration. This team can never make it easy can they.

 

[blokeyhighlander]

I was also really angry last night - these guys are as close as they've ever been and fell back on bad habits. I'm better this morning, especially given the series is tied and we're not on the brink of elimination. It's not that they weren't trying, they just weren't focusing on going that extra step to get to the net - they were just hoping the original shots would go through. I noticed a few times when we would shoot, the players closest to the net would actually back off instead of getting closer to Vasi for a rebound.

Tampa is certainly much more skilled than Montreal back in 2010, but I just got that same feeling that we weren't making it difficult for Vasi and never felt confident that we would break though - I was pleasantly surprised when Kuzy tied it up. Vasi played well, made some great saves, as did Holtby, but with the amount that we controlled play - we should have had more quality changes on Vasi instead of shooting at him when he can see it the whole way.

I'm pretty sure Bura was a joke to Hedman last night, Hedman barely had to try to knock him over and take the puck. So I'm with many of you, put Walker in for Bura. I know Oshie isn't 100%, but he's still putting in some terrific efforts on shifts, I'd like to see him get a few shifts with Kuzy - those two are constantly willing their way to make something happen. At a minimum though, Trotz needs to sit Bura the rest of this series. I also thought our transition game has taken a step back the last couple games - maybe that's a Tampa adjustment but we were so crisp in games 1 and 2 getting out of the zone and getting the puck up the ice. I also wonder if mental/physical fatigue is finally starting to set in - this is new territory for this group.

This team is capable of overcoming boneheaded moments like Kempny's terri-pass, but it's not just skating harder and shooting harder that will get the job done, they need to get back to making it difficult for Tampa all over the ice, particularly in getting traffic in front of net.

 

[Lindemann]

Honest question, is anyone still confident about this series?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Bura is Bura. To my eyes, he's just Marge v2. Both guys have 'quickness' given to them by 'Nature', and bring little else to the NHL table. Both are waaaay too soft on the puck-especially for their cap hits. If they do enter the zone with the puck, defenses know to funnel them to the nearest boards and take the puck away in... 1...2....3 seconds. Lather,rinse,repeat. Ive watched it happen hundreds of times, literally.
I ask you, if Bura didnt have his 'speed' would the rest of his skill set have him in the NHL right now ?? Does he finish ? Are his passes out-of-this-world ? Any chance he's in the top defensive forwards in the League ?? ha. Anyway, he's not the only problem on this roster...but ask me if I am surprised that the Caps 0-3 in the post season when he's played the entire game(or at least it certainly seems that way).... and yes, I'm well aware Marge doesnt play here anymore, and I frankly, didnt miss his presence at all this season, not once. zero. He seems like a nice person, but.... in a salary cap world....no thanks.

But anyway....other than a little luck, and the Caps inability to get in Vski's face enough..and a few other issues.... I think Tampa's edge the last two games, has been their new 'power duo' of Kempny/Eller. I swear I dont recall Tampa adding them to their roster before
the trade deadline-at least I dont remember reading about it... but they have turned up Aces for the Lightning the last two games. Kudos to their GM for making that move for sure... it is paying dividends for sure.

Yeah,,I'm bitter, but after decades of this crap, Ive earned it...

I do think the arena in Tampa will be nuts on saturday night... and that sets the stage for....

That’s an insult to Mojo. I’d take him over 65 any day of the week.

f*** BURA!

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Honest question, is anyone still confident about this series?

I predicted in 7, so yep. Road Killers boys!

 

[OviTaughtMe]

At the end of the day, Holtby has to be elite for us to pull this out. He’s been great but he’s regressed a bit the last two games and not surprisingly, we lost

He has to win the goalie matchup going forward

It sucks but that’s the position

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

At the end of the day, Holtby has to be elite for us to pull this out. He’s been great but he’s regressed a bit the last two games and not surprisingly, we lost

He has to win the goalie matchup going forward

It sucks but that’s the position

He was average in game 3. We can’t have that. He gave up one I want back last night. He can’t do that and win a Cup IMO. Our best need to play like it.

 

[chilimac]

Interesting stat that I saw on Twitter today and now of course I can't find it but the home team in the playoffs is a combined 34-39 so it's not just the Caps who have **** the bed at home.

The 34-39 mark includes the teams that have already been eliminated from the playoffs... so I dont see it as a valid comparison for the Caps, assuming we want them to move forward. A quick check on my part shows the following Home W/L records in the current playoffs for the four remaining teams...

Vegas: 6-1
Winn: 5-3
Tamp: 5-3
Caps: 3-5

is this sustainable.....?

 

[g00n]

Interesting stat that I saw on Twitter today and now of course I can't find it but the home team in the playoffs is a combined 34-39 so it's not just the Caps who have **** the bed at home.

I'm in favor of adding Walker for Burakovsky. Walker had a hell of a game 6 in the Pittsburgh series. His speed is nice added boost and that little mother****er (kuzy voice) is a pest

Not surprised at all by that stat. I posted some data during the season that showed how there was really no significant home ice advantage in the playoffs in the NHL. There may be a small statistical advantage in the earliest rounds because of seedings and heavy favorites who also get home ice, but really that's it.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Honest question, is anyone still confident about this series?

I feel good. The Caps have been the better team for the overwhelming majority of the series. You have to imagine at some point special teams start to trend back towards the mean and the Caps have clearly been the better team at 5-on-5, so yeah, I'm confident.

 

[Devil Dancer]

I wouldn't say I'm confident, but I feel OK. The Caps have been the better team 5v5, and that's usually what wins a series.

Just need someone to get hot again other than the stars. #10? #13? #20? Anyone on the 4th line? I don't care who, but someone needs to step up over these last three games. They broke through against a good Pittsburgh team with secondary scoring and a solid defensive structure. They can do it again.

 

[PB12]

He was average in game 3. We can’t have that. He gave up one I want back last night. He can’t do that and win a Cup IMO. Our best need to play like it.

Are you talking about goal #3. Are you kidding me? Orlov and Carlson were daydreaming while watching the puck against the boards and allowed Killhorn to skate right in.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Honest question, is anyone still confident about this series?

I am. The TBL aren't impressive at all. The Caps biggest obstacle is themselves, certainly not the TBL. I feel Kuz is going to lead the charge.

 

[Melkor]

Burakovsky and Holtby are the two fellas that I ran out of excuses for a long time ago. Your team needs you and you gotta show up for once. Regarding Holtby, its not about statistics, he's good career-wise. It's about timely saves. Give the team at least one complete playoff performance from start to end where you probably dont have any shutouts or save of the year' candidates but you always give a timely damn save. Last two games he's been below average. 3rd game was close to bad, 4th...I don't know, he made a good save on Johnson but then it's Killorn who has no speed and not exactly most skilled guy on their team but he undressed Holtby in an embarrssing fashion. No way you open up that five hole and dont cover it up with your stick when your opponent is in stand still position and basically has no leverage on you. I mean Tampa generated less than 20 shots that game. Other than Kempny's brainfart I just don't see how anyone can blame the defense for that loss. Holtby just wasn't there at home, it's a problem. Hopefully he once again shows up on the road.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

I am. The TBL aren't impressive at all. The Caps biggest obstacle is themselves, certainly not the TBL. I feel Kuz is going to lead the charge.

What angers me the most is that the Caps give up PP's to the Bolts and even as I'm sitting there watching it - I know the Bolts will score. Take away those opps and the Bolts are not a very good 5 on 5 team. So yeah, that makes me angry. I am also lately p*ssed at Trotz because Backstrom should have gone straight to 2nd line center, do not pass go, but he left Eller in there - even though we KNEW Eller sucked in Game 2 so why the h*ll leave him in there?? Game 4 was there for the Caps to win and if they were up 3-1 they're going to the Cup finals, no doubt in my mind. Instead we're now down to a best of 3 and that's a lot harder to win.

 

[g00n]

Here's something to chew on. Burakovsky has zero points in 6 playoff games, and just 5 shots. Three of those shots came in the first game of the first round (a loss vs Cbus). The Caps are 2-4 in the playoffs with him in the lineup.

If BT can bench Holtby for Grubauer, why can't he find the stones to bench Burakovsky? Is his mom going to corner Trotz after the game and ask why her baby isn't playing? What's going on here?

Do they want to play the best players and win a Cup or not??

 

[maacoshark]

What angers me the most is that the Caps give up PP's to the Bolts and even as I'm sitting there watching it - I know the Bolts will score. Take away those opps and the Bolts are not a very good 5 on 5 team. So yeah, that makes me angry. I am also lately p*ssed at Trotz because Backstrom should have gone straight to 2nd line center, do not pass go, but he left Eller in there - even though we KNEW Eller sucked in Game 2 so why the h*ll leave him in there?? Game 4 was there for the Caps to win and if they were up 3-1 they're going to the Cup finals, no doubt in my mind. Instead we're now down to a best of 3 and that's a lot harder to win.

I think Eller is very inconsistent and overrated. He goes on a hotv stretch and everyone falls in love with the guy. But he has plenty of bad stretches too. He has always been prone to taking lazy and dumb penalties. He also wants to carry the puck too much. Quite often he won't make the right play and will end up turning the puck over instead.

 

[maacoshark]

Burakovsky and Holtby are the two fellas that I ran out of excuses for a long time ago. Your team needs you and you gotta show up for once. Regarding Holtby, its not about statistics, he's good career-wise. It's about timely saves. Give the team at least one complete playoff performance from start to end where you probably dont have any shutouts or save of the year' candidates but you always give a timely damn save. Last two games he's been below average. 3rd game was close to bad, 4th...I don't know, he made a good save on Johnson but then it's Killorn who has no speed and not exactly most skilled guy on their team but he undressed Holtby in an embarrssing fashion. No way you open up that five hole and dont cover it up with your stick when your opponent is in stand still position and basically has no leverage on you. I mean Tampa generated less than 20 shots that game. Other than Kempny's brainfart I just don't see how anyone can blame the defense for that loss. Holtby just wasn't there at home, it's a problem. Hopefully he once again shows up on the road.

Guess you didn't watch Hockey stop 2 or 3 great scoring chances after he hadn't faced any shots in some time. Do you not remember Holtby stopping Johnson on a breakaway and then shortly later stopped Kucherov point blank range.

 

[Capitals40]

Trotz says he wants to play with discipline tonight. That tells me he wants to play safe and turtle, which means either more penalties because you are getting beat or they score at will 5 on 5. We should play as aggressive as we can. Concentrate and not committing penalties means a crappy game. They need to play a heavy north south game..afraid they won't.