GDT: From Russia With Love: Flyers - Caps Get it on in DC

[Corby78]

Three games of crap hockey. Nothing else really to say.

 

[ovikovy817]

At least Ovi scored.

 

[YippieKaey]

After the Flyers third goal i mainly focused on the fact that Kevin Hayes looks like Brad Marchand on growth hormones.

 

[tycoonheart]

Fire Lavi?

 

[Empty Goal Net]

Interesting, Penalty Killing and Faceoffs are ahead of uhhh…scoring!

Lavi reads these boards. He's justifying why Eller is in over Strome by listing the two areas in which he is better.

Lavi: I’ve got to keep faceoff guys in there, I’ve got to keep penalty kill guys in there.

 

[YippieKaey]

Never change a winning team is a rule i thought most coaches followed. Instead Lavi chose to completely alter every line, even the 4th which has been an amazing line for three seasons now.

Ovi-Strome-Sheary
Milano-Kuzy-Wilson
Mantha/Eller-Bäckström-Oshie
Protas/MoJo-Dowd-Hathaway

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Obviously Laviolette is not an idiot or bad at hockey coaching so i wonder what's going on here.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

Might it not help to have Wilson and Backstrom do a quick stint in Hershey for two games to find their groove?

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Protas/Snively/Strome/NAK. All are much better players than Backstrom/Oshie/Wilson.

No matter how much time you give Backstrom/Oshie/Wilson, they're not getting any faster or younger, they are what they are. They shouldn't be "finding" their game on an NHL team that was rolling its way to the top of the standings. They should be in Hershey. Wilson couldn't even stay upright most of the game today and Backstrom was literally giving up the puck the moment he felt. Oshie on the other hand was just awful. These three should not be playing on any NHL team individually... let alone together. It's one of the worst coaching decisions I've ever seen.

They will not win 3 of their next 6 if Backstrom/Wilson/Oshie end up playing again. More like 1 of their next 6. They'll get pummeled by the Wild/Isles/Pens/Vegas/Colorado. Unless Protas/Strome/NAK make it back into the lineup, there's literally no chance against those teams. Maybe we'd get lucky and some of those teams might decide to get collectively snakebitten, but a team with Ov/Eller/Oshie/Backstrom/Wilson aren't remotely good enough to beat those teams consistently.

All three should have started in hershey and then plugged into the lineup one by one as the season went on. There is no upside to having all three playing together at this moment other than to get shot straight down the standings into the cellar.

OK, now I know you’re talking pure nonsense.

1. Backstrom and Wilson could only go to Hershey for a maximum of 3 games to determine if they are fit to play or not coming back from LTIR. Other than that, you can't bury their contracts in the AHL for many reasons, one of which is that Wilson would never pass through waivers unclaimed.

2. Protas/Snively/NAK are not better than Backstrom/Oshie/Wilson, only Strome is better than that group and should be on the ice every night.

-> As I mentioned earlier, Protas can't even produce at the AHL level. His best season in Hershey saw him score 8 goals and 24 points in 42 games.
-> Snively has no value whatsoever. He is a 27 year old winger who is not good enough for the NHL. Every single team passed on Joe Snively when we put him on waivers to send him to Hershey, even though he's making the league minimum.
-> NAK is just a plug, he's a poor man's Wilson.

3. It is normal for players to need a bit of time to come back from a major surgery. The only mistake I see on the coaching staff's part is giving them tons of minutes from the start (when they should be in the bottom 6 at first).

4. For the next 6 teams, I'll take that bet. We're winning 3 of the next 6 or more. A lot of these teams have been struggling recently. Pens/Avs/Coyotes all have a losing record over their past 10 games.

 

[Langway]

If they're married to Eller at 3C it probably should be Kuznetsov shifting to wing. Or Backstrom to further insulate him and ease him back. They'd maybe miss the speed through the middle of the ice with 92 but he's weaker defensively than Strome.

Ovechkin - Strome - Sheary
Kuznetsov - Backstrom - Wilson
Mantha - Eller - Oshie
Milano/Johansson - Dowd - Hathaway

A lot of their woes is on trusting less than sharp vets and you wonder if there's even a breaking point for Lavi with them. It seems more likely he'll live and die by them and we'll instead continue to get the peripheral, somewhat convenient and weak shuffling of secondary pieces that won't change much. It's not just that 19/77/43 are slower it's also that they don't win many battles either so there's not even a secondary power game. Sluggish in every facet.

Engagement, support and fortitude have to be their calling cards. Instead it seems like they've taken a breath thinking it's going to come easier again and they can now afford to pick their spots. That's not happening. They're not that explosive to think they can be that team these days. Maybe on the road they'll find their desperation but the ability of some of these vets is pretty questionable. They've got a long way to find their groove and without a great of defensive leeway as they continue to navigate minus 74. Not an easy puzzle to solve. First things first they need to cobble together something that's work recently and that's reuniting the top line at least and keeping Dowd/Hathaway together. The rest is likely to remain a work-in-progress for quite some time by the looks of it.

 

[YippieKaey]

Honestly at this point i wouldn't mind seeing Kuzy as 1RD. Also has defensive lapses, good playmaking skills and is a breakout machine.

If Lavi is gonna ice these bizarre lineups he might aswell go all in with it.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Irwin’s utility has run out. They’re really missing Carlson but Irwin shouldn’t dress again unless there are a bunch of injuries.

Kuznetsov set the tone right from the beginning and it wasn’t a good one. Had multiple giveaways his first few shifts and generally looked careless. He got completely worked by Konecny and if it wasn’t for Kuemper it would have led to a tap-in goal. If Lavi is giving sweaters out based on meritocracy Kuzy should be eating nachos next game.

That said, this was different than the Flyers game in Philly. The Caps should have won this game but Hart was terrific and a few posts were unlucky. Kuemper’s blunder hurt.

 

[tycoonheart]

Lavi also needs to decide if he wants to keep rolling with Keumper every game or split things with Lindgren. Not blaming him for the game last night but he hasn't looked the same since injury. Lindgren was key during that winning stretch.