Post-Game Talk: GAME 1: Capos @ Poffers, 7:37

[RandyHolt]

Middle of the 3rd, I love the Orpik grade step up by Oshie on some punk trying to enter our zone. Those can be game and series changing hits if that punk dumps it in more going forward. Orpik would do those early in a series and it literally set the tone and planted the seed in all the little punks heads that didnt get hit like that in all of preseason. All the greenhorns on the bench sees their teammate get destroyed and rethink their game plan.

 

[Ridley Simon]

sadly I don't see txpd in this thread
and he hasn't been online for long...

Yes — a few of us are worried for him

 

[Capsman]

Yes — a few of us are worried for him

He has disappeared at times in the past, sometimes he gives himself a break from all the arguing. Hopefully that’s it. I know he’s had heart issues in the past .

 

[Stan Galiev]

I have to be honest here. Carlson was great last night and has carried over his great second half play. Let’s hope we keep getting Elite Johnny.

 

[twabby]

Playoff Playbook: WSH's NZ Trap

Do you believe in Miracles?

jhanhky.substack.com

Nice, brief overview of some of the forechecking and neutral zone systems implemented yesterday in Game 1.

And here is the microstat breakdown of last night's game:



The players certainly did their part, but Laviolette also outcoached Brunette last night. Well done!

 

[g00n]

Playoff Playbook: WSH's NZ Trap

Do you believe in Miracles?

jhanhky.substack.com

Nice, brief overview of some of the forechecking and neutral zone systems implemented yesterday in Game 1.

And here is the microstat breakdown of last night's game:



The players certainly did their part, but Laviolette also outcoached Brunette last night. Well done!

One thing I noticed was almost as soon as a Panther touched the puck it seemed like a Cap was nearby with at least a pokecheck. Or at least they took away options and got the next guy.

The exception obviously was on the first goal when both D sagged and pretty much gave up the shot in the high slot. I'd guess FLA were pretty frustrated by the end of the night.

 

[Hivemind]

Since the series thread is still closed, mixed feelings the day after.

Obviously this was a huge statement win, and there's a lot to be proud of after last night. The Caps played it about as well as anyone could expect, and managed to stymy Florida for the bulk of the game. You can even argue that the score difference could or should have been even more pronounced, given the couple glorious chances that the Capitals flubbed away (Backstrom, Orlov, and Oshie each had a look at an open net). This was a blueprint game on how to beat the Panthers.

But I do have my concerns about potential rough spots ahead in this series. The general idea of playing a structured neutral zone and defensive zone game with few mistakes and then counterpunching hard when the Panthers make a mistake is a good way to approach a match-up in which you're outgunned and can't match your opponent in either team speed or offensive depth. It's something we've seen used against the Capitals multiple times in playoffs past. It's how most teams should approach playing against the Panthers. But it also requires a lot from your goaltending, and that's very obviously not one of the Capitals strengths. The Caps were fortunate to be able to move beyond the softie last night, but they're likely going to need to find ways to force more mistakes from the Panthers going forwards. The Capitals top line will need to be more dangerous in terms of manufacturing even-strength chances. The middle six will need to continue to be opportunistic, but limit their exposure and mistakes. And opportunistic is likely the best case scenario for the middle six, particularly the Backstrom line. They executed that role well last night, but they aren't going to carry play on a regular basis.

The Panthers top six will get their chances over the course of the series. The Capitals limited them effectively last night, but even still you saw moments where Huberdeau and company managed to outfox the Orlov-Jensen pairing. The Caps will have to hope the goaltending comes up big when they do. Someoen said it earlier, but the Caps are going to have to not only beat the Panthers, but beat their own goalies in the process.

 

[Ridley Simon]

He has disappeared at times in the past, sometimes he gives himself a break from all the arguing. Hopefully that’s it. I know he’s had heart issues in the past .

Indeed. Hence the concern. Didn’t get any response to IM’s either.

 

[kicksavedave]

Alan May said it in the intermission reports when they showed how much the Panthers were out hitting the Caps "That tells me the Caps have the puck and the Panthers are chasing them". My additional take, the Panthers were certainly not more physical than the Caps, so pure hit counts don't always tell that full story.

The best way to limit a high powered offense has always been to possess the puck, keep it deep, make them go 200' every time, limit turnovers. The Caps did that very well last night, its what they do when they are playing with focus. If they keep that up they will win the series. My main concern right now is when they get back up, at 1-1 or up 2-0, that they lose the focus and start playing loosey goosey and give up easy stuff to FLA.

Keep focused, we have plenty enough talent at F and D, and just barely enough in goal, to win this series.

 

[SherVaughn30]

VV had some damn good saves and a lot of poise. I wouldn't focus on just the 2 goals. There was no way to control the rebound on the 2nd as it was a shoulder save.

Yes, but his recovery for a 2ndary shot was poor technique. Goalies are taught nowadays to prepare for rebound shots. What Vitek did incorrectly was he didn't place his right leg pad down and push across with his left skate. It's the whole premise of goalies using the VH/Reverse VH technique to slide across quicker to react to initial shots and rebounds.

 

[zappa4ever]

Interesting looking at the shift charts,
Dowd and Larsson lost minutes b/c of Willy leaving game (8:44 and 8:36TOI), while Hathaway (13:32) usually went with Eller/Mantha for extra time

Shift Charts:

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

TOI - Caps:

Time On Ice Report Away Team

www.nhl.com

Game Summary:

Game Summary

www.nhl.com

Event Summary:

Event Summary

www.nhl.com

Shot Summary:

Shot Summary

www.nhl.com

Faceoff Comparison:

Faceoff Comparison

www.nhl.com

Faceoff Summary:

Faceoff Summary

www.nhl.com

Play by Play:

Play By Play

www.nhl.com

TOI - FLA:

Time On Ice Report Home Team

www.nhl.com

 

[g00n]

Yes, but his recovery for a 2ndary shot was poor technique. Goalies are taught nowadays to prepare for rebound shots. What Vitek did incorrectly was he didn't place his right leg pad down and push across with his left skate. It's the whole premise of goalies using the VH/Reverse VH technique to slide across quicker to react to initial shots and rebounds.

I'm not sure what you're saying.

He had to practically lift his torso in the air to make the shrugged shoulder save. When he came down he slid over but it was too late. Because of the position he had to get in for the save he didn't have the left leg in position to push. He had to deal with the crashing Panther and Caps player and reset his feet after the save, at which point he did make the move you describe.




Looks more to me like he made a nice save and then Giroux made a great play to control the rebound with his skate directly to his stick right at the post, and then lift a rolling puck with a deft backhand flip over VV's stick after he recovered the best he could.

 

[kicksavedave]

Yes, but his recovery for a 2ndary shot was poor technique. Goalies are taught nowadays to prepare for rebound shots. What Vitek did incorrectly was he didn't place his right leg pad down and push across with his left skate. It's the whole premise of goalies using the VH/Reverse VH technique to slide across quicker to react to initial shots and rebounds.

Yeah, he got beat. Twice. But he shut em down for the final 39 mins... he should get some credit for that.

 

[SherVaughn30]

I'm not sure what you're saying.

He had to practically lift his torso in the air to make the shrugged shoulder save. When he came down he slid over but it was too late. Because of the position he had to get in for the save he didn't have the left leg in position to push. He had to deal with the crashing Panther and Caps player and reset his feet after the save, at which point he did make the move you describe.




Looks more to me like he made a nice save and then Giroux made a great play to control the rebound with his skate directly to his stick right at the post, and then lift a rolling puck with a deft backhand flip over VV's stick after he recovered the best he could.

Are you familiar with what the V/H-Reverse V/H goalie technique is? If not, it's the modern goalie technique of the butterfly technique. On the initial shot, Vitek had already crouched too forward(he was really playing it butterfly low shot from the moment he moved over), so Montour already knew what type of shot he was going to take(NHL shooters will take what the goalie gives them to shoot at on net). He shot high to either beat Vitek or there would be a rebound. Had Vitek stayed a bit more upright, the rebound would not have wildly gone so far out. I have seen a lot of goalies flinch the blocker shoulder upwards or extend the blocker-side elbow out to trap a high shot like that. It comes with experience or proper goalie coaching. Even so that rebound kicks out like that, proper goalie coaching has goalies go through repetition in practice to move into position for the rebound using the V/H technique. It allows the goalie to slide across quickly off the rebound to at least take away the low shot on the rebound. In that same movement it's the goalies discretion in a split second to decide what they will do with their arm/blocker/stick positioning when sliding across. Sammy is more accustomed to pulling off that technique, but I have seen it as a weakness with Vitek during the regular season. Vitek has always been below average on 2ndary shots off rebounds and that will happen to most goalies when they commit too much to the initial shot.

 

[g00n]

Are you familiar with what the V/H-Reverse V/H goalie technique is? If not, it's the modern goalie technique of the butterfly technique. On the initial shot, Vitek had already crouched too forward(he was really playing it butterfly low shot from the moment he moved over), so Montour already knew what type of shot he was going to take(NHL shooters will take what the goalie gives them to shoot at on net). He shot high to either beat Vitek or there would be a rebound. Had Vitek stayed a bit more upright, the rebound would not have wildly gone so far out. I have seen a lot of goalies flinch the blocker shoulder upwards or extend the blocker-side elbow out to trap a high shot like that. It comes with experience or proper goalie coaching. Even so that rebound kicks out like that, proper goalie coaching has goalies go through repetition in practice to move into position for the rebound using the V/H technique. It allows the goalie to slide across quickly off the rebound to at least take away the low shot on the rebound. In that same movement it's the goalies discretion in a split second to decide what they will do with their arm/blocker/stick positioning when sliding across. Sammy is more accustomed to pulling off that technique, but I have seen it as a weakness with Vitek during the regular season. Vitek has always been below average on 2ndary shots off rebounds and that will happen to most goalies when they commit too much to the initial shot.

Do they practice it with someone crashing the net right in their face, under playoff pressure?

Come on, man. You've been shitting on VV all year. Give the guy some f***ing credit.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The series thread is reopened…. I didn’t even know it was locked.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Yeah, he got beat. Twice. But he shut em down for the final 39 mins... he should get some credit for that.

Yes good composure by Vitek in the 3rd, at the same time the team did a good job in front of him in not letting the Panthers to drive down the middle of the net or give up odd man breaks. Caps did an effective job of slowing down/clogging the neutral zone so the Panthers couldn't gain speed on their rush attacks.

 

[YippieKaey]

A little lost in VVs .938, was specifically shutout hockey for the final 39 minutes of the game. Again, that'll do.

Yeah he really wanted that first long one back, but the second one was just where Giroooo made a great play, was not exactly a rebound he should be expected to control, it was at his shoulders.

Post automatically merged: May 4, 2022

Heh, jinx!

Agreed. He looked real solid all game i think. Maybe the Bennet goal he should have had but that wrister was about as perfect as they go so. Otherwise he was cool & composed, didn't throw his stick away, no spin moves etc. If he plays this way all series we might actually have a chance, even if the Panthers were the better team for like 70% of this game.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Do they practice it with someone crashing the net right in their face, under playoff pressure?

Come on, man. You've been shitting on VV all year. Give the guy some f***ing credit.

Yes goalie coaches will run some drills to that effect. Uh rightfully so I have been very critical of both goalies! Vitek has his limitations and that's one reason why he's not a #1 goalie. He's at this stage a first shot goalie, meaning he's mostly capable of stopping the first shot but below average in handling rebound shots!

 

[crab]

Playoff Playbook: WSH's NZ Trap

Do you believe in Miracles?

jhanhky.substack.com

Nice, brief overview of some of the forechecking and neutral zone systems implemented yesterday in Game 1.

And here is the microstat breakdown of last night's game:



The players certainly did their part, but Laviolette also outcoached Brunette last night. Well done!

How much does that chart excite you?

 

[YippieKaey]

Are you familiar with what the V/H-Reverse V/H goalie technique is? If not, it's the modern goalie technique of the butterfly technique. On the initial shot, Vitek had already crouched too forward(he was really playing it butterfly low shot from the moment he moved over), so Montour already knew what type of shot he was going to take(NHL shooters will take what the goalie gives them to shoot at on net). He shot high to either beat Vitek or there would be a rebound. Had Vitek stayed a bit more upright, the rebound would not have wildly gone so far out. I have seen a lot of goalies flinch the blocker shoulder upwards or extend the blocker-side elbow out to trap a high shot like that. It comes with experience or proper goalie coaching. Even so that rebound kicks out like that, proper goalie coaching has goalies go through repetition in practice to move into position for the rebound using the V/H technique. It allows the goalie to slide across quickly off the rebound to at least take away the low shot on the rebound. In that same movement it's the goalies discretion in a split second to decide what they will do with their arm/blocker/stick positioning when sliding across. Sammy is more accustomed to pulling off that technique, but I have seen it as a weakness with Vitek during the regular season. Vitek has always been below average on 2ndary shots off rebounds and that will happen to most goalies when they commit too much to the initial shot.

Sammys take on the V/H Reverse is actually now taught in hockey schools. They call it the V/H Reverse Then Spin Around On The Side Of The Net And Throw Your Stick Into The Boards

 

[g00n]

Yes goalie coaches will run some drills to that effect. Uh rightfully so I have been very critical of both goalies! Vitek has his limitations and that's one reason why he's not a #1 goalie. He's at this stage a first shot goalie, meaning he's mostly capable of stopping the first shot but below average in handling rebound shots!

Do you have any stats on this?

 

[zappa4ever]

Vitek did great to keep it down to 2 GA, if he averages that or better the Caps are going to have some good success

I really don't blame VV for Bennett's 1st pd high slot snipe, Caps D backed in 15 ft, didn't challenge any more than a weak stick wave, Bennett came to center and shot from a dangerous spot and sniped right off the post; great shot by FLA, moreso than VV getting beat

Giroux did great to corral the rebound from leg > stick

Some pile-ons are deserved for bad goalie performances, this ain't one of them

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Do you have any stats on this?

Only his “expert” opinion…./eye roll

 

[RandyHolt]

I finally saw the first 10 minutes and saw Ovi proper truck Reinhart. All is well is the world again. I saw Weegee took the DOG that led to our goal. I think taking a PIM and it resulting in a goal should be a big fat minus so he would be -3 in my world. You cant hide in the penalty box. Continue abusing that dude.

I said it at the time and still think the first VV goal wasn't a softie.