GDT: G11 - Meow meows vs Ovi Goals - 7:38pm EST

[HTFN]

Ovie slapped a one timer that registered 96mph and he didn't seem to be in pain from it. That doesn't mean he's not nursing something, but he can physically take a hard shot.

He can take them, but it's not the same.

Look, I'm no NHL pro by a f***ing long shot but I was in a charity game and bounced off somebody and did the thing you're not supposed to do: was falling in a seated position and put both my arms behind me, did something weird to my top hand's wrist.

It was never so limiting that I couldn't play, but virtually every shot that I took with effort hurt. Not quite enough to stop, just enough for it to be something you rub and generally experience on any strong wrister, and it lasted for a few months. Way more months than you want something like that to last, but it wasn't limiting so I kept playing because I loved it.

Ovechkin's not the dude to let that keep him out, never has been, but if there's anything lingering right now I really think we're seeing it manifest in all the shots he isn't taking that he normally would because a lot of his return passes to Carlson on the PP are unexpected and kind of keep screaming "I don't want to do that right now please", because we've seen him absolutely blast knuckle pucks before.

Put it this way: last year's Ovechkin would take a borderline okay pass and at least backpedal into a long wrist shot instead of the slapper to get around the challenging D. I don't honestly think I've seen that once.

 

[SherVaughn30]

It comes down to form and function, not that goalie is my strong suit. I feel like when you look at Kuemper and Lindgren in their introductions to the team they had individual styles and quirks that seemed different, and as time goes on they've become goalies that have replicated soft areas we've seen in the team's goalies before. If you asked me today how tall Darcy Kuemper was I would have said, like... 6'1" and apparently he's goddamn huge. Lindgren similarly has learned to play smaller than his large and athletic frame.

When they all start sharing similar characteristics you have to assume it's because there's a common denominator, and it's been so constant for so long that if they didn't get Korn back for 2018 there's no goddamn way they're winning anything. I feel like a lot of those "Kuemper should have those" goals is because since broken Holtby the message has been to play deep and try to do a Lundqvist, but Lundqvist is a Hall of Fame goaltender who shouldn't have been able to really do what he did a lot of times.

I think it's also both. I think it's a mental position but when you get back to practice and your coach keeps telling you to do what you're not sure about, you end up in this weird position where you can't trust your body and you're not sure if you should trust your coach, and splitting the difference makes you bad.

Kuemper is 6ft5in and Lindgren is 6ft1in. The way I see it, Scott Murray doesn't have Kuemper take full advantage of his big frame(Kuzy let Reinhart beat him, but Reinhart had so many options even in tight bcuz Kuemper backed in too quickly). With Lindgren, who is more athletic, quick and agile, he should be playing more on the top of crease(simple English, play more aggressive).

 

[Silky mitts]

Sandin played a strong 200’ game tonight, created net traffic at one point and held off Barkov going to the net at another

 

[Hivemind]

On the plus side, at least Jensen and Sandin seem like they're starting to settle in and play more comfortably in Carbery's system.

On the minus side - I'm about done with Alexeyev. He's shown very little to convince me he can handle the NHL on a nightly basis.

 

[SherVaughn30]

On the plus side, at least Jensen and Sandin seem like they're starting to settle in and play more comfortably in Carbery's system.

On the minus side - I'm about done with Alexeyev. He's shown very little to convince me he can handle the NHL on a nightly basis.

-2 and he only played less than 10 mins. Alexeyev is a 1st round pick from '18. Even though he's only age 23, I think it's pretty close to saying he's a 1st round bust. Maybe we can throw him in a trade deal? They could sneak him through waivers because he has 2 years on his contract, but at the same time there might be some teams that take a chance picking him up on waivers.

 

[trick9]

Jensen was better.

Team defense is slightly better than it was at the start (bar was very low) but still defensive breakdowns galore. They are fine at keeping teams on the outside and limiting their shots, but they constantly have breakdowns which lead to hilarious amounts of high-danger chances. I thought the Caps carried the play a lot in this one and somehow the high-danger chances ended 5-on-5 at 12-6 to Panthers.

Mantha - McMichael - Protas -line was great. Top-line generated some chances but still that's not nearly good enough from them if you are stacking up that line. Oshie was fine (although snakebit) early but he has gone downhill recently. Perhaps it's time to move him to a smaller role. Alexeyev is not NHL-quality right now. I like giving Lapierre a chance while Dowd is out but... 5 minutes? Is it worth it? Phillips only played 6 minutes and i didn't see him much after that horrible turnover. For an offensive player below 10 minutes is really nothing to try and make an impact, so why are we keeping him in the line-up? Is it just a safety net if (/when) Oshie gets hurt and they need someone to take over his ~19 minutes per game?

Another L against a team fighting for Playoff spot is bad, even if they gained a point. If you can't beat any of these teams head-to-head you need to lay a beating to the top teams and is this team up for it? I highly doubt it. But still even with Panthers missing Ekblad, Montour and Bennett this was a solid fighting effort and i expected a bigger loss.

 

[Empty Goal Net]

On Carbs calling out Kuzy:

- it's good to state the obvious
- it may motivate the player to be more responsible; if not, Carbs at least tried
- perhaps more importantly, it sends a signal to every guy in a Caps' sweater that they are and will be held accountable

It'll be interesting to see who the healthy scratches are for the next couple of games.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Random thoughts:

- Alexeyev is playing himself out of DC. Whiffs on Alexeyev and Johansen should be learning points for the organization. Dude was straight awful and I think the Caps win last night if TvR played.
- Kuznetsov securely in the driver’s seat for the “Player Who Needed to be Traded Yesterday” award and I don’t think it’s particularly close. Carberry has pushed all the right buttons with him and he still looks like he couldn’t be bothered to care. Defensive effort is just embarrassing.
- Mantha, on the other hand, looks like he’s starting to play with some confidence. If he’s out for an extended period of time he really just has the worst luck because it looks like he’s finding his game.
- Jensen is starting to look like Jensen which bodes well for the future.
- Sandin is a really smart player and is very smooth with the puck. Still think he needs to add 5-10 pounds so he can hold up a bit better defensively but I like his game a lot.
- I feel vindicated for calling for McMichael to be 2C for the last two years. He’s an outstanding hockey player who will be very good if he can unlock his shot.
- I know the fancies say otherwise and he’s a really smart player but I can’t see Phillips sticking. He doesn’t have anything elite to his game that can make up for his size.
- I like Carberry a lot but at some point he has to stop pretending Kuznetsov is something he isn’t. He’s played him a ton, he’s played him on PP1 and on the PK, he leans on him for important draws in all three zones… and nothing. Kuzy Magic is a thing of the past and that’s a sad but harsh reality.
- They really need to work on making smarter decisions getting the puck out of the zone and their defensive zone coverage is a mess.
- I know points are at a premium but I would healthy scratch 92 soon if he doesn’t respond to the direct call outs by Carberry. I would rather play Strome, McMichael, Protas, and Lapierre down the middle and ice four guys who are going to give it their all than watch a supreme talent like Kuznetsov loaf around whenever he doesn’t have the puck.

 

[g00n]

Random thoughts:

- Alexeyev is playing himself out of DC. Whiffs on Alexeyev and Johansen should be learning points for the organization. Dude was straight awful and I think the Caps win last night if TvR played.
- Kuznetsov securely in the driver’s seat for the “Player Who Needed to be Traded Yesterday” award and I don’t think it’s particularly close. Carberry has pushed all the right buttons with him and he still looks like he couldn’t be bothered to care. Defensive effort is just embarrassing.
- Mantha, on the other hand, looks like he’s starting to play with some confidence. If he’s out for an extended period of time he really just has the worst luck because it looks like he’s finding his game.
- Jensen is starting to look like Jensen which bodes well for the future.
- Sandin is a really smart player and is very smooth with the puck. Still think he needs to add 5-10 pounds so he can hold up a bit better defensively but I like his game a lot.
- I feel vindicated for calling for McMichael to be 2C for the last two years. He’s an outstanding hockey player who will be very good if he can unlock his shot.
- I know the fancies say otherwise and he’s a really smart player but I can’t see Phillips sticking. He doesn’t have anything elite to his game that can make up for his size.
- I like Carberry a lot but at some point he has to stop pretending Kuznetsov is something he isn’t. He’s played him a ton, he’s played him on PP1 and on the PK, he leans on him for important draws in all three zones… and nothing. Kuzy Magic is a thing of the past and that’s a sad but harsh reality.
- They really need to work on making smarter decisions getting the puck out of the zone and their defensive zone coverage is a mess.
- I know points are at a premium but I would healthy scratch 92 soon if he doesn’t respond to the direct call outs by Carberry. I would rather play Strome, McMichael, Protas, and Lapierre down the middle and ice four guys who are going to give it their all than watch a supreme talent like Kuznetsov loaf around whenever he doesn’t have the puck.

Mostly agree but with CMM you don't know that he plays like that 2 or 1 year ago. To my eye test he looks like a much more complete and confident player and his finish has improved.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

- They really need to work on making smarter decisions getting the puck out of the zone and their defensive zone coverage is a mess.
puck.

This is true and players have talked about how they are still adapting to the new scheme when it comes to breakouts. I’ve noticed several times where a player has a chance to just get it out the zone but instead they circle back, pass it to the D, but then it results in a turnover.

 

[um]

On Carbs calling out Kuzy:

- it's good to state the obvious
- it may motivate the player to be more responsible; if not, Carbs at least tried
- perhaps more importantly, it sends a signal to every guy in a Caps' sweater that they are and will be held accountable

It'll be interesting to see who the healthy scratches are for the next couple of games.

I don't need Kuznetsov to be scratched, I just need him to not play 22 minutes a game. He's not that guy.

Strome is clearly out best center and our 1C. I'm not even sure Kuzy is better than McMichael.

 

[um]

Random thoughts:

- Alexeyev is playing himself out of DC. Whiffs on Alexeyev and Johansen should be learning points for the organization. Dude was straight awful and I think the Caps win last night if TvR played.
- Kuznetsov securely in the driver’s seat for the “Player Who Needed to be Traded Yesterday” award and I don’t think it’s particularly close. Carberry has pushed all the right buttons with him and he still looks like he couldn’t be bothered to care. Defensive effort is just embarrassing.
- Mantha, on the other hand, looks like he’s starting to play with some confidence. If he’s out for an extended period of time he really just has the worst luck because it looks like he’s finding his game.
- Jensen is starting to look like Jensen which bodes well for the future.
- Sandin is a really smart player and is very smooth with the puck. Still think he needs to add 5-10 pounds so he can hold up a bit better defensively but I like his game a lot.
- I feel vindicated for calling for McMichael to be 2C for the last two years. He’s an outstanding hockey player who will be very good if he can unlock his shot.
- I know the fancies say otherwise and he’s a really smart player but I can’t see Phillips sticking. He doesn’t have anything elite to his game that can make up for his size.
- I like Carberry a lot but at some point he has to stop pretending Kuznetsov is something he isn’t. He’s played him a ton, he’s played him on PP1 and on the PK, he leans on him for important draws in all three zones… and nothing. Kuzy Magic is a thing of the past and that’s a sad but harsh reality.
- They really need to work on making smarter decisions getting the puck out of the zone and their defensive zone coverage is a mess.
- I know points are at a premium but I would healthy scratch 92 soon if he doesn’t respond to the direct call outs by Carberry. I would rather play Strome, McMichael, Protas, and Lapierre down the middle and ice four guys who are going to give it their all than watch a supreme talent like Kuznetsov loaf around whenever he doesn’t have the puck.

Kuzy loafs around when he has the puck!

He's got no aggressive or drive in his game whatsoever.

 

[zappa4ever]

Who had
Mantha-McMic-Protas
for best line on their Caps Bingo card?

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

Kuzy loafs around when he has the puck!

He's got no aggressive or drive in his game whatsoever.

And remember we have him on the books for another $7.8M next season!

 

[AZ Caps Fan]

Wasn't Kuzy under the weather a bit? Maybe not his best effort last night but maybe there's a reason for that other than he doesn't care.

 

[Devil Dancer]

Random thoughts:

- Alexeyev is playing himself out of DC. Whiffs on Alexeyev and Johansen should be learning points for the organization. Dude was straight awful and I think the Caps win last night if TvR played.
- Kuznetsov securely in the driver’s seat for the “Player Who Needed to be Traded Yesterday” award and I don’t think it’s particularly close. Carberry has pushed all the right buttons with him and he still looks like he couldn’t be bothered to care. Defensive effort is just embarrassing.
- Mantha, on the other hand, looks like he’s starting to play with some confidence. If he’s out for an extended period of time he really just has the worst luck because it looks like he’s finding his game.
- Jensen is starting to look like Jensen which bodes well for the future.
- Sandin is a really smart player and is very smooth with the puck. Still think he needs to add 5-10 pounds so he can hold up a bit better defensively but I like his game a lot.
- I feel vindicated for calling for McMichael to be 2C for the last two years. He’s an outstanding hockey player who will be very good if he can unlock his shot.
- I know the fancies say otherwise and he’s a really smart player but I can’t see Phillips sticking. He doesn’t have anything elite to his game that can make up for his size.
- I like Carberry a lot but at some point he has to stop pretending Kuznetsov is something he isn’t. He’s played him a ton, he’s played him on PP1 and on the PK, he leans on him for important draws in all three zones… and nothing. Kuzy Magic is a thing of the past and that’s a sad but harsh reality.
- They really need to work on making smarter decisions getting the puck out of the zone and their defensive zone coverage is a mess.
- I know points are at a premium but I would healthy scratch 92 soon if he doesn’t respond to the direct call outs by Carberry. I would rather play Strome, McMichael, Protas, and Lapierre down the middle and ice four guys who are going to give it their all than watch a supreme talent like Kuznetsov loaf around whenever he doesn’t have the puck.

Agree with most of this but not the idea to play Lapierre. I haven't seen anything from him this year that suggests he's ready for a regular NHL shift, even on the 4th line.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Agree with most of this but not the idea to play Lapierre. I haven't seen anything from him this year that suggests he's ready for a regular NHL shift, even on the 4th line.

I agree that he's not ready. I think he should be in Hershey and don't think him playing on the fourth line in DC is the best option for his development but I'd at least do it for a game or two to send a message.

 

[YippieKaey]

Ekblad is recovering from yet another injury / surgery so he won't be playing anyway

My plan is coming together nicely

 

[trick9]

And remember we have him on the books for another $7.8M next season!

It's almost as if he's being showcased in a big role given the lack of options there. GMBM doesn't want him back next season.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Genuine question: how can either of you know that Kuemper is doing what his coach says??

(I am genuinely asking - not being a smart ass).

Question: is it possible that our goalies allow the mental aspect to get to them and they make stupid mistakes because they are down on themselves? As opposed to changing the way they play because of the goalie coach?

If it was ONE …maybe TWO goalies, then sure. But this is like half a dozen.

Holding on to Murray was just plain stupid. And I’m a management apologist.

 

[YippieKaey]

The good news is that it seems the Caps 2023 edition is at least a .500 team which is honestly more than i expected. CMM also looks like a pretty solid #2 centreman, which is great. Also, Mantha is actually a pretty useful asset, almost not overpaid anymore.

Overall, the team played well. Kuzy is an effin joke at this point though and he needs to go. If Kuzy was replaced by another clear #2 centreman we might very well have won this game. Right now, he is the only player truly underperforming.

And, when Ovi gets his goalscoring going, the team that played this game might actually be a playoff team.

 

[um]

Wasn't Kuzy under the weather a bit? Maybe not his best effort last night but maybe there's a reason for that other than he doesn't care.

More excuses. If he was sick he wouldn't be playing.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Mostly agree but with CMM you don't know that he plays like that 2 or 1 year ago. To my eye test he looks like a much more complete and confident player and his finish has improved.

Very true, but I think most here hoped/expected he would top out as a 2C after he was drafted….just had a tough few years where he was playing ahead of normal development schedule (in Hershey a year early, etc)….skating, strength, game maturity…he’s showing all 3 finally and he should only get better.

 

[Capitals40]

More excuses. If he was sick he wouldn't be playing.

And you know this how?

 

[StrikingDistance]

Beyond CC's comment on Kuzy, the rest of his post-game presser is very refreshing. Good to hear a coach be so detailed and candid about the performance of his team.

Postgame | Spencer Carbery | Washington Capitals